Mayor Lovely A. Warren introduced legislation to City Council that would increase MWBE (Minority and Women Business Enterprise) participation goals to keep pace with demographic and business trends. The new goals align with Mayor Warren’s efforts to increase community wealth and close wage gaps.

“It was clearly time to update our MWBE and workforce participation goals,” Mayor Warren said. “Ensuring that our residents have access to good jobs, safe and vibrant neighborhoods and better educational opportunities remains an important priority. This legislation will help us move forward with these goals.”

The City’s legislation proposes setting a goal that MWBEs receive 30 percent of the City’s total annual awards for City-funded public works projects and professional services consulting contracts effective the next fiscal year, which starts July 1, 2018.

MWBE goals would be set for City contracts covering goods and services starting at 10 percent effective July 1, 2018 and increasing to 30 percent by July 1, 2020. The legislation also establishes that the City’s MWBE goals will mirror the MWBE goals set by New York State’s MWBE program.

The legislation also establishes minority workforce participation goals at 20 percent minority and 6.9 percent female for public works and professional services consulting contracts.

The City has successfully incorporated minority workforce participation goals into large public works projects covered by Project Labor Agreements for the Port Project (Phases 1, 2), the Midtown Redevelopment Project (Phases 1, 2, 3 and 4) and the Inner Loop project. In addition, the Rochester School Modernization Program (RSMP) incorporates minority workforce participation goals into all its projects.