Athens-Clarke County Commissioners could take a major step forward tonight in changing the county’s procurement practices. Some Commissioners want to change how the county spends money to make sure that more county spending is directed towards minority-owned businesses with a goal of creating more minority wealth in ACC.
That step requires more than just a Commission vote or a change in policy, however.
The county’s current race-neutral approach to contracting and procurement wouldn’t go away. Instead, the Commission’s Government Operations Committee recommended last year the creation of a parallel race specific approach. But, before that can happen, the county has to be able to prove a history of past disparities in procurement, and that proof has to be legally defensible.
In this year’s budget, Commissioners approved an expenditure of $400,000 to fund a disparity study to look at the number of minority owned business in the county and how many contracts have been awarded to those businesses historically. If the study finds any disparities, the county may be able to develop new policies that address them.
On Tuesday, Commissioners will vote on whether to award the contract for the disparity study to MGT Consulting, the firm recommended by county staff after the bidding process was completed. The study is expected to take up to one year to complete.
Commissioners will also be looking at another piece of equity-related policy at Tuesday’s meeting – the creation of a Human Relations Commission to make policy recommendations to the Commission and to help ACC residents navigate the county’s non-discrimination ordinance. The Commission's Legislative Review Committee has a draft ordinance for their colleagues to discuss at the meeting, but the committee is hoping to push a final vote to next month in order to allow more time for public input.
The Commission’s voting meeting starts at 6pm and will be streamed live on the county’s YouTube channel.
