Department
Purchasing & Contract Compliance
Requested Action (Identify appropriate Action or Motion, purpose, cost, timeframe, etc.)
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Request approval of an Ordinance to amend and reauthorize the Fulton County Purchasing Code Division 10, Small Business Enterprise Program effective January 1, 2023. (APPROVED)
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Requirement for Board Action (Cite specific Board policy, statute or code requirement)
In accordance with Purchasing Code Section 102-449.14, states there should be a periodic review and analysis of the small business program to determine if adjustments need to be made prior to its sunset within five years.
Strategic Priority Area related to this item (If yes, note strategic priority area below)
Infrastructure and Economic Development
Commission Districts Affected
All Districts ☒
District 1 ☐
District 2 ☐
District 3 ☐
District 4 ☐
District 5 ☐
District 6 ☐
Is this a purchasing item?
Yes
Summary & Background (First sentence includes Agency recommendation. Provide an executive summary of the action that gives an overview of the relevant details for the item.)
Scope of Work: On October 5, 2016, BOC Item 16-0864, the Fulton County Board of Commissioners (“Board”) approved the Resolution to amend the Fulton County Purchasing Code to create a Small Business Enterprise Program (“SBE”). The program is scheduled to sunset on December 31, 2022. On June 6, 2022, BOC Item 22-0435, the Board of Commissioners approved Keen Independent Research, LLC (“Keen Independent”) to assist the County in performing an evaluation of the current Small Business Enterprise (SBE) Program prior to the December 31, 2022 sunset of the program.
Based on the assessment, evaluation of the current SBE program and availability/market analysis, Keen Independent recommends that the County reauthorizes the SBE Program and recommends certain amendments to the SBE Ordinance, those amendments are provided in Exhibit 1, Division 10, Small Business Enterprise Program attached. Fulton County Government is a sub-recipient of federal funds from the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and has an established Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) Program and, therefore, 49CFR§26.39, Fostering Small Business Participation, requires the County to include an element to structure contracting requirements to facilitate competition by small business concerns, taking all reasonable steps to eliminate obstacles to their participation, including unnecessary and unjustified bundling of contract requirements that may preclude small business participation in procurements as prime contractors or sub-contractors. The reauthorization of the County’s SBE program with the suggested amendments will enable the County to continue “to promote commerce by assisting SBEs to actively participate in the county's procurement process” as set forth in Fulton County Code § 102-447.