* This transcript was created by voice-to-text technology. The transcript has not been edited for errors or omissions, it is for reference only and is not the official minutes of the meeting.
          [00:03:16]
          ROLL CALL. 
          COMMISSIONER GILL. 
          ABSENT. 
          COMMISSIONER LUCIANO. 
          ABSENT. 
          COMMISSIONER MERCADO. 
          HERE. 
          COMMISSIONER MURRAY THOMAS. 
          PRESENT. 
          COMMISSIONER RICHARDSON. 
          HERE. 
          COMMISSIONER SIEBOLD. 
          ABSENT. 
          COMMISSIONER SERMONS. 
          ABSENT. 
          COMMISSIONER, VICE PRESIDENT COOPER. 
          ABSENT. 
          COMMISSIONER, PRESIDENT POIS. 
          ABSENT. 
          I HAVE BEFORE ME CERTIFICATION FROM THE CLERK THAT THIS MEETING IS IN COMPLIANCE WITH THE OPEN PUBLIC MEETINGS ACT. 
          WE HAVE FROM THE ADMINISTRATION, WE HAVE MR. JACKSON, WE HAVE DIRECTOR BURGESS. 
          AND YOU'RE NOT FROM THE ADMINISTRATION, SO I'M NOT GOING TO COUNT YOU IN FROM THE ADMINISTRATION. 
          . 
          AND WE HAVE THE MS. MITCHELL. 
          YES, CORRECT. 
          MS. MITCHELL, WHO ACTUALLY DID THE DISPARITY STUDY. 
          AND I SEE JAY CORY HIDING IN THE BACK. 
          . 
          LET'S GET STARTED. 
          THANK YOU. 
          UM, MR. JACKSON? THANK YOU, MR. CHAIRMAN AND, UH, MEMBERS OF THE BOARD. 
          UM, HAPPY TO BE HERE THIS EVENING. 
          I'M GLAD TO REPORT THAT WE WERE ABLE TO FINALLY PRESENT THE, UH, DISPARITY STUDY. 
          UH, LONG TIME COMING, THE COVID AND OTHER ISSUES, UH, BLOCKED US ALONG THE WAY, BUT WE'RE HERE AND HAPPY ABOUT THAT. 
          AND, UH, I'M GONNA INTRODUCE OUR, UH, DIRECTOR, DIRECTOR RENEE BURGESS, WHO WILL, UH, TAKE THE, UH, PROGRAM FROM HERE. 
          GREAT. 
          THANK YOU SO MUCH. 
          GOOD AFTERNOON, COMMISSIONERS AND ADMINISTRATION. 
          AGAIN, I AM RENEE BURGES, THE DIRECTOR OF SMALL BUSINESS, AND I WANNA WELCOME YOU AND INTRODUCE TO YOU THE MGT CONSULTING CONSULTANT. 
          UM, HER NAME AS COMMISSIONER 
          [00:05:01]
SAID IS VENETTA MITCHELL. 
          SHE IS THE PROJECT MANAGER OF MGT. 
          AND SHE WILL, UM, I'M SORRY. 
          THANK YOU. 
          AND SHE WILL BE PROCEEDING WITH THE REPORT TODAY. 
          THANK YOU. 
          IS IT ON? OKAY. 
          WELL, GOOD EVENING EVERYONE. 
          THANK YOU AGAIN. 
          VENETTA MITCHELL, DIRECTOR WITH MGT. 
          AND, UM, WE ARE VERY, VERY EXCITED TO BE HERE. 
          UM, OVER THE LAST, UH, COUPLE OF YEARS THAT WE HAVE CONDUCTED THIS STUDY, WE'VE GOTTEN TO KNOW THE TEAM WOULD NOT BE WHERE WE ARE WITHOUT, UM, MR. JACKSON, MR. HUNT, AND MANY OTHERS. 
          AND THEN WHEN MS. BURGESS CAME ON BOARD, SHE JUMPED RIGHT IN. 
          UM, BUT JUST REALLY UNDERSTANDING THE, THE TRUE DEPTH OF WHAT THIS STUDY WILL TELL YOU, AND WORKING WITH THEM TO COLLECT THE DATA, UH, NECESSARY TO GIVE YOU A ROBUST STUDY. 
          SO WHAT I'D LIKE TO DO TODAY IS JUST WALK YOU THROUGH, UH, A FEW INTRODUCTORY SLIDES, AND THEN I WANT TO JUMP RIGHT INTO THE FINDINGS. 
          UM, TAKE SOME TIME TO, AND IT IS REALLY UP TO YOU WHETHER YOU WANT TO ASK QUESTIONS IN BETWEEN OR WAIT TILL THE END. 
          I'LL TAKE YOUR LEAD ON THAT. 
          UM, BUT REALLY WANT TO IN HAVE A IN-DEPTH, UH, CONVERSATION AND INTRODUCTION TO YOUR FINDINGS, HOW WE CAME ABOUT THOSE FINDINGS SO THAT YOU HAVE A BETTER UNDERSTANDING OF HOW TO UTILIZE THIS STUDY MOVING FORWARD. 
          OKAY. 
          SO, VERY QUICKLY ABOUT MGT. 
          UM, WE ARE A NATIONAL MANAGEMENT RESEARCH CONSULTING FIRM. 
          WE ACTUALLY WILL CELEBRATE 50 YEARS IN BUSINESS, UH, NEXT IN 2025. 
          SO WE'RE VERY EXCITED ABOUT THAT. 
          THE DISPARITIES THEME, THE DISPARITY TEAM THAT, UM, MGT, WE HAVE BEEN CONDUCTING DISPARITY STUDIES SINCE 1990, IMMEDIATELY AFTER THE 1989 CROWSON V RICHMOND SUPREME COURT CASE THAT REALLY LAID THE FOUNDATION FOR WHY A PUBLIC ENTITY MUST CONDUCT DISPARITY STUDIES. 
          AND, AND OVER THE YEARS, VARIOUS COURT CASES KIND OF DEFINE THE METHODOLOGY AS WE GO THROUGH THOSE. 
          SO, THUS FAR, WE'VE COMPLETED ALMOST 260. 
          LAST COUNT WAS LIKE 260 DISPARITY STUDIES ACROSS THE COUNTRY. 
          UM, THE LEADERS, THE LEADERSHIP TEAM FOR THIS STUDY WAS ANDREAS BERNAL. 
          UM, HE LED THE METHODOLOGY, SO HE REALLY DELVES INTO PASSPORT DECISIONS, MAKING SURE THAT THE METHODOLOGY, UM, CONFORMS TO THE DECISIONS THAT HAVE BEEN MADE OVER THE YEARS FOR THESE STUDIES. 
          HE ALSO REVIEWED THE LEGAL FRAMEWORK, WHICH IS ALSO A PART OF YOUR REPORT TO TALK ABOUT THOSE CASES AND REALLY HOW THEY DEFINE HOW STUDIES ARE CONDUCTED AND THE USE OF THOSE STUDIES BY PUBLIC AGENCIES. 
          AND THEN MYSELF THERE, UM, AS THE PROJECT DIRECTOR ALSO RESPONSIBLE FOR MANAGING THE TEAM, WE HAVE A TEAM OF RESEARCHERS THAT WORKED WITH US, MANAGING THE SUB CONSULTANTS THAT WORKED WITH US, AS WELL AS, UM, THE REPORT WRITING AND DRAFTING OF THE REPORT AS WELL. 
          UM, OUR LOCAL MWBE PARTNER WAS MICHELLE MCKENNA. 
          UM, WE HAD THE PLEASURE OF WORKING WITH MICHELLE ON, ON A COUPLE DIFFERENT PROJECTS. 
          SO WE FELT VERY CONFIDENT IN HER ABILITY TO, ONCE AGAIN DO A VERY, VERY GOOD JOB OF CONDUCTING THE ANECDOTAL OR THE QUALITATIVE DATA RESEARCH. 
          UM, SHE IS NEW JERSEY BASED, AND SO WE WERE VERY EXCITED TO, UM, WORK WITH MICHELLE AGAIN. 
          AND THOSE ARE THE PROJECTS THAT SHE HAS WORKED ON WITH US BEFORE IN THIS AREA. 
          OKAY. 
          SO BEFORE WE GET INTO THE ACTUAL STUDY RESULTS, I JUST WANT TO LAY A, A, A FOUNDATION OF WHAT WE'RE, WE'RE ABOUT TO EMBARK UPON. 
          DISPARITY STUDIES HAVE THREE PRIMARY PILLARS, QUANTITATIVE, WHICH IS ALL OF YOUR DATA, AND WE'LL TALK MORE ABOUT THAT, THE QUALITATIVE PILLAR OF WHAT YOUR BUSINESSES ARE ENCOUNTERING IN THE MARKETPLACE. 
          AND THEN THE PRIVATE SECTOR DATA, WHAT'S HAPPENING IN THE PRIVATE SECTOR IN WHICH THE COUNTY IS A MEMBER OR CONDUCTS BUSINESS IN THAT PRIVATE SECTOR. 
          THOSE THREE PILLARS REALLY COINCIDE WITH EACH OTHER AND WORK TOGETHER TO TELL A STORY ABOUT WHAT IS REALLY HAPPENING IN YOUR MARKETPLACE. 
          AND YOU REALLY HAVE TO HAVE, UM, A, A VERY GOOD BASIS OF EVIDENCE OF DISPARITY OR, AND OR DISCRIMINATION OR, AND DISCRIMINATION IN THE THREE AREAS TO REALLY HAVE A SUSTAINABLE, UM, RECOMMENDATION OF HOW TO MOVE FORWARD WITH YOUR, YOUR PROGRAM. 
          SO WE'RE GONNA, IF, IF, IF I MAY, I'M SORRY. 
          SURE. 
          JUST WANNA RECOGNIZE COMMISSIONER SER JOINS. 
          PLEASE CONTINUE. 
          I'M SORRY. 
          OKAY. 
          THAT'S ALL RIGHT. 
          AND SO WHAT WE'LL START WITH IS QUANTITATIVE, AND THEN WE'LL START MOVING INTO THE OTHER THREE, THE OTHER TWO PILLARS, THE RELEVANT MARKET AREA. 
          SO AS A FOUNDATION FOR THE STUDY, WE REVIEWED AND ANALYZED DATA 
          [00:10:01]
FROM THE COUNTY, UM, THE PROCUREMENT DATA FROM THE COUNTY BETWEEN JANUARY 1ST, 2016 TO JUNE 30TH, 2021. 
          THAT IS OUR FOOTPRINT IN TIME. 
          THAT'S OUR, OUR STUDY PERIOD THAT WE ANALYZE THAT DATA. 
          WE LOOKED AT ALL YOUR SPEND CATEGORIES, CONSTRUCTION, PROFESSIONAL SERVICES, NON-PROFESSIONAL SERVICES, GOODS AND SERVICES. 
          AND IN OUR, IN UNDERSTANDING WHAT YOUR SPEND IS, WE ALSO, YOU KNOW, BROKE THAT SPEND OUT BY THOSE CATEGORIES. 
          AND THEN FURTHER DEFINE THAT, THOSE, UM, THAT SPEND BY MINORITY WOMEN OWNED BUSINESSES, WHICH WE'LL TALK ABOUT IN A SECOND. 
          SO AFTER WE RECEIVE THAT DATA, UM, WHAT WE CALL PREPARED THAT DATA FOR AN ANALYSIS, $889 MILLION IS OUR, OUR POOL OF SPEND FOR THAT STUDY PERIOD. 
          NOW, AGAIN, THINKING ABOUT THAT STUDY PERIOD, THAT IS THE SPEND FOR THE COUNTY BETWEEN THAT TIME PERIOD. 
          SO THE RELEVANT MARKET AREA IS IMPORTANT, AND THAT ACCOUNTS FOR 74.33% OF YOUR TOTAL SPEND. 
          SO WHY IS THE MARKET AREA IMPORTANT? ANY RACE AND GENDER BASED PROGRAM THAT YOU'RE GOING TO MOVE FORWARD WITH AS A RESULT OF THIS STUDY IS DEFINED BY YOUR MARKET AREA. 
          THE MARKET AREA IS DEFINED BY THE LOCATION OF BUSINESSES THAT YOU HAVE DONE BUSINESS WITH, THAT HAS A GEOGRAPHIC LOCATION WITH THE COUNTY BEING THE CENTER OF THAT. 
          SO WHEN YOU CONDUCT YOUR OUTREACH FOR, UM, YOUR, YOUR FUTURE PROGRAM, YOUR S-B-E-M-W-B-E PROGRAM, THESE COUNTIES, AND THIS RELEVANT GEOGRAPHIC MARKET AREA IS WHERE YOU'RE GOING TO FOCUS YOUR OUTREACH EFFORTS AS WELL AS YOUR INCLUSION OF FIRMS IN YOUR PROCUREMENT, EXCUSE ME, MWBE, UH, UTILIZATION. 
          SO AGAIN, WE ANALYZE ALL SPEND. 
          UM, THE MWBE UTILIZATION ACROSS THE BOARD WAS $93 MILLION. 
          AND WHAT THAT EQUATED TO IS 10 PER 10.5, OR ALMOST 11% MWBE UTILIZATION IN THAT SPECIFIC TIME PERIOD FROM 19 TO 21, EXCUSE ME, FROM 16 TO 21, THE HIGHEST UTILIZATION, UH, RATE WAS WITH NON-MINORITY FEMALES, UM, AT 6.91%, UM, FOLLOWED BY ASIAN AMERICAN OWNED FIRMS AT 2.94, UH, PERCENT UTILIZATION IN THAT STUDY PERIOD WITHIN THAT $889 MILLION AVAILABILITY. 
          UM, AVAILABILITY ESTIMATES WERE CALCULATED ON, ON A COUPLE DIFFERENT THINGS. 
          SO DISPARITY STUDIES ARE BASED ON BUSINESSES WITHIN YOUR RELEVANT GEOGRAPHIC MARKET AREA. 
          UM, NOT YOUR POPULATION SIZE OR ANYTHING LIKE THAT, BUT THE BUSINESSES THAT ARE LOCATED, AND EVEN MORE IMPORTANTLY, WHAT BUSINESSES THAT PROVIDE THE TYPES OF GOODS AND SERVICES YOU PROCURE. 
          SO AS WE WERE PREPARING THE UTILIZATION DATA, UM, FROM THE COUNTY'S DATA, THAT STUDY PERIOD, EVERY LINE ITEM, EVERY PURCHASE RECEIVED AN N-A-I-C-S CODE, WHICH REALLY TELLS EXACTLY WHAT YOU PURCHASED. 
          AND SO THE AVAILABILITY IS MATCHED. 
          THE N-A-I-C-S CODES ARE MATCHED TO YOUR UTILIZATION. 
          SO THIS IS A APPLES TO APPLES COMPARISON OF WHAT EXACTLY DID WE BUY. 
          AND THEN HERE ARE THE FIRMS IN YOUR MARKETPLACE THAT SELL THAT SPECIFIC TYPES OF GOODS AND SERVICES. 
          AND SO THIS AVAILABILITY ESTIMATE AND MIGHT BE A LITTLE BIT HARD TO SEE, UM, ON THE, ON THE SCREEN THERE, BUT YOUR GREEN, UM, YOUR AFRICAN AMERICAN OWNED FIRMS IN TOTAL ARE THE AVAILABILITY NUMBERS AT 4.37. 
          UM, THE NEXT BAR IS ASIAN AMERICANS. 
          IT IS AT 3.36. 
          YOUR NEXT BAR IS, UH, HISPANIC AMERICANS AT 7.41. 
          AND THIS IS YOUR TOTAL PERCENTAGE OF AVAILABILITY. 
          THE NATIVE AMERICAN, UH, BAR IS AT ZERO. 
          UH, YOU KNOW THAT THAT IS SOMETHING THAT WE'RE BEGINNING TO SEE. 
          WELL, WE HAVE SEEN FOR SOME TIME NOW A VERY LOW AVAILABILITY, UH, AND UTILIZATION OF NATIVE AMERICAN OWNED FIRMS. AND THEN THE LAST BAR IS THE NON-MINORITY FEMALE, UH, AVAILABILITY NUMBERS AT 16.53. 
          SO THOSE ARE YOUR AVAILABILITY ESTIMATES IN YOUR RELEVANT MARKET AREA IN TOTAL, 31, ALMOST 32% OF AVAILABILITY OF FIRMS, UM, IN THAT, IN THAT RELEVANT GEOGRAPHIC MARKET AREA OF THAT CHART WE SAW EARLIER. 
          OKAY. 
          ALRIGHT. 
          SO HERE'S WHAT EVERYONE'S BEEN WAITING FOR, . 
          THIS IS DISPARITY RESULTS. 
          UM, DISPARITY INDEX IS A SIMPLE CALCULATION OF THE PERCENTAGE OF MWBE UTILIZATION DIVIDED 
          [00:15:01]
BY THE PERCENTAGE OF MWBE AVAILABILITY TIMES 100. 
          AND IT'S A, IT'S A RATIO, IT'S AN INDEX. 
          IF THAT INDEX IS BETWEEN ZERO TO 80, THAT'S SUBSTANTIAL DISPARITY. 
          IF THAT INDEX IS 81 TO 99, THERE IS DISPARITY. 
          THE QUESTION LATER IS GOING TO BE WHETHER IT'S STATISTICALLY SIGNIFICANT, MEANING THAT IN SOME CASES, UM, WHAT WE HAVE CONSISTENTLY SEE THAT IF THAT RATIO IS BETWEEN 81 TO 99, IS THAT YOUR, YOUR PROGRAM IS GETTING A LITTLE BIT CLOSER TO THAT AVAIL AVAILABILITY WHERE IT'S PARODY IN THE UTILIZATION. 
          AND SOMETIMES THAT IS BECAUSE YOU HAVE FIRMS THAT ARE CONSISTENTLY BEING UTILIZED OVER AND OVER, UM, THAT IS DRIVING THE UTILIZATION NUMBERS OF MWBE FIRMS. BUT THERE, YOU KNOW, YOU CAN TAKE A DEEPER DIVE INTO THAT. 
          IF IT'S 100 IT'S PARODY, AND IF IT'S OVER 100, IT'S OVER UTILIZATION. 
          SO INSTEAD OF PUTTING ALL OF THOSE NUMBERS HERE, WHAT WE'VE, UM, DISPLAYED IS THE DISPARITY. 
          AND YOU'LL SEE THE ASTERISK BEHIND EACH, BECAUSE WE ALSO DO STATISTICAL SIGNIFICANT TESTING, UH, MAKING SURE THAT THE DISPARITY IS NOT RANDOM. 
          UM, AND IT'S NOT BY CHANCE THAT THERE IS DISPARITY IN THIS. 
          AND SO THAT STATISTICAL SIGNIFICANCE IS REALLY IMPORTANT AS WELL. 
          UM, BECAUSE IT REMOVES ANY, UM, UM, IT REMOVES ANY, UH, DOUBT OF WHETHER OR NOT THE DISPARITY IS, IS SIGNIFICANT. 
          SO YOU'LL SEE THERE'S, IF YOU LOOK IN THAT VERY FIRST COLUMN OF ALL, THIS IS ALL OF YOUR FOUR CATEGORIES, CONSTRUCTION, PROFESSIONAL SERVICES, NON-PROFESSIONAL GOODS AND SERVICES, THERE IS STATISTICAL SIGNIFICANCE IN DISPARITY FOR AFRICAN AMERICANS, UM, HISPANIC AMERICANS, AND, UH, TOTAL MMBE FIRMS FOR NON-MINORITY FEMALES. 
          AND THEN OVERALL, FOR ALL OF THE BUSINESS OWNERSHIP CLASSIFICATIONS OF MINORITY AND WOMEN, THEIR STATISTICAL SIGNIFICANT DISPARITY THERE. 
          AND THEN THE OTHER COLUMNS JUST KIND OF BREAK DOWN THAT DISPARITY BY THE VARIOUS CATEGORIES, WHICH ARE, WHICH ARE ALSO IMPORTANT IN MOVING FORWARD WITH YOUR PROGRAM. 
          UM, WHERE DOES YOUR DISPARITY EXIST? EXCUSE ME? WOULD YOU MIND REITERATING, AND I BELIEVE YOU SAID, I JUST WANNA MAKE SURE I, I'M CLEAR MM-HMM . 
          THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN DISPARITY AS INDICATED BY THREE ASTERISK, TWO ASTERISK MM-HMM . 
          AND THEN THOSE THAT ARE UN BOLDED. 
          MM-HMM . 
          ABSOLUTELY. 
          SO THOSE THAT ARE UN BOLDED MEANS THAT IT, THE RATIO IS BETWEEN 81 AND 99, AND IT'S NOT STATISTICALLY SIGNIFICANT. 
          SO THERE, THERE, THE, UM, THE DISPARITY IS NOT, UH, UM, LEMME GET MY THOUGHTS TOGETHER HERE. 
          SO THERE'S, IT IS NOT STATISTICALLY SIGNIFICANT. 
          THAT'S ALL I NEED TO SAY THERE. 
          OKAY. 
          SO THE LEVEL OF STATISTICAL SIGNIFICANCE IS DEPENDENT ON WHETHER IT'S ONE, TWO, OR THREE AFTER. 
          GOTCHA. 
          IF IT'S THREE, THAT'S AT A 95% CONFIDENCE LEVEL, RIGHT? SO WE, WE DO A T TEST, WE LOOK FOR TWO, WE TEST ON TWO, UM, CONFIDENCE LEVELS, AND THEN THAT ONE WILL TELL YOU IF IT'S THREE, IT IS A 95% CLASS. 
          SO WE'RE 95% CONFIDENT THAT THERE IS SUBSTANTIAL DISPARITY IN THERE. 
          MM-HMM . 
          STATISTICALLY SIGNIFICANT. 
          MM-HMM . 
          DISPARITY. 
          THANK YOU. 
          OKAY. 
          UM, SO WE'VE TALKED ABOUT QUANTITATIVE AS ONE OF THOSE PILLARS. 
          PRIVATE SECTOR IS THE NEXT PILLAR THAT WE'LL WE WILL, UM, PRESENT TO YOU TODAY. 
          SO THERE'S THREE DATA SOURCES THAT WE UTILIZE. 
          AND THE, THE IMPORTANCE OF THE PRIVATE SECTOR, AGAIN, IS WHAT IS THE BEHAVIOR, UM, AND WHAT IS THE, UM, OPPORTUNITY FOR MINORITY WOMEN-OWNED BUSINESSES TO GENERATE REVENUE AND BE SELF-EMPLOYED IN THE PRIVATE SECTOR. 
          AND SO THIS IS IMPORTANT BECAUSE YOU, AS A MEMBER OF THAT PRIVATE SECTOR IN THE MARKETPLACE THAT YOU WORK, UH, THE COURSE HAVE BEEN VERY CLEAR THAT PUBLIC AGENCIES SHOULD NOT TURN A BLIND EYE TO DISCRIMINATION OR DISPARITY THAT'S HAPPENING IN THE PRIVATE MARKET, RIGHT? AND SO THE PRIVATE SECTOR ANALYSIS CAN LEND, UH, CREDENCE TO ACTUALLY HAVING, UH, IMPLEMENTATION OF MWVE OR RACE AND GENDER NEUTRAL, EXCUSE ME, RACE AND GENDER BASED PROGRAM INITIATIVES, EVEN THOUGH YOU MAY NOT HAVE DISPARITY IN ALL CATEGORIES, RIGHT? SO, OR SIGNIFICANT STATISTICALLY SIGNIFICANT DISPARITY IN ALL CATEGORIES, BECAUSE ALL THREE OF THESE PILLARS REALLY PLAY OFF OF EACH OTHER. 
          SO THE FIRST, THE FIRST BULLET IS THE, THE 2012 SURVEY OF BUSINESS OWNERS. 
          AND THE 2017, UM, AMERICAN BUSINESS SURVEY INDICATES THAT THERE'S SUBSTANTIAL DISPARITIES FOR MOST MWBE FIRMS ACROSS THE ALL FOUR SECTORS. 
          SO THE APPLES TO APPLES COMPARISON IN THE PRIVATE SECTOR IS ONE, THEY UTILIZE THE N-A-I-C-S CODES, WHICH WE TALKED ABOUT IN YOUR UTILIZATION 
          [00:20:01]
AND YOUR AVAILABILITY. 
          SO IT IS ALSO UTILIZED IN THE PRIVATE SECTOR. 
          AND TWO, THOSE N-A-I-C-S CODES ALLOW US TO PUT THOSE BUSINESSES OR THESE ANALYSIS IN THE VARIOUS CATEGORIES, CONSTRUCTION, PROFESSIONAL SERVICES, NON-PROFESSIONAL SERVICES, GOODS AND SERVICES. 
          SO THERE'S, AGAIN, ACROSS THE BOARD, APPLES TO APPLES COMPARISON. 
          THE ANALYSIS INDICATES THAT IF YOU HOLD ALL THINGS CONSTANT, UM, ALL FACTORS, RACE, ETHNICITY, NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES, EDUCATION, ET CETERA, MWBE FIRMS HAVE A LOWER LEVEL OF SELF-EMPLOYMENT, UM, IN, IN THE MARKETPLACE. 
          AND THAT'S THE FINDINGS FROM THE, THE 2016 TO 2020, WHICH IS IN YOUR STUDY PERIOD, PUBLIC USE, MICRO DATA SAMPLE THAT WE PULL FROM THE CENSUS DATA. 
          SO MINORITY AND WOMEN OWNED WAGES ARE SIGNIFICANTLY LESS THAN THOSE OF NON-MINORITY MALES. 
          UM, HOLDING ALL VARIABLES CONSIST CONSTANT, EXCUSE ME. 
          UH, MWVE FIRMS WERE SIGNIFICANTLY LESS LIKELY TO BE SELF-EMPLOYED THAN NON-MINORITY MALES IF THERE WERE SELF-EMPLOYED. 
          MOST MWBE FIRMS ARE SIGNIFICANTLY LESS THAN SELF-EMPLOYED, NON-MINORITY MALES, AGAIN, HOLDING ALL OTHER VARIABLES CONSTANT AND ANALYSIS. 
          UM, WE OBSERVED THE OBSERVED VERSUS PREDICTED SELF-EMPLOYMENT RATES IN THE MARKET. 
          UH, MARKETPLACE DISCRIMINATION IMPACTED THESE RATES. 
          UH, AND SO AGAIN, LOOKING TO SEE WHAT IS CREATING THAT BARRIER TO NOT MINORITY WOMEN OWNED FIRMS ON BEING SELF-EMPLOYED AND EARNING, UM, EQUAL WAGES TO NON-MINORITY FIRMS. WE ALSO DID AN ANALYSIS OF ACCESS TO CREDIT, INDICATES THAT MINORITY OF FEMALES, UH, TEND TO RECEIVE LESS THAN WHAT THEY'VE REQUESTED IN THE AMOUNT OF CREDIT, UH, WHEN THEY'RE APPROVED, UH, COMPARED TO NON-MINORITY MEN. 
          AND THEY'RE ALSO APPROVED FOR LESS CREDIT, FREQUENTLY MORE, LESS FREQUENTLY APPROVED FOR CREDIT, LESS FREQUENTLY THAN NON-MINORITY MALES. 
          ALL RIGHT? AND SO THE THIRD PILLAR, QUALITATIVE, UM, ANECDOTAL ANALYSIS. 
          SO IN CONDUCTING THE QUALITATIVE DATA COLLECTION FOR THE STUDY, UH, THERE WERE SEVERAL ACTIVITIES THAT WE, UH, CONDUCTED IN THE MARKETPLACE. 
          UH, IN-DEPTH INTERVIEWS WITH BUSINESS OWNERS, WE CONTACTED BUSINESS OWNERS AND THOSE THAT AGREED TO ACTUALLY HAVE INTERVIEWS, WE SPOKE WITH THEM ABOUT, UM, WHETHER OR NOT RACE, ETHNICITY AND GENDER CREATED A HINDRANCE THEM, THEM BEING ABLE TO DO BUSINESS IN YOUR MARKETPLACE WITH THE COUNTY AND IN THE PRIVATE SECTOR AS WELL. 
          WE CONDUCTED SURVEYS. 
          UH, WE ALSO HELD INTERVIEWS OR DISCUSSIONS WE LIKE TO CALL THEM, WITH PROFESSIONAL ORGANIZATIONS THAT SUPPORT BUSINESSES IN YOUR MARKETPLACE TO HEAR FROM THEM ALSO, WHETHER OR NOT THEIR, THEIR MEMBERS OR THEIR CONSTITUENTS ARE DISCUSSING SOME OF THESE ISSUES THAT THEY'RE HAVING IN DOING BUSINESS, AND WHETHER DISCRIMINATION IS THE CAUSE OF THAT. 
          SO WE DID THOSE, UH, AS WELL. 
          UM, MULTIPLE WAYS OF, UH, CONTACTING FIRMS FROM EMAIL BLAST. 
          THE COUNTY HELPED US ALSO WITH EMAIL BLAST, PHONE CALLS, ET CETERA. 
          SO USING THOSE MULTIPLE METHODS, UM, AND CONTACTING FIRMS, UH, WITHIN YOUR RELEVANT GEOGRAPHIC MARKET. 
          AND, AND THAT'S, AGAIN, WITH AVAILABILITY. 
          QUALITATIVE WAS ALSO BASED ON YOUR RELEVANT GEOGRAPHIC MARKET AREA AS WELL, BECAUSE THOSE ARE THE FIRMS YOU'RE GOING TO BE REACHING OUT TO IN ANY FUTURE PROGRAMS. UM, WE REACHED A BROAD DIVERSE BUSINESSES IN THE INDUSTRY. 
          UM, THERE WAS A CONSENSUS FROM FIRMS THAT THEY DID NOT NECESSARILY FEEL DISCRIMINATED AGAINST WHEN TRYING TO DO BUSINESS WITH THE COUNTY. 
          UM, THE DATA REVEALED THAT MINORITY FIRMS DID FEEL THAT OTHER BARRIERS KEPT THEM FROM DOING BUSINESS, UH, WITH ACCOUNTING. 
          AND SOME OF THOSE OTHER BARRIERS WERE ACCESS TO CAPITAL, UM, INFORMAL NETWORKS, UM, BIASES EXPERIENCED IN MARKETPLACE. 
          AND, UH, BUT THEY, THEY HAVE AN IMPACT OF DOING BUSINESS, UM, TO, TO COUNTY CONTRACTS. 
          THE ANECDOTES FROM THIS, UH, POPULATION OF BUSINESSES, UM, CAN PROVIDE A FOOTPRINT OF POLICIES AND PROCEDURES, UH, THAT CAN MEET THE NEED OF THE BUSINESSES IN THE MARKETPLACE. 
          OKAY. 
          ALL RIGHT. 
          SO, ASPIRATIONAL GOALS. 
          UH, ONE OF THE, UH, ADDITIONAL TASKS THAT WE PERFORMED IS CALCULATING WHAT IS A REASONABLE ASPIRATIONAL GOAL THAT THE COUNTY CAN SEEK TO ACHIEVE BASED ON YOUR PAST UTILIZATION AND BASED ON AVAILABILITY OF FIRMS IN YOUR MARKETPLACE. 
          AND SO IT, IT, IT IS A FORMULA. 
          IT'S, IT'S A, A FORMULA. 
          AND IT'S ALSO A, UH, 
          [00:25:01]
A LITTLE BIT OF MASSAGING HERE AND THERE BECAUSE YOU REALLY HAVE TO WEIGH WHAT YOUR UTILIZATION LOOKED LIKE IN THAT STUDY PERIOD THAT WE TALKED ABOUT. 
          AND SO WE CALCULATED THESE GOALS, UM, UTILIZING THAT UTILIZATION AND AVAILABILITY. 
          M-B-E-W-B-E, UH, WE BROKE IT OUT BETWEEN THE TWO CATEGORIES, 20% FOR EACH OF THOSE BUSINESS OWNERSHIP CLASSIFICATIONS. 
          UH, 20% FOR PROFESSIONAL SERVICES IF EACH MBE AND WBE NON-PROFESSIONAL SERVICES. 
          15, UM, AND 15 AND GOODS AND SERVICES. 
          UM, 15 AND 15. 
          SO CURRENTLY THE COUNTY, UH, WE, WE HAD A LONG CONVERSATION ABOUT THIS AND WE KNEW THIS WAS GONNA BE A TOPIC OF CONVERSATION, SO WE WANTED TO BE PREPARED. 
          CURRENTLY, THE COUNTY HAS, UH, THE GOALS OF CONSTRUCTION AT 30 MBE, UH, 25, UM, SORRY, 30 FOR MBE 25 FOR WPE AND 15 FOR VETERAN-OWNED BUSINESSES. 
          YOU DO NOT SEE A LOT OF CONVERSATION IN HERE ABOUT VETERAN-OWNED BUSINESSES BECAUSE IT IS A RACE AND GENDER NEUTRAL ELEMENT TO YOUR PROGRAM. 
          AND YOU DO NOT HAVE TO HAVE A STUDY TO IMPLEMENT THAT TYPE OF PROGRAM INTO YOUR, UM, INTO YOUR POLICIES AND PROCEDURES. 
          UM, AND SO THEN YOU SEE THE OTHER GOALS THAT THE COUNTY, COUNTY CURRENTLY HAS, UM, BASED ON YOUR ORDINANCE, UH, IN 2020, WHICH SOME OF THESE ARE, ARE VERY DIFFERENT, UM, THAN WHAT YOUR PREVIOUS GOALS WERE. 
          UM, BUT AGAIN, CALCULATING THE GOALS BASED ON UTILIZATION FOR THE STUDY PERIOD AND AVAILABILITY OF FIRMS IN THE MARKETPLACE THAT PROVIDE THOSE SERVICES, UM, ARE THE ASPIRATIONAL GOALS THAT WE'RE RECOMMENDING. 
          QUESTION. 
          YES. 
          SO WITH THESE ASPIRATIONAL GOALS, WHO'S GOING TO, WHO'S GOING TO BE THE COMPLIANT OFFICER? WHO'S GOING TO MAKE SURE THAT THESE THINGS ACTUALLY HAPPEN? I MEAN, DID YOU DISCUSS THAT AS WELL? WHO WOULD BE RESPONSIBLE FOR ENSURING THAT YOU GET TO THE 30% OR THAT WE EVEN GET TO THE 20%? 20%. 
          UH, SO WE'VE HAD LONG CONVERSATIONS ABOUT THIS, AND, AND I'LL LET DIRECTOR BURGESS TALK ABOUT THAT BECAUSE IT'S, THE COUNTY WILL NOW MOVE FORWARD WITH SOME SORT OF, MAYBE SOME SORT OF POLICIES AND PROCEDURES. 
          I CAN'T SPEAK ON BEHALF OF MR. JACKSON, MS. BURGESS, OF WHAT THE PLANS ARE. 
          THAT QUESTION REALLY WASN'T FOR YOU ANYWAY. 
          I KNOW. 
          THANK YOU. 
          . 
          I'M GONNA TURN IT OVER. 
          I CAN YOU THE MIC A LITTLE BIT? I'M JUST TRYING TO, HUH? IS IT ON TESTING, TESTING? I DON'T THINK THEY'RE ON, 'CAUSE I PUSHED OUT. 
          IT'S NOT ON, BUT I CAN SPEAK LOUD. 
          YOU CAN SPEAK INTO IT. 
          YOU SPEAK INTO IT SINCE. 
          OKAY. 
          ALRIGHT. 
          HERE WE GO. 
          THANK YOU. 
          SO, VERY GOOD QUESTION. 
          AND SINCE I'VE BEEN IN THIS DEPARTMENT, UM, I FOUND IT VERY NECESSARY TO WORK WITH, UM, THE DIRECTOR IN PROCUREMENT, RIGHT? AND WHAT WE ARE DOING NOW IS BASICALLY WHAT, HOW TO DO BUSINESS WITH ESSEX COUNTY. 
          AND THAT'S WHAT I SURROUNDED MY GOALS. 
          SOME OF THE INITIATIVES I HAVE TAKEN SINCE I'VE BEEN IN A DEPARTMENT HAVE BEEN UPDATING A LOT OF INFORMATION THAT WILL HELP US SPEAK MORE TO THE VENDORS THAT ARE HAVING COMPLICATIONS AND PROBLEMS, SUCH AS, FOR INSTANCE, WE GAVE A, UM, WE HOSTED ON OCTOBER 8TH, A COFFEE AND CONVERSATION. 
          THANK YOU SO MUCH. 
          OH, THIS IS AWESOME. 
          OKAY. 
          WE HOSTED A COFFEE AND CONVERSATION. 
          THIS WAS OUR FIRST EVENT. 
          WELL, IT WAS MY FIRST EVENT SINCE BEING IN THIS PROGRAM. 
          AND I FOUND IT VERY HELPFUL BECAUSE A LOT OF PEOPLE CAME FORWARD LETTING US KNOW THE ISSUES AND THE CONCERNS THAT THEY HAD. 
          A LOT OF THE QUESTIONS WAS, WELL, WHERE'S THIS INFORMATION FOUND? WHERE, WHERE ARE THE BID ? THEY WANTED TO KNOW WHERE CAN THEY FIND BID INFORMATION? THEY WANTED TO KNOW ABOUT BONDING INFORMATION, RIGHT? SO PRIOR TO MYSELF ACTUALLY HAVING THIS EVENT, I ACTUALLY DID SOME STUDIES, UM, FROM PAST DATA THAT WAS IN THE DEPARTMENT AND THE, AND TOOK INTO CONSIDERATION PHONE CALLS AND THE QUESTIONS THAT WERE BEING ASKED, WHICH WAS JUST LIKE THE ONES IN THE EVENT. 
          SO WHAT WE DID FIRST WAS UPDATE THE REGISTRATION FORM TO SPEAK MORE TO THE VENDOR'S PROBLEMS, SUCH AS, UM, CERTIFICATION ASSISTANCE, TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE, BONDING, PHYSICALLY REACHING OUT TO ESSEX, ESSEX COUNTY BUSINESSES WHILE HOSTING AND ATTENDING PROFESSIONAL 
          [00:30:01]
WORKSHOPS. 
          UM, WE TALKED ABOUT UPDATING THE COMPUTER DATABASE. 
          MY PLAN IS TO HAVE OUR DEPARTMENT CONTACT EXISTING VENDORS IN OUR PORTAL AS WE WORK WITH THE NEW VENDORS THAT WE ENCOUNTER, NETWORKING WITH OTHER OUTSIDE RESOURCE, EXCUSE ME, RESOURCE RESOURCES SUCH AS THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY OF NEW JERSEY, AND INTENDING OTHER PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT WORKSHOPS TO ASSIST THRIVING BUSINESSES. 
          WE WANNA CONTINUE TO WORK WITH THE WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT AT 50 CLINTON AS THEY HAVE INFORMATION ON OBTAINING CAPITAL AND TRAINING CLASSES. 
          SO ALL THIS PUT TOGETHER WOULD HELP THE PROBLEM THAT WE'RE HAVING, WHICH IS THE MOST COMMON QUESTION, HOW DO WE DO BUSINESS WITH ESSEX COUNTY? AND THAT'S PART OF THE PLAN THAT WE HAVE TO, UM, TO MOVE FORWARD WITH. 
          THANK YOU. 
          THANK YOU FOR THAT. 
          BUT THAT WASN'T MY QUESTION. 
          OH, MY QUESTION WAS SIMPLE. 
          WHO'S GONNA BE RESPONSIBLE FOR ENSURING THAT WE MEET THESE GOALS AND WHO, WHO, WHO'S GONNA HOLD? WHO'S EVER FEET TO THE FIRE, WHO'S, WHO'S GONNA TAKE ON THAT RESPONSIBILITY? THAT WAS MY QUESTION. 
          OKAY. 
          MY, WELL, THANK YOU FOR EVERYTHING THAT YOU DO. 
          I KNOW I'VE, I'VE SEEN YOU, YOU'VE BEEN DOING YEOMAN'S WORK SINCE YOU'VE BEEN HERE. 
          THANK YOU. 
          BUT MY QUESTION WAS SIMPLE. 
          UH, MR. CHAIRMAN, IF I MAY, I, I THINK THE ANSWER TO THAT QUESTION IS ALL OF US, UM, WE'RE ALL RESPONSIBLE FOR WHO, WHO'S ALL, ALL OF US. 
          EVERYBODY IN THIS ROOM, THE BOARD, THE, THE ADMINISTRATION, WE'RE ALL, UM, I THINK COMMITTED TO, TO MAKING IT HAPPEN. 
          AND THE BOARD'S, UH, OBVIOUSLY THE BOARD'S RESPONSIBILITY IS TO ENSURE THAT THE ADMINISTRATION IS DOING, YOU KNOW, EVERYTHING HE CAN TO MAKE THAT HAPPEN. 
          AND WE CERTAINLY APPRECIATE THAT HOLDING UP OUR FEET TO THE FIRE ON OUR END. 
          UH, WE'RE TRYING TO, UM, WHEN WE'RE GOING OUT FOR BIZ NOW, WE'RE BEING, I THINK, MUCH MORE AGGRESSIVE ABOUT ENSURING THAT, UH, GCS WHO WIN CONTRACTS, FOR EXAMPLE, AT THE NEW BUILDING, EVEN AN MLK, UM, OUR NUMBERS WERE VERY GOOD THERE BECAUSE I THINK SAN SANJEEV AND HIS TEAM DID A GOOD JOB OF ENCOURAGING, CAN'T MAKE, BUT ENCOURAGING STRONGLY, UH, UH, PEOPLE TO ENGAGE, UH, EVEN IF THEY, THE, THE SUBS AND SO FORTH, TO MAKE SURE THAT PEOPLE GET, GET A SUBSTANTIAL AMOUNT OF WORK. 
          SO IT'S ALL THE THINGS THAT DIRECTOR BURGESS SAID. 
          UM, BUT AT THE, AT THE BOTTOM LINE, IT'S, UH, THE ADMINISTRATION'S RESPONSIBILITY BECAUSE WE ARE THE, THE ADMINISTRATIVE BRANCH. 
          UM, BUT WE, UH, YOU KNOW, ENCOURAGE AND WELCOME THE, THE FEET TO THE FIRE ON THE BOARD. 
          I MEAN, YOU, YOU, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE YOUR COMMITTEE MEETS, UH, FREQUENTLY AND, YOU KNOW, ASKS THESE QUESTIONS AND MAKING SURE WHERE ARE THE NUMBERS. 
          I THINK WE SHOULD DO, I, I THINK WE SHOULD DO MORE OF THAT, MR. CHAIRMAN. 
          HONESTLY, I THINK WE SHOULD HAVE MORE MEETINGS AND MORE CONVERSATIONS, BECAUSE THE MORE WE TALK, THE MORE WE COME TOGETHER. 
          THERE'S MORE URGENCY ON OUR, YOU KNOW, ON EVERYBODY'S PART TO SEE WHERE WE ARE. 
          SO, UM, 'CAUSE OF COVID AND OTHER KIND OF THINGS, WE WEREN'T, YOU KNOW, ABLE TO GET AS MANY MEETINGS AS, AS, AS YOU, AS YOU ONCE HAD. 
          BUT I THINK WE PROBABLY NEED TO GET BACK TO OUR OLD SCHEDULE, OR WE WE'RE MEETING QUARTERLY AND KIND OF LIKE GOING THROUGH NUMBERS AND YOU'RE, WE'RE, WE'RE GONNA BE, I THINK THAT WE'RE GONNA BE GOOD, BUT I, I, I DON'T WANNA BE LONG-WINDED BY, I THINK IT'S REALLY US WORKING TOGETHER TO MAKE IT HAPPEN. 
          YEAH. 
          I THINK WE MAY NEED TO DO EVEN MORE THAN QUARTERLY. 
          QUARTERLY IS NOT ENOUGH. 
          OKAY. 
          MM-HMM . 
          I HAVE A QUESTION, MR. CHAIRMAN. 
          UM, WHAT OTHER CONSEQUENCES WHEN, UM, UH, UH, A COMPANY DOES NOT, UH, FULFILL ITS OBLIGATION TO, TO MEET THE GOAL? ARE THERE ANY CONSEQUENCES REALLY ON, UH, ONLY ON A FEDERAL LEVEL? THERE'S A, THERE'S A STRICT REQUIREMENT AT THE, AND I DON'T KNOW SPECIFICALLY WHAT THE CONSEQUENCES ARE, BUT NEW JERSEY'S, UH, REGS ARE NOT AS, UM, DON'T HAVE THE TEETH, QUITE FRANKLY. 
          SO WE CAN, WE CAN ENCOURAGE, WE CAN SAY, THIS IS WHAT WE, WE WOULD LIKE, AND THAT WE EVEN HAVE THAT IN THE BID WHEN IT, WHEN IT GOES OUT, RIGHT? UH, THAT WE, THAT WE'RE LOOKING, WE ENCOURAGE THIS LEVEL OF PARTICIPATION WITH, UM, MINORITY AND WOMEN BUSINESSES. 
          BUT THE, THE, THE FEDERAL CONTRACTS ARE MUCH MORE. 
          SO WHEN WE DO, UM, WHEN YOU'LL SEE, LIKE WE DO THE, WE GET THE FEDERAL HIGH HIGHWAY MONEY FOR, FOR TRAFFIC CONTROLS AND THINGS LIKE THAT, YOU'LL SEE THAT, THAT THERE'S A REQUIREMENT. 
          SO THEY'VE GOTTA, YOU KNOW, THEY'VE GOTTA DO IT. 
          UM, AGAIN, I THINK EVEN ON THE STATE, ON SOME OF OUR BIGGER PROJECTS, WE'VE DONE A BETTER JOB, BUT IT'S NOT, DOESN'T HAVE THE SAME TEETH AS THE FEDERAL. 
          BUT I, I, I CAN FIND OUT FOR YOU, UH, COMMISSIONER, WHAT THOSE SPECIFICALLY ARE. 
          BUT THERE ARE, UH, IT'S STRONGER AT THE FEDERAL, AT THE FEDERAL LEVEL. 
          THANK YOU. 
          OKAY. 
          BEFORE WE MOVE INTO, UH, RECOMMENDATIONS, I, I DO WANT TO TAKE THIS TIME TO COMMEND THE COUNTY ON THE WORK THAT HAS BEEN DONE THUS FAR. 
          SO YOU HAVE YOUR SPE PROGRAM. 
          UM, THERE HAVE BEEN, UH, INITIATIVES 
          [00:35:01]
IN PLACE TO ENCOURAGE BUSINESSES, UH, TO ACTUALLY LEARN TO DO BUSINESS AND ACTUALLY DO BUSINESS WITH THE COUNTY. 
          UM, YOU ALSO HAVE YOUR OFFICE OF SMALL BUSINESS ANNUAL REPORT THAT IS DONE AND SUBMITTED TO, TO REALLY MANAGE AND UNDERSTAND WHERE YOU ARE IN YOUR PARTICIPATION. 
          UM, AND THEN, UH, DURING THE PROCESS OF THE STUDY, VERY EARLY ON WHEN WE STARTED THE STUDY, YOU'VE EXPANDED YOUR DATA COLLECTION AND MANAGEMENT DATA IS THE FOUNDATION OF UNDERSTANDING ANYTHING YOU DO MOVING FORWARD. 
          SO THE EXPANSION OF THAT DATA COLLECTION AND, AND MANAGEMENT PROCESS, UM, IS SOMETHING DEFINITELY TO BE COMMENDED. 
          'CAUSE IT'S NOT EASY TO GO FROM ONE SYSTEM TO THE NEXT AND MAKING SURE THAT YOU HAVE ROBUST DATA MOVING FORWARD. 
          SO WE COMMEND THE COUNTY ON THAT. 
          LET'S TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT RACE AND GENDER NEUTRAL. 
          SO EVERY RACE AND GENDER BASED PROGRAM SHOULD BE BALANCED WITH SOME RACE AND GENDER NEUTRAL, UM, EFFORTS AS WELL. 
          AND SO THE, THE RECOMMENDATIONS THAT WE HAVE HERE, UH, I KNOW THEY'RE NOT MANY, BUT THEY'RE IMPACTFUL. 
          UM, AND SOME OF THEM WILL TAKE YOU MONTHS OR MAYBE EVEN A YEAR OR SO TO IMPLEMENT MOVING FORWARD. 
          SOME OF THEM WILL, MAY COST, SOME, MAY NOT, UH, BUT THE RECOMMENDATIONS, UM, SHOULD BE IF IMPLEMENTED PROPERLY, UM, SHOULD SHOW AN ACTUAL IMPACT TO YOUR INCLUSION OF BUSINESSES IN YOUR ECONOMY. 
          SO THE EXPANSION OF THE VETERAN BUSINESS INCLUSION, AS I MENTIONED EARLIER, VETERAN BUSINESS ENTERPRISE PROGRAMS ARE, ARE RACE AND GENDER NEUTRAL, BECAUSE IT'S NOT BASED ON RACE OR GENDER, IT'S JUST WHETHER OR NOT YOU SERVED IN THE MILITARY. 
          UM, AND SO THESE TYPES OF EFFORTS, UH, CAN BE PUT IN PLACE BY HAVING, UM, OUTREACH, HAVING GOALS SET FOR VETERANS, UM, HAVING SOME OF YOUR SMALLER CONTRACTS OR SOLICITATIONS, UM, BE TARGETED FOR VETERANS, UM, OR SMALL BUSINESSES FOR THAT MATTER WHERE THEY COMPETE JUST AMONGST THEMSELVES. 
          UM, SO THOSE ARE SOME THOUGHTS OR IDEAS THERE. 
          LONG-TERM PROCUREMENT FORECAST, WE HEARD OVER AND OVER FROM BUSINESSES, AND, UH, DIRECTOR BURGESS TALKED ABOUT THIS AS WELL. 
          BUSINESSES JUST DO NOT KNOW WHAT'S HAPPENING HERE. 
          AND SO SMALLER BUSINESSES, UM, NEED SOME TIME TO REALLY PLAN FOR SOLICITATIONS THAT THEY WANT TO, UM, SECURE OR AT LEAST BID ON. 
          UH, AND THEY NEED SIX TO 12 MONTHS SOMETIMES TO DO THAT. 
          SO A PROCUREMENT FORECAST OF WHAT TYPE OF SOLICITATIONS ARE GOING TO BE RELEASED BY THE COUNTY HELP BUSINESSES TO DETERMINE, OKAY, DO I NEED TO BRING ON ANOTHER STAFF MEMBER? DO I HAVE A PROPOSAL WRITER THAT'S GONNA HELP ME WITH THIS? UM, CAN I PARTNER WITH ANOTHER COMPANY AND CREATE A JV AND CHASE THIS PROJECT TOGETHER? SO THOSE TYPES OF THINGS ARE REALLY IMPORTANT FOR, UM, BUSINESSES. 
          SO THAT LONG-TERM PROCUREMENT FORECAST WILL HELP PREPARE BUSINESSES TO, TO BE READY TO BID, UM, A FORMAL STRATEGY FOR BUSINESS RELATIONSHIPS WITH ORGANIZATIONS. 
          QUITE FRANKLY, THE COUNTY CAN'T DO EVERYTHING. 
          I, I MEAN, YOU CAN'T DO IT ALL. 
          YOU HAVE SOME GREAT PARTNERS IN THE REGION, THE UNIVERSITIES, THE COMMUNITY COLLEGES, UM, THAT OFFER TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE. 
          EVEN PROFESSIONAL ORGANIZATIONS THAT FOCUS ON PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT FOR BUSINESSES IN YOUR MARKET. 
          PARTNER WITH THEM TO HELP, UM, WITH THE, WITH SCALING BUSINESSES TO A POINT WHERE THEY CAN BID ON PROJECTS. 
          SO IF THERE'S A PARTNER IN THE, IN THE REGION THAT CAN REALLY HELP A FIRM, UM, BE FINANCIALLY STABLE ENOUGH TO ACQUIRE BONDING, PARTNER WITH THAT ORGANIZATION AND REFER YOUR BUSINESSES THERE TO GET THAT TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE THAT THEY NEED, UM, THAT THOSE PARTNERSHIPS GO A VERY, VERY LONG WAY, UM, IN HELPING GROW YOUR, UM, YOUR ECONOMIC INCLUSION OF BUSINESSES IN YOUR MARKET. 
          AND THEN, OF COURSE, EXPAND, UH, THE SCOPE OF THE OFFICE OF OF SMALL BUSINESS BY EXPANDING ITS TARGETED INITIATIVES TO INCREASE PARTICIPATION WITH SMALL, MINORITY VETERAN AND WOMEN BUSINESSES IN THE PROCUREMENT INTO ADDRESS THE DISPARITIES IDENTIFIED IN THE REPORT. 
          AND THIS DOES TAKE SOME TIME OF REALLY UNDERSTANDING WHERE THOSE DISPARITIES ARE. 
          WHAT ARE THE PROCUREMENT PRACTICES AND POLICIES? WHAT PROCUREMENT LAWS, WHAT CAN WE DO? WHAT CAN'T WE DO, ET CETERA. 
          UM, IN, IN MY 27 YEARS OF, OF THIS LINE OF WORK, IN MY 17 YEARS OF CONDUCTING DISPARITY STUDIES, I'VE SEEN THE GREATER IMPACT OF HAVING YOUR SMALL PROGRAMS OR YOUR RACE AND GENDER BASED PROGRAMS BE A VERY, VERY GOOD WAY OF GRABBING THOSE, THAT LOW HANGING FRUIT, BECAUSE IT'S RACE AND GENDER NEUTRAL. 
          YOUR MINORITY AND WOMEN OWNED BUSINESSES ARE PROBABLY OR MAY BE IN THAT SMALL CATEGORY DEPENDING ON HOW YOU DEFINE THAT. 
          AND THERE ARE OFTENTIMES, UH, SOLICITATIONS AND PROPOSALS IN WHICH 
          [00:40:01]
YOU DON'T HAVE TO HAVE A FORMAL BID PROCESS. 
          SO IF YOU'RE REQUIRED TO HAVE THREE QUOTES AND YOU HAVE 10 SMALL BUSINESSES WHO PROVIDE THAT SERVICE, TARGET THAT SOLICITATION JUST FOR THOSE 10 SMALL BUSINESSES AND HAVE THEM COMPETE. 
          SO THAT IS SOMETHING THAT I HAVE SEEN OVER THE COUNTRY TO BE QUITE SUCCESSFUL IN REALLY GRABBING AT SOME OF THAT LOW HANGING FRUIT, UM, AND REALLY BUILDING AND SCALING FIRMS IN THE MARKETPLACE. 
          ALRIGHT, A COUPLE MORE. 
          RACE AND GENDER NEUTRAL. 
          UM, ESTABLISHING, UH, AND IMPLEMENTING PROJECT SPECIFIC GOALS, UM, MR. JACKSON TALKED ABOUT, UH, THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT HAVING VERY STRICT REQUIREMENTS WHEN IT COMES TO U-S-D-O-T, UH, FUNDS WITH F-H-W-A-F-A-A, ET CETERA. 
          AND THE GOAL SETTING PROCESS, UM, IS VERY IMPORTANT BECAUSE THE GOALS SPECIFICALLY FOR EACH CONTRACT LAYS OUT TO YOU EXACTLY HOW MANY FIRMS ARE AVAILABLE TO DO THAT SPECIFIC SCOPE OF WORK. 
          SO THE ASPIRATIONAL GOALS IS COUNTYWIDE. 
          ANYTIME YOU SPEND ANY DOLLARS ON ANY TYPE OF PROJECT OR ANY TYPE OF CONTRACT, IF YOU HAVE ANY SPEND WITH MINORITY WOMEN OWNED BUSINESSES, IT ALL JUST AGGREGATES UP TO WHATEVER YOUR ASPIRATIONAL GOAL IS. 
          BUT THOSE CONTRACT SPECIFIC GOALS, UH, CAN, WILL BE IN VERY MANY CASES WILL BE VERY DIFFERENT. 
          SOME MAY BE 30, SOME MAY BE 10, SOME MAY BE 15, BECAUSE IT'S, IT'S VERY NARROWLY TAILORED TO THAT SPECIFIC, UH, CONTRACT THAT YOU ARE, UH, SOLICITING AT THAT POINT IN TIME. 
          UM, AND THEN ENHANCED DATA COLLECTION. 
          UH, SO WHILE THERE HAVE BEEN EFFORTS TO IMPROVE THE DATA COLLECTION THAT YOU CURRENTLY ARE DOING, UH, THE COLLECTION OF ALL SUBCONTRACTOR DATA IS EXTREMELY IMPORTANT BECAUSE THEY ARE PART OF THAT MARKET. 
          AND SO IF YOU SPEND A HUNDRED MILLION DOLLARS WORTH OF PRIME AND THAT PRIME HIRES, YOU KNOW, 10 CONTRACTORS FOR 50 MILLION OF THAT, THAT PRIME DIDN'T GET A HUNDRED MILLION DOLLARS. 
          CORRECT. 
          SO IT'S VERY IMPORTANT TO CAPTURE YOUR SUBCONTRACTOR'S, UM, UM, DATA IN THE MARKETPLACE AS WELL. 
          UM, RACE AND GENDER CONSCIOUS, UH, RECOMMENDATION, NARROWLY TAILORED, UH, AND YOU WILL SEE THIS IN THE LEGAL FRAMEWORK CHAPTER THAT WE PROVIDED AS WELL, IS REALLY NARROWLY TAILORING YOUR PROGRAM, UM, TO THE SPECIFIC DISPARITY. 
          UH, IN THIS CASE, YOU KNOW, YOU HAD DISPARITY ACROSS THE BOARD AND I THINK ALL CATEGORIES EXCEPT FOR ONE, BECAUSE THERE WAS NO UTILIZATION OR AVAILABILITY. 
          UM, SO YOU HAVE A LITTLE BIT, UH, YOU HAVE MORE FLEXIBILITY IF YOU WILL, TO, TO NARROWLY TAILOR IN MORE CATEGORIES. 
          UM, WHAT WE'RE HOPING IS THAT IN FIVE YEARS THAN YOU DO THE STUDY, AGAIN, IT'S LIMITED FLEXIBILITY BECAUSE YOU ADDRESSED SOME OF THOSE DISPARITIES. 
          OKAY. 
          AND THAT IS, UH, THAT IS THE PRESENTATION. 
          I DIDN'T KNOW I GOT THERE SO QUICK. 
          YEAH. 
          THANK YOU SO MUCH, COMMISSIONERS. 
          ANY QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS? UM, OH, LET, I'M SORRY. 
          RECOGNIZING VICE PRESIDENT COOPER. 
          UM, THANK YOU. 
          UM, MR. CHAIRPERSON, I HAVE A LOT WHIRLING THROUGH MY HEAD HAVING READ THIS DOCUMENT A FEW WEEKS AGO. 
          AND THEN I PICKED IT UP AND WE READ IT AGAIN IN ANTICIPATION OF THIS MEETING. 
          AND THE FIRST THING THAT'S BURNING THROUGH MY MIND IS WHAT ARE WE GOING TO DO DIFFERENTLY IF WE WANT A DIFFERENT RESULT? I THINK THAT, UM, THE FIRST THING I WOULD SAY IS, AS A SMALL BUSINESS OWNER MYSELF, PRIOR TO COMING INTO GOVERNMENT LOOKING AT THESE BID SPECS AND THESE BID ANNOUNCEMENTS, FIRST I DIDN'T KNOW THAT THEY WERE AVAILABLE. 
          I DIDN'T KNOW WHERE TO GO TO LOOK. 
          AND THEN WHEN I FINALLY FIGURED THAT PART OUT, IT'S INTIMIDATING AND SCARY WHEN YOU ARE LOOKING AT A 50 PLUS PAGE DOCUMENT. 
          SO I WOULD SAY, UM, HOW I LEARNED ABOUT THE BID SPECS WAS PURELY BY ACCIDENT. 
          SO I THINK THE FIRST THING THAT WE HAVE TO DO IS BETTER FIGURE OUT, OUT HOW TO COMMUNICATE OUT THAT THE BIDS ARE AVAILABLE. 
          AND OFTENTIMES, IF YOU ARE A SMALL BUSINESS OWNER, WE ARE ROBING PETER K. PAUL, WE ARE THE JANITOR, THE COOK, THE SEAMSTRESS, WHATEVER YOU NEED AT THAT MINUTE PLACE IN TIME. 
          WE'RE, WE'RE WEARING SO MANY MULTIPLE HATS BECAUSE OF THE AVAILABILITY OF CASH FLOW THAT WE DON'T ALWAYS KNOW. 
          SO WE NEED SOMEONE TO KNOCK ON THE DOOR 
          [00:45:01]
TO TELL THAT THIS, THIS, THIS, THIS BID SPEC IS AVAILABLE. 
          AND, UM, LET ME COMMEND THE ADMINISTRATION FOR FINALLY APPOINTING A FULL-TIME DIRECTOR BECAUSE THIS IS A FULL-TIME ISSUE. 
          A PART-TIME DIRECTOR CAN'T REALLY HELP US DRIVE WHERE WE'RE TRYING TO GET TO SOME OF THOSE GOALS IF YOU'RE BALANCING OUT OTHER JOBS THAT YOU'RE DOING. 
          SO, I WELCOME YOU DIRECTOR, I LOOK FORWARD TO WORKING WITH YOU, BUT I THINK TO GET ANY REAL CHANGE, I WANT TO SEE US DO MORE AGGRESSIVE OUTREACH. 
          I WOULD LOVE TO SEE WHEN WE AWARD THESE CONTRACTS THAT THE ADMINISTRATION IS SAYING, 10 PEOPLE RESPONDED, RIGHT? AND LET MORE OF THEM BE VETERAN WOMEN, THOSE OTHER CATEGORIES. 
          AND YOU REJECTED THEM BECAUSE THEY, THEY DIDN'T RESPOND ADEQUATELY. 
          BUT RIGHT NOW WITH SOME OF THESE AREAS, WE ONLY GET ONE OR TWO PEOPLE THAT RESPOND, RIGHT? BECAUSE THEY JUST DON'T KNOW. 
          THE OTHER SIDE IS, I WOULD LOVE TO FIGURE OUT HOW WE CAN DO A BETTER JOB WITH MARIAN. 
          AND I KNOW WE, WE CAN'T TELL 'EM HIRE THIS PERSON OR THAT, BUT AT LEAST PUT PEOPLE IN THE SAME ROOM. 
          'CAUSE SOME OF OUR SMALL BUSINESSES DON'T EVEN KNOW ABOUT THE A HUNDRED BUILDING MILLION DOLLAR BUILDING THAT YOU HAVE BUILDING OVER THERE. 
          THAT I COULD COME AND POTENTIALLY BE A SUB. 
          I MIGHT NOT BE ABLE TO BUILD A BUILDING, BUT I COULD PROBABLY GIVE YOU SOME TILE. 
          I COULD PROBABLY, YOU KNOW, LAY DOWN SOME, SOME CARPENTRY OR SOMETHING. 
          BUT I DON'T KNOW THAT IT'S HAPPENING. 
          I DON'T KNOW HOW TO BE APART. 
          I'M DISAPPOINTED TODAY TO HEAR ABOUT THE COFFEE AND CONVERSATIONS THAT YOU HAD. 
          I DIDN'T KNOW THAT YOU WERE HAVING THEM. 
          AND I THINK IF WE'RE SERIOUS, YOU GOTTA DO THAT ON A MONTHLY BASIS SO THAT THE WORD STARTS TO CATCH A FIRE. 
          THAT YOU ARE HERE, YOU ARE THE COMMUNITY, YOU REPRESENT THIS TARGET POPULATION THAT WE'RE TRYING TO GET TO COME IN. 
          SO THEY'LL BE REALLY COMFORTABLE WITH TALKING TO YOU, JAY. 
          I LOVE, HE'S ALL KNOWLEDGEABLE, BUT SOMETIMES HE'S SCARY. 
          BUT I LOVE HIM. 
          WE HAVE REFERRED PEOPLE AND JAY HAS DONE A TREMENDOUS JOB IN THE ABSENCE OF A REPLACEMENT FOR YOU WITH HELPING PEOPLE THAT I'VE REFERRED TO HIM, BUT THEY DON'T ALWAYS UNDERSTAND WHAT JAY IS TELLING THEM. 
          YOU KNOW, WHERE TO GO TO GET THAT CERTIFICATION, HOW TO DO IT, HOW TO RESPOND. 
          HECK, I DONE HAD, HAVE ONE PERSON FIVE TIMES SIGN UP TO GET TO JAY'S PORTAL 'CAUSE THEY JUST DON'T, DON'T KNOW HOW TO DO IT. 
          AND I THINK THE PROFESSOR IS CORRECT. 
          MAYBE BOIL DOWN IT, MAYBE AS A COLLECTIVE, SAY, THESE ARE SOME AREAS THAT WE WANT TO FOCUS ON TRYING TO MEET THOSE TARGET GOALS, LIKE THE TREE TRIMMING THE LANDSCAPING. 
          WE WE SEE DRIVING THROUGH THE, THROUGH THE COUNTY, A WHOLE BUNCH OF SMALL BUSINESSES THAT'S DOING SOME OF THESE THINGS AND MAYBE TRY TO MARRY 'EM TOGETHER. 
          I'M SORRY I'M IN THE SOAP BOX, BUT THIS IS SOMETHING THAT'S BEEN BURNING IN MY MIND. 
          WE GIVE OUT A LOT OF CONTRACTS AND A LOT OF TIMES IT'S ONLY ONE PERSON THAT RESPONDED. 
          AND THAT'S HEARTBREAKING TO ME IF, YEAH, I'M, UM, THANK YOU CHAIRMAN, UM, YOU KNOW, DISAPPOINTED ON THE, THE AMOUNT OF SIGNIFICANT DISPARITY THAT EXISTS, YOU KNOW, AS A RESULT OF THIS STUDY. 
          AND THAT BASICALLY SPEAKS TO HOW MUCH WORK WE HAVE TO DO. 
          UM, AND, UM, AND A LOT OF IT IS, AND DIRECTOR, UM, YOU KNOW, I WANT TO THANK YOU FOR YOUR LEADERSHIP AND, UM, AND FEET TO THE FIRE . 
          UM, AND, UH, WE'RE HERE TO SUPPORT YOUR OFFICE AND WE WANT TO SEE SUCCEED. 
          UM, AND WHEN AND COMMUNITY OUTREACH IS, IS ON THE GROUND, IS IS WHERE IT ALL BEGINS, RIGHT? AND, AND, AND WITH, YOU KNOW, THE COMMENTS THAT, UH, MY COLLEAGUE MADE, UH, UH, I'M ALSO DISAPPOINTED IN, IN THE AMOUNT OF HISPANIC PARTICIPATION, UM, IN THIS PROCESS AS WELL. 
          AND, AND I THINK TRAINING AND TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE AND THOSE SMALL, UM, TOWN HALL KIND OF, UH, UH, UH, COFFEE AS YOU WERE SAYING, UM, IN SECTORS, IN TARGETED SECTORS WHERE, UH, WE KNOW THAT THERE'S BUSINESSES THAT ARE OUT THERE THAT, UM, THAT IF THEY KNEW HOW TO AND IF THEY UNDERSTOOD, UM, OR HAD THAT ASSISTANCE, UM, UH, CAN BE ABLE TO PARTICIPATE AND, AND PUT IN, UM, UH, THEIR BID FOR THE VARIOUS CONTRACTS. 
          WE AWARD MANY MILLIONS AND MILLIONS OF DOLLARS. 
          UM, AND, AND, AND THE AMOUNT OF MINORITY HISPANIC WOMEN OWNED, UM, IS A DROP IN THE BUCKET. 
          UH, WHO ACTUALLY, YOU KNOW, NOT ONLY THE ONES, THERE ARE FEW THAT PARTICIPATE, BUT EVEN FEWER THAT ACTUALLY GET THE BID. 
          SO, SO WE HAVE A LOT OF WORK TO DO. 
          AND, AND 
          [00:50:01]
MY, MY QUESTION IS WHAT'S OUR STRATEGY AND HOW DO WE MOVE FORWARD TO, UM, TO ASSIST YOUR OFFICE, UM, TO BE ABLE TO, UH, TO GET OUT THERE AND BE, UM, UH, ON THE GROUND IN THE COMMUNITY AND, AND, AND RECRUITING BECAUSE WE OUGHT TO HAVE MORE PARTICIPATION. 
          WE KNOW THAT THERE'S SO MANY SMALL BUSINESS IS, IS, IS THE BACKBONE OF, OF OUR ECONOMY. 
          UM, AND, UH, AND IN NEWARK IS, IS IS SO DIVERSE. 
          I MEAN, YOU GO TO THE DIFFERENT WARDS. 
          THERE ARE SO MANY DIFFERENT, UM, SMALL BUSINESSES, UM, THAT, UM, THAT I'M SURE THAT WE CAN RECRUIT AND BRING TOGETHER UNDER ONE ROOF, UH, WHETHER IT'S ONCE A MONTH OR EVERY OTHER MONTH OR, OR, OR, OR ONCE A WEEK OR WHATEVER IT IS, UM, THAT WE BRING AND, AND, AND TEACH AND, AND EDUCATE FOLKS AND THE AWARENESS OF WHAT THE COUNTY HAS TO OFFER BECAUSE WE HAVE SO MUCH TO OFFER. 
          UM, AND IF THEY'RE NOT ABLE TO PARTICIPATE, UM, UH, SHAME ON US. 
          DIRECTOR BURGESS WANTED TO RESPOND. 
          I DID. 
          I DIDN'T KNOW WHETHER TO WAIT. 
          NO. 
          OKAY. 
          PLEASE. 
          I JUST WANNA SAY THANK YOU FOR YOUR COMMENTS AND QUESTIONS AS THEY'RE ACTUALLY WHAT OUR DEPARTMENT WANNA DO AND WILL DO. 
          AND TO KNOW THAT WE'RE GONNA HAVE YOUR, YOUR BACKING IS EXCELLENT BECAUSE THE FIRST THING THAT WE ACTUALLY WANNA DO IS LET PEOPLE KNOW THAT YES, SMALL BUSINESS IS ACTIVE AND WE ARE GOING AND WE ARE HERE FOR YOU. 
          RIGHT? UM, YES. 
          WE, WE WANNA KEEP HAVING THESE COFFEE AND CONVERSATIONS NOT ONLY WITHIN OUR, OUR OWN, UM, INTERNAL OFFICES. 
          WE WANNA BRING IT OUT MORE. 
          WE WANNA VENTURE OUT WITH DIFFERENT NETWORKING PARTICIPANTS SO THAT WE CAN BRING MORE INFORMATION. 
          UM, YOU MENTIONED ABOUT, UM, GI GIVING INFORMATION, UM, WELL, GETTING INFORMATION TO BUSINESSES A A ABOUT THESE BIDS. 
          I AGREE 100%. 
          AND ONE OF THE WAYS THAT WE THOUGHT ABOUT DOING THAT IS FIRST SEE WHO WE WORKING WITH NOW WITHIN OUR PORTAL. 
          GO THROUGH THAT PORTAL, REACH OUT TO THE PEOPLE FOR THESE PARTICULAR BIDS THAT ARE GOING OUT AT THE TIME AND SEE WHAT THE SITUATION IS. 
          SEE WHY THEY'RE NOT RESPONDING. 
          IF THEY'RE NOT RESPONDING, IF THEY HAVE RESPONSE, SEE WHAT THE PROBLEM IS, SEE, SEE WHERE THE BLOCKS ARE AT, RIGHT? THEN WE COULD BEGIN TO WORK FROM NEAR AND, AND, AND, AND KIND OF, UM, TAKE THAT, THAT, THAT FIZZLE OUT OF WHAT'S GOING ON. 
          BUT IT'S JUST WHAT YOU SAID. 
          WE HAVE TO ACTUALLY PUT OUR FEET TO THE FIRE IN MY DEPARTMENT TO SEE WHAT'S OUT THERE, TO SEE WHAT THE PROBLEM IS SO THAT WE COULD BEGIN TO SOLVE THE PROBLEM BUSINESS BY BUSINESS, VENDOR BY VENDOR, WHETHER THEY'RE EXISTING, WHETHER THEY'RE NEW. 
          AND, AND AGAIN, I, I PLAN TO DO THAT BY WORKING WITH DIFFERENT PARTICIPANTS AND NETWORKS SO THAT WE CAN GET THAT INFORMATION OUT THERE. 
          I DON'T WANNA REPEAT EVERYTHING I SAID EARLIER, BUT OF COURSE IT'S, IT'S, IT'S GETTING, UM, MORE INFORMATION ON BONDING, GETTING MORE INFORMATION ON WHERE TO FIND A BIT, HOW TO UNDERSTAND A BIT. 
          UM, I'VE, UM, I'LL HELPED OUT A YOUNG LADY THAT'S ACTUALLY HERE TODAY. 
          SHE HAS SOME QUESTIONS ON BIDS AND, AND, AND THEY WERE VALID QUESTIONS THAT OUR COMMISSIONER COOPER HAD, UM, RAISED. 
          AND WE TOOK THE TIME OUT. 
          I THINK IT TOOK LIKE 45 MINUTES. 
          AND IT'S SAFE TO SAY THAT SHE LEFT THE OFFICE WITH A BETTER UNDERSTANDING OF WHAT THE BID PROCESS WAS. 
          AND THAT'S WHAT WE WANNA BE ABOUT IN SMALL BUSINESS. 
          THANK YOU COMMISSIONER MARY THOMAS. 
          YES. 
          THANK YOU SO MUCH. 
          UM, THANK YOU. 
          BOARD MEMBERS. 
          THANK YOU COMMISSIONER RICHARDSON, JUST FOR, UH, YOUR VISION IN THIS MEETING AND IN THE COMMITTEE. 
          AND THANK YOU FOR YOUR, UH, VERY ASTUTE PRESENTATION. 
          I HAVE A QUESTION FOR YOU AND THEN, UH, SOME QUESTIONS FOR THE ADMINISTRATION. 
          IF YOU COULD REITERATE, I KNOW YOU SHARED THAT THE UTILIZATION RATE, UH, OR RATHER THE POTENTIAL UTILIZATION FOR WMBE OR MINORITY OWNED BUSINESSES, WOMEN BUSINESS OWNED ENTERPRISES WITHIN OUR MARKET IS 32%. 
          THAT MEANS THAT THERE'S ROUGHLY ABOUT LIKE 32%, UH, OF FIRMS AVAILABLE THAT ARE CONTRACT THAT COULD BE CONTRACTED, THAT MAKE UP THIS, UH, MARKET. 
          IF THAT IS THE CAPACITY, RIGHT? IF THAT'S THE POSSIBILITY WITHIN THE MARKET. 
          COULD YOU REITERATE AGAIN WHAT OUR ACTUAL CURRENT UTILIZATION RATE IS FOR WOMEN MINORITY OWNED BUSINESSES? OKAY. 
          LET MAKE SURE I UNDERSTAND BECAUSE YOU ARE USING TWO TERMS, I THINK A LITTLE BIT DIFFERENTLY. 
          OKAY. 
          SO THE UTILIZATION IS ACTUALLY SPENT, HOW MUCH HAVE YOU SPENT WITH MINORITY WOMEN OWNED FIRMS, RIGHT? OR AVAILABILITY IS THE 32. 
          THE 32. 
          THE 32%, YEAH. 
          AND I'M ASKING ABOUT UTILIZATION. 
          SO AVAILABILITY IS 32%. 
          WHAT IS OUR ACTUAL UTILIZATION RATE? YEP. 
          YOUR UTILIZATION. 
          UM, YOUR UTILIZATION WAS 10.53. 
          SO ALMOST 11%. 
          11%, MM-HMM . 
          [00:55:01]
UM, AND IF YOU COULD SHARE AGAIN, THAT 11%, MAYBE THAT'S SHARED HERE, THAT'S PRIMARILY REPRESENTED WHERE, AS FAR AS WHICH AREAS ARE WMBE FIRMS MAINLY UTILIZED? YEP, I CAN. 
          SO LET'S TALK ABOUT UTILIZATION BY CATEGORY. 
          OOPS. 
          AND I PULLED THIS UP JUST IN CASE. 
          OKAY. 
          UM, OOPS. 
          IT'S NOT SHARING. 
          WHAT AM I DOING WRONG? UH, MAYBE I NEED TO STOP SHARING THIS. 
          OKAY. 
          TECHNOLOGY IS ALWAYS FICKLE. 
          I KNOW. 
          . 
          THERE WE GO. 
          OKAY, SO I HAVE THE REPORT ACTUALLY PULLED UP SO WE CAN BREAK DOWN THE NUMBERS FOR YOU. 
          SO HERE'S YOUR UTILIZATION BY BUSINESS OWNERSHIP CLASSIFICATION AS AN AGGREGATE, RIGHT? MM-HMM . 
          SO THAT'S WHAT YOU SAW IN THAT SLIDE PRESENTATION. 
          AND THEN LET'S GO DOWN. 
          WOULD YOU GO BACK QUICKLY? WOULD YOU GO BACK TO THAT LAST SLIDE? I JUST WANNA TAKE A CLOSER LOOK AND I SAW SOME FOLKS IN THE AUDIENCE WE'RE LOOKING, LOOKING A LITTLE BIT TOO. 
          HOLD ON ONE SECOND. 
          OKAY. 
          ALL RIGHT. 
          SO LEMME JUST ZOOM IN A LITTLE BIT MORE. 
          IT'S BEEN A LITTLE FICKLE. 
          MM-HMM . 
          OKAY. 
          HOW'S THAT? THAT'S BETTER. 
          GREAT. 
          OKAY. 
          SO WE'VE GOT AFRICAN AMERICANS CURRENTLY AT A UTILIZATION RATE OF 0.33%, IS THAT CORRECT? YES, MA'AM. 
          OKAY. 
          ASIAN AMERICANS AT 2.94% MM-HMM . 
          HISPANIC AMERICANS AT 0.35%. 
          CORRECT. 
          NATIVE AMERICANS AT 0.0%. 
          AND IN TOTAL, MBE FIRMS ARE 3.62%? CORRECT. 
          WITH AN AVAILABILITY BEING ACTUALLY 32%. 
          RIGHT? WELL, FOR YOUR TOTAL ROUGHLY MWBE. 
          OKAY. 
          'CAUSE THE TOTAL MBE IS JUST THE, UM, UH, RACIAL GROUPS ABOVE MM-HMM . 
          OKAY. 
          AND THEN YOUR TOTAL MWBE IS 10.54. 
          OKAY. 
          AND YOUR AVAILABILITY IS AT 30, APPROXIMATELY 32%? CORRECT. 
          UNDERSTOOD. 
          AND NON-MINORITIES, NON-MINORITY FEMALES BEING PERHAPS LIKE WHITE WOMEN, CORRECT? OF ALL OF THE PROCUREMENT CATEGORIES ARE THE MOST REPRESENTED AT ROUGHLY 7%, CORRECT? YES. 
          THANK YOU. 
          YOU'RE WELCOME. 
          AND YOU WERE GONNA GO TO THE, THE NEXT PART? YES. 
          WE'RE GONNA GO DOWN AND LOOK AT, UM, SO LET'S BREAK IT DOWN BY THE DIFFERENT INDUSTRIES THAT WE ANALYZE. 
          THIS IS CONSTRUCTION, UH, AGAIN, UM, ONLY CONSTRUCTION DOLLARS, BROKEN DOWN AGAIN BY THE BUSINESS OWNERSHIP CLASSIFICATIONS. 
          UM, YOUR TOTAL MBE AT 1.81 ALMOST 2%. 
          AND YOUR TOTAL MWBE AT 4%. 
          UNDERSTOOD. 
          AND SO, OKAY. 
          WOW, LOOK AT THAT NUMBER. 
          OKAY. 
          YEAH. 
          I'M JUST LETTING THIS SIT IN FOR A BIT. 
          SO, AFRICAN AMERICANS AT 0% DOLLARS EQUALED $2,000 SAME, SAME AS NATIVE AMERICANS,  YES. 
          NATIVE AMERICANS WE'RE, WE'RE NECK AND NECK WITH THE NATIVE AMERICANS, CORRECT. 
          AND HISPANICS AT 0.59% ASIANS AT 1.22. 
          MM-HMM . 
          OKAY. 
          UM, TOTAL SPEND $378 MILLION THERE. 
          AND OUT OF THE, I BELIEVE IT WAS FOUR OR FIVE DIFFERENT CATEGORIES FOR EXPONENTIAL CONSTRUCTION REPRESENTS ROUGHLY LIKE WHAT PERCENT OF CONSTRUCTION ACTUALLY REPRESENTS COUNTY EXPENSES. 
          UH, LEMME LOOK HERE REALLY QUICKLY. 
          I THINK IT REPRESENTED THE LARGEST AMOUNT OF SPEND. 
          MM-HMM . 
          SO THE LARGEST AMOUNT OF MONEY THAT THE COUNTY IS SPENDING ON VENDORS, AFRICAN AMERICANS ARE 0%. 
          ASIANS ARE 1.22. 
          HISPANICS ARE 0.59% NATIVE ZERO. 
          SO HOLD THAT THOUGHT. 
          I'M GONNA GO TO ANOTHER SLIDE THAT IT BREAKS YOUR, BREAKS DOWN YOUR SPIN BY CATEGORY, AND THAT'S GOING TO BE IN OUR RELEVANT MARKET ANALYSIS, WHICH IS RIGHT HERE. 
          THAT IS, 
          [01:00:04]
THAT'S, THAT'S WHAT WE GOT. 
          OKAY. 
          HERE'S YOUR RELEVANT MARKET ANALYSIS. 
          AND IT BREAKS DOWN THE SPEND, UH, BY THE CATEGORIES. 
          SO CONSTRUCTION REPRESENTS, UM, 378 MILLION PROFESSIONAL SERVICES REPRESENT 200 MILLION NON-PROFESSIONAL SERVICES REPRESENT 166 MILLION IN GOODS AND SERVICES REPRESENTS 143 MILLION. 
          SO YES, CONSTRUCTION IS YOUR LARGEST PERCENTAGE AS SPEND. 
          MM-HMM . 
          OKAY. 
          THANK YOU FOR THAT. 
          UM, YOU'RE WELCOME. 
          WANNA GO BACK TO UTILIZATION? MM-HMM . 
          OKAY. 
          YEAH. 
          THAT THIS IS, THAT, THAT'S JUST MINE. 
          OOPS. 
          WENT WAY TOO FAR. 
          AND WHILE YOU DO THAT, I JUST WANTED TO TAKE A MOMENT TO, UH, READ OUT. 
          SO ONE OF THE MANY STRENGTHS OF THIS STUDY WAS YOU GUYS ACTUALLY WENT AND TALKED TO ACTUAL VENDORS ABOUT THEIR EXPERIENCE MM-HMM . 
          UM, AND SO WHEN YOU'RE LOOKING AT WHAT IS THE VENDORS ACTUALLY SAYING, RIGHT? SMALL BUSINESS OWNERS AROUND THEIR, UH, EXPERIENCES OR POTENTIAL EXPERIENCES, WE HAVE THIS, SO 57% OF AFRICAN AMERICAN VENDORS, 100% OF AMERICAN HISPANIC AMERICAN VENDORS, UH, 50% OF ASIAN AMERICAN MEN, UH, MBA VENDORS BEING 60% OF ALL WHEN ASKED ABOUT, OKAY. 
          LIKE, WELL, WHAT ARE THESE EXPERIENCES AND WHY MIGHT THEY FEEL LIKE THEY'RE EXPERIENCING SOME LEVEL OF DISCRIMINATION OR DISCRIMINATORY BEHAVIOR PERHAPS WITHIN THE MARKETPLACE? THEY SAY AN INFORMAL NETWORK OF PRIME CONTRACTORS AND SUBCONTRACTORS HAVE EXCLUDED MY COMPANY FROM DOING BUSINESS. 
          THERE'S A REFUSAL BY AGENCIES, PRIME SUPPLIERS, AND OR CUSTOMERS TO DEAL WITH MINORITIES OR WOMEN, ET CETERA, ET CETERA. 
          AND SO IT SEEMS LIKE IN, YOU KNOW, IT SEEMS LIKE IT MAY EVEN BE REFLECTED IN THESE NUMBERS THAT A LARGE NUMBER OF MINORITY VENDORS FEEL LIKE IT'S AN OLD BOYS CLUB WHEN IT COMES TO ABILITY TO ACTUALLY ENGAGE, UM, ACCORDING TO THE DATA HERE. 
          IS THAT CONSISTENT WITH WHAT YOU ALL GATHERED? THAT IS CORRECT. 
          MM-HMM . 
          AND SO I HAVE A QUESTION FOR OUR BOARD MEMBERS AND THEN, AND THEN FOR THE ADMINISTRATION. 
          UM, FIRST, I MEAN, IT SEEMS PRETTY CLEAR THAT WE ACTUALLY HAVE CAPACITY AS A BOARD MEMBER THROUGH BOARD ACTION TO HELP REMEDY SOME OF THESE ISSUES. 
          HOW DO WE MAKE SURE WE CONTINUE TO, UH, LISTEN TO WHAT VENDORS ARE SAYING, CREATE POLICY AND PRACTICE THAT IMPLEMENT EQUITY? THERE'S CAPACITY WITHIN US, UH, TO MAKE SOME IMPROVEMENTS HERE. 
          SO I HAVE FAITH AND I BELIEVE IN THE URGENCY AND THE ENERGY OF THIS BOARD TO ACTUALLY IMPLEMENT THE BOARD ACTION AND BE IN CONVERSATION WITH THE PEOPLE SO THAT THIS IS NOT THE CASE ANYMORE. 
          THAT 0.0% OF OUR LARGEST EXPENSES AS A COUNTY ARE GOING TO SOME OF THE PEOPLE WHO ARE REPRESENTING A COUNTY THE MOST AS FAR AS WHO LIVE HERE, PAY TAXES HERE, ET CETERA. 
          BUT THEN SECONDLY, THIS IS JUST A QUESTION FOR THE ADMINISTRATION. 
          I'M WONDERING WHEN YOU LOOK AT THE DIFFERENT RECOMMENDATIONS SUCH AS A, UH, PROCUREMENT FORECAST, RIGHT, A 12 MONTH LOOKING IN ADVANCE OF WHAT ARE THE PROCUREMENT OPPORTUNITIES AND WHO ARE THE VENDORS THAT MIGHT BE NEEDED, CAN YOU EXPRESS ON YOUR END, UM, HOW THESE DIFFERENT INITIATIVES, LIKE A FORECAST, LIKE PROJECT SPECIFIC GOALS, HOW OFFICE EXPANSION ACTUALLY BENEFITS THE COUNTY? BECAUSE PRETTY CLEAR TO ME THAT WHEN YOU HAVE PRACTICES LIKE THIS IN PLACE THAT LOOK AHEAD, IT MAKES THINGS BETTER FOR THE COUNTY, IT MAKES THINGS BETTER FOR POTENTIAL VENDORS, EVERYONE KIND OF WINS. 
          SO I'D LIKE TO HEAR FROM YOUR END HOW THESE RECOMMENDATIONS THAT ARE SHARED, UH, ARE IN LINE WITH YOUR VISION AND YOUR GOALS FOR THE OFFICE OF THE COUNTY. 
          WELL, I, I THINK THEY'D LINE UP, UH, WELL, UM, AND WE CERTAINLY APPRECIATE THE, UH, THE INPUT AND THE GUIDANCE WE'VE GOTTEN FROM NGT ABOUT HOW TO MAKE THINGS BETTER. 
          UM, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT, YOU KNOW, WE DO EVERY YEAR, OUR BUDGET IS OUR PLAN, RIGHT? WHEN WE, WE LAY OUT, UM, OUR CAPITAL BUDGET, WE LAY OUT OUR OPERATING BUDGET INHERENT IN THAT ARE THE THINGS THAT WE PLAN TO DO OVER THE YEAR, RIGHT? SO THAT IN ITSELF KIND OF FUNCTION THAT AS A, AS A, AS A PLAN. 
          I DO BELIEVE THAT, UM, AND HE CAN CORRECT ME IF I'M WRONG, BUT I DO BELIEVE THAT WE HAVE, UM, OR WE'RE WORKING ON A MORE EVEN LONGER TERM, UM, UH, VISION FOR PARTICULARLY CAPITAL FUNDING, UM, CAPITAL, UH, PROJECTS. 
          SOME OF THAT IS, UM, UNFORTUNATELY BECAUSE OF JUST THE WAY THE, THE STATE BUDGET WORKS AND, AND IF THE STATE'S IN GOOD SHAPE, 
          [01:05:01]
BAD SHAPE, WHATEVER, UM, MONEY THAT WE GET FOR A LOT OF OUR PROJECTS IN THE PARKS, FOR EXAMPLE, ARE, ARE, THEY ARE CONTINGENT ON GETTING MONEY FROM THE STATE. 
          SO WE DON'T ALWAYS KNOW. 
          BUT I, I DO THINK THAT, UM, UH, A LONGER TERM PLAN, AND I'M NOT SURE WE'VE, UH, FLESHED THAT OUT YET, BEYOND A YEAR. 
          I MEAN, BUT I, FOR MY, FOR MY MONEY, OUR CAPITAL PLAN AND OUR OPERATING BUDGET ARE JUST THAT, OUR PLAN. 
          UM, BUT I THINK WE HAVE TO FLESH OUT A WAY TO FIGURE OUT HOW TO, UM, PERHAPS OUT OUR CAPITAL SPENDING A LITTLE BIT FARTHER OUT, UM, AND, AND, AND MORE CONCRETE SO PEOPLE HAVE A BETTER IDEA OF WHAT'S, WHAT'S ON THE DRAWING BOARD. 
          BUT I, YEAH, THAT, THAT, BUT FOR THE MOST PART TOO, AND IF YOU THINK ABOUT IT, WHAT WE DO, AND I, I DON'T KNOW WHAT THE PERCENTAGE, WHAT MY GUT TELLS ME'S PROBABLY ABOUT 70% OF WHAT WE DO. 
          UM, IT'S, IT'S FAIRLY REGIMENTED EVERY YEAR. 
          I MEAN, WE MAINTAIN THE PARKS, WE, UH, PAVE ROADS, WE DO, I MEAN, THERE'S, THERE'S LITTLE VARIATION I WOULD THINK IN, IN MOST OF WHAT WE DO ON A YEAR TO YEAR BASIS, THERE ARE SOME CHANGES. 
          SO THERE MAY BE A WAY FOR US TO LAY SOME OF THAT MORE, UM, REGIMENTED MORE KIND OF ROAD PROJECTS THAT WE DO, WHICH I THINK, AGAIN, I I THINK PROBABLY OCCUPIES 73, 65, 70% OF OUR BUDGET. 
          SO WE PROBABLY NEED TO TAKE A LOOK AT, HEY, WE'RE GONNA DO, YOU KNOW, $9 MILLION WITH THE PAVING NEXT YEAR. 
          WE'RE GONNA DO, YOU KNOW, X INTERSECTIONS, WE'RE GONNA DO SO MANY COMMUNITY PARK BUILDINGS, YOU KNOW, AND AGAIN, IF WE DON'T GET SAFE FUNDING, YOU KNOW, THEN WE HAVE TO CHANGE. 
          BUT IF WE LAY IT OUT THERE THAT MAY ENABLE, UM, UH, VENDORS, MINORITY VENDORS, AND EVERYBODY ACTUALLY GET A BETTER GRIP ON HOW I CAN GET AHEAD OF THE GAME AND MAYBE PREPARE MYSELF. 
          I MAY NOT BE ABLE TO DO THIS ONE, BUT IF I GET MY BONDING TOGETHER OR IF I GET A JV OR WHATEVER, IT'S, I MAY BE ABLE TO GO, NOT THE ONE THAT'S GONNA HAPPEN IN MARCH, OR MAYBE I CAN GET THE ONE IN AUGUST. 
          SO THAT'S KIND OF LIKE, MAYBE IT'S SOME THINGS THAT WE COULD DO. 
          I'M NOT SURE I ANSWERED YOUR QUESTION, BUT THAT, THAT'S BY PRESIDENT. 
          I'M SORRY. 
          UM, MR. JACKSON, I THINK WE, WE HAVE TO DO SOMETHING A LITTLE BIT DIFFERENT FROM LISTENING TO THE PROFESSOR AND READING THIS PRESENTATION. 
          WHAT YOU JUST DESCRIBED IS WHAT WE ALWAYS DO, RIGHT? AND WHAT, IF I'M, IF I READ THIS CORRECTLY AND LISTENED TO HER PRESENTATION TODAY, WHAT SHE'S SAYING IS WE HAVE TO BOIL THAT DOWN MORE MICROSCOPIC AND FIND THE PARTS WITHIN THE WORK THAT WE DO EVERY DAY AND TARGET SPECIFIC SEGMENTS THAT WE CAN GO AFTER THAT WE KNOW THAT MAY HAVE THE CAPACITY TO RESPOND TO SOME OF THIS. 
          BECAUSE THE SAME PEOPLE ARE GOING TO KEEP RESPONDING TO OUR BIDS, RIGHT? SO WE KNOW THAT IN THE CONSTRUCTION REALM, WE MIGHT NOT HAVE ANY SMALL BUSINESSES THAT COULD BUILD THE COURTHOUSE ON THEIR OWN, RIGHT? BUT WE'VE GOTTA IDENTIFY SOME CONTRACTORS THAT MAY BE ABLE TO DO SOME OF THE SUBS. 
          AND FROM LISTENING TO SOME OF THIS FEEDBACK, SOME OF THESE SUBS IS SAYING, EVEN WHEN WE TRY TO TALK TO THESE BIG PLAYERS, THEY'RE NOT RESPONDING TO US FOR VARIOUS DIFFERENT REASONS. 
          SO WE HAVE GOT TO START TO BETTER TRACK THE, UM, WHEN WE AS A BOARD, WE'VE GOT TO START TO BETTER TRACK NOT JUST THE CONTRACT THAT WE'RE GIVEN, BUT THE SUBS THAT THEY HAVE UNDERNEATH, SO THAT WE CAN BETTER EVALUATE IF WE'RE GETTING TO THESE GOALS AND OBJECTIVES THAT YOU HAVE UP HERE. 
          RIGHT? THE OTHER THING THAT WE HAVE TO DO IS, UM, FIND OUT WHO DID THEY REACH OUT FOR. 
          'CAUSE NOW GRANTED THE CONTRACTORS MAY NEED REACH OUT TO SOME SUBS THAT MIGHT NOT RESPOND AND MIGHT SAY THAT THEY DON'T HAVE THE CAPACITY, BUT WE'RE GONNA HAVE TO BOIL IT DOWN SOME. 
          SO, AND IN MY MIND, WHAT DO I MEAN BY THIS? WE AWARDED A CONTRACT TO A COUPLE OF MEETINGS AGO FOR SOMEBODY TO DO SOME LANDSCAPING WORK AT THE PARK. 
          I KNOW THAT I SEE TITO'S ROMERO, AL'S TREE, WINSTON TREE TRAINING PLACE, RIGHT? THAT'S THREE GROUPS THAT I KNOW I SEE AROUND IN THIS AREA. 
          THEY MIGHT NOT BE ABLE TO DO ALL OF ORANGE PARK, BUT YOU CAN TAKE THE BIG PERSON AND SAY, THESE ARE THREE CONTRACTORS THAT WE KNOW THAT'S REGISTERED IN OUR PORTAL THAT'S MET WHATEVER REQUIREMENTS THAT YOU HAVE. 
          UM, MAYBE Y'ALL NEED TO GO FIGURE OUT HOW TO PLAY THE MATCHING GAME. 
          'CAUSE IF NOT, ONLY THE BIG GUY IS GONNA KEEP GETTING IT IN AL'S ROMERO, JOSE IS NEVER GONNA RESPOND 'CAUSE THEY DON'T KNOW HOW. 
          SO WE'RE NOT GONNA GET THE CHANGE THAT WE'RE LOOKING FOR. 
          AND LEGALLY, I DON'T KNOW HOW WE DO IT, BUT WE'VE GOTTA FIGURE OUT HOW WE MARRY THE LITTLE GUY WITH THE BIG GUY BETTER. 
          'CAUSE THE LITTLE GUY IS NOT GOING TO RESPOND. 
          [01:10:01]
AND I HAVE TO SAY, THIS REPORT WASN'T IMPROVEMENT OVER THE LAST ONE. 
          BELIEVE IT OR NOT. 
          IT NO. 
          UHUH. 
          YOU GUYS ARE SHAKING YOUR HEAD. 
          AND WE'RE WE'RE SHAKING. 
          BELIEVE IT OR NOT, THIS WAS AN IMPROVEMENT OVER THE LAST REPORT. 
          THE LAST REPORT, IF YOU ALL REMEMBER, THE PERCENTAGE OVERALL WAS LIKE THREE TO 5%. 
          SO THIS 11% IS ACTUALLY PRETTY GOOD. 
          SO THE ADMINISTRATION HAS MADE SOME IMPROVEMENT. 
          BUT REMEMBER, YOU COULD TAKE THE HORSE TO THE WATER, BUT YOU CAN'T MAKE THEM DRINK IT. 
          WE'VE GOTTA FIGURE OUT BETTER HOW TO BUILD UP THESE SMALLER PEOPLE TO RESPOND TO THESE THINGS. 
          SO I WOULD SAY AS A BOARD COMMISSIONER, UM, MURRAY, WE'VE GOT TO FIGURE OUT HOW TO BETTER TRACK THE CONTRACTS WHEN THEY COME TO US FOR APPROVAL. 
          HOW MANY SUBS DO THEY HAVE UNDERNEATH THERE? WHAT CATEGORY OF THE WNBE VETERAN NON-MINORITY ONES, WHICH CATEGORY DO THEY FALL IN? 'CAUSE WE DON'T CURRENTLY ASK FOR THAT RIGHT NOW AS A PART OF OUR RECOMMENDATION MEMO. 
          WE, WE DON'T ASK FOR IT. 
          AND MAYBE WE SHOULD ASK FOR IT. 
          I KNOW WE START TO ASK ABOUT THE ADDRESS, WHERE THE PEOPLE ARE FROM TO SEE IF THEY'RE ESS COUNTY OR NON ESTES COUNTY. 
          WE ASK FOR THAT. 
          AND MAYBE, UM, THE OTHER THING THAT WE'VE GOT TO FIGURE OUT IS HOW DO WE, UM, WHAT PLAN CAN WE COME UP WITH? I WOULD LOVE TO SIT WITH THE ADMINISTRATION TO HELP TO FIGURE OUT HOW DO WE COME UP WITH AN ACHIEVABLE, REALISTIC PLAN TO MEET SOME OF THE GOALS, THE FOUR OR FIVE GOALS THAT THE PROFESSOR GAVE TO US, AND MAYBE COME UP WITH A FIVE TO 10 YEAR GOAL, WHAT WE'RE PLANNING ON DOING. 
          MAYBE WE START WITH CLEANING THE BUILDING. 
          YOU KNOW, JUST PICK ONE CATEGORY AND WE POUND THE PAVEMENT TO GET PEOPLE IN TO PROVIDE THE TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE AND SEE IF WE CAN GROW SOME MORE PEOPLE TO MEET THE, THE GOALS AND USE THAT AS THE TEST CASE. 
          'CAUSE IF WE KEEP DOING WHAT WE'RE DOING AT THE RATE THAT WE'RE GOING, OUR IMPROVEMENT IS ONLY GOING TO BE, IT MAY GO THE OTHER DIRECTION, COULD GO DOWN, GO DIRECTION. 
          BUT I'M HOPEFUL THAT IT GREW FROM THAT THREE TO 5% PRIOR YEARS THAT WE CAN GET IT UP A LITTLE BIT MORE. 
          I KNOW THAT JAY HAD BEEN VERY AGGRESSIVE AND GOTTEN SOME RECENT, REMEMBER THE CONTRACTS WE APPROVED THIS PAST YEAR? THERE WERE SEVERAL DIFFERENT GROUPS IN HERE. 
          ENGINEERS. 
          WE, WE'VE DONE IT. 
          SO JAY, I DON'T KNOW WHAT YOU DID THIS THIS PAST YEAR, YOU KNOW, WHAT DID YOU DO JAY THIS PAST YEAR? THEN HOW DID WE GET DIFFERENT PEOPLE IN? UH, HE WAS WAITING FOR THAT OPPORTUNITY. 
          , HE JUMPED UP OUT OF THE SEAT. 
          JULIA'S COLT, UH, DEPUTY COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR PURCHASING AGENT. 
          I THINK ONE OF THE THINGS WE NEED TO DO, REALLY, DIRECTOR BURGESS AND MYSELF DID HER PROGRAM AT OUR NEW IRVINGTON CENTER. 
          I THINK WE NEED TO PARTNER TOGETHER TO GO TO BURG PARK, GO TO WEAK WAKE PARK CENTER, AND IT'S A COMBINATION OF HAVING THE COMMISSIONERS AND THE ADMINISTRATION GO OUT. 
          YOU KNOW, YOUR PEOPLE IN YOUR DISTRICT. 
          SO BRING THEM IN. 
          WE'LL BRING OUR DOG AND PONY SHOW IN TO SAY, OKAY, HERE'S WHAT WE DO. 
          HERE'S HOW YOU BID, HERE'S HOW YOU DO THIS. 
          WE DID A GREAT PROGRAM UP IN IRVINGTON, AND I THINK IF WE START HAVING ONE IN THE NORTH WARD, EAST WARD, HAVING ONE IN THE, IN THE EAST WARD, HAVING ONE IN WEAK WAKE PARK, HAVING, WE HAVE ENOUGH BEAUTIFUL COMMUNITY CENTERS OUT THERE THAT WE CAN HAVE THESE DOG AND PONY SHOWS TO GET PEOPLE TO COME IN. 
          SO IF YOU'RE HAVING ONE IN ORANGE OR EAST ORANGE, THIS WAY, YOU KNOW, THE VENDORS IN THAT AREA, AND WE CAN TELL THEM HOW TO START GETTING ON THE PORTAL, HOW TO WORK WITH SMALL BUSINESS. 
          IF I MAY, JUST TO PIGGYBACK ON, UH, A POINT YOU BROUGHT UP ABOUT THESE PRIMES AND THESE GCS. 
          THEY'VE ACTUALLY COME IN HERE AND I'VE ASKED THEM SPECIFICALLY, ARE THERE ANY, UH, SUBS THAT YOU HAVE THAT ARE AFRICAN AMERICAN? THEY REFUSE TO ANSWER THE QUESTION THEY WOULDN'T EVEN ANSWER. 
          SO HOW DO YOU GET 'EM TO DO ANYTHING ELSE? AND THEY WON'T EVEN ANSWER THAT QUESTION. 
          AND THEY BUILDING MAJOR, THEY'RE BUILDING MAJOR BUILDINGS RIGHT NOW. 
          SO THE NEXT TIME THEY COME FOR A CONTRACT, THEN THE BUCK STOPS WITH US. 
          THE BUCK STOP WITH US. 
          YEAH. 
          THE CONTRACT CAN'T GO THROUGH. 
          AND I KNOW LEGALLY, I KNOW LEGALLY THERE WAS, YOU KNOW, SOME THINGS THAT HAPPENED WITH THE AFFIRMATIVE BACK. 
          BUT THERE'S GOTTA BE A WAY, WE'VE GOT TO FIGURE SOMETHING OUT, A LEGISLATIVE BODY SO WE CAN COME UP WITH SOME LEGISLATION. 
          MM-HMM . 
          I WAS GONNA, I WAS GONNA MAKE A RECOMMENDATION AND, AND JAY WAS SPOT ON WITH, UM, UH, AND, AND MY, 
          [01:15:01]
MY COLLEAGUES ALL PARTICIPATE IN AND, AND PARTNERING WITH YOUR OFFICE AND HOSTING, UM, A, UH, AN EVENT AT, IN OUR DISTRICTS, UM, IN NEWARK, AS BIG AS NEWARK IS, I WOULD SAY, WITHIN THE WARDS. 
          UM, BUT, UH, EAST ORANGE AND, AND, AND HAVING, UM, HAVING YOU COME OUT, UM, AND, AND US ASSIST IN, IN, AND GETTING THOSE PROVIDERS, THOSE BUSINESSES TO COME TO ONE PLACE SO THAT YOU CAN THEN DO WHAT YOU DO AND, AND DO THIS KIND. 
          SO, AND THEN, THEN IT'S THE FOLLOW UP FROM THERE AS WELL. 
          IT'S, IT'S THAT EDUCATION, THE AWARENESS, AND THEN THE TRAINING AND THE TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE. 
          UM, AND, AND I'M GONNA JUST, UM, FINISH WITH THIS. 
          UM, I, I AM AT A LOSS FOR WORDS. 
          UH, 89.46% OF NON-MINORITY WOMEN DON BUSINESS ENTERPRISE. 
          UM, AND, UH, HISPANICS ARE POINT 35 AND AFRICAN AMERICANS ARE POINT 33 IN 2024. 
          UM, WE HAVE SO MUCH WORK TO DO. 
          UM, WE HAVE TO CHANGE THIS NUMBER. 
          THIS IS NOT ACCEPTABLE. 
          THIS IS NOT ACCEPTABLE. 
          THAT HAS TO CHANGE. 
          AND, AND, AND WE, UM, UH, AND I I TOLD YOU DIRECTOR, UM, YOU KNOW, WE'RE, WE'RE HERE TO SUPPORT YOUR OFFICE. 
          UM, WE VALUE THE WORK, UM, THAT YOU DO. 
          UM, AND I DON'T KNOW THE RESOURCES THAT YOU HAVE TO REALLY TACKLE WHAT WE'RE TRYING TO ACHIEVE. 
          WE, MAYBE THE ADMINISTRATION MAY NEED TO LOOK AT THAT. 
          UM, BUT WE NEED TO GET IT DONE BECAUSE THIS CANNOT CONTINUE. 
          UNDERSTOOD. 
          THANK YOU. 
          UH, MR. UH, MARY THOMAS, THANK YOU SO MUCH. 
          UH, CHAIRMAN, UH, RICHARDSON. 
          AS, AS PART OF THE REASON WHY I WANTED TO GO INTO THE REPORT DEEPER WAS BECAUSE THE NUMBERS SPEAK FOR THEMSELVES. 
          UM, AND SO THANK YOU TO MY BOARD MEMBERS AND TO THIS TEAM FOR JUST CALLING A SPADE A SPADE. 
          TWO QUESTIONS AND, AND POTENTIAL ACTION STEPS. 
          SO IN THE ENHANCED DATA COLLECTION RECOMMENDATION, IT SAYS THAT THE COUNTY SHOULD IMPLEMENT EXISTING DATA SYSTEMS AND PROCESSES TO MONITOR AND TRACK PROGRESS ON KEY PERFORMANCE INDICATORS AND ESTABLISH SOLID PROCESSES TO COLLECT AND ANALYZE MWBE UTILIZATION BY DATA, DATA BY RACE, ETHNICITY, AND GENDER TO PRO TO MONITOR GOAL ATTAINMENT. 
          SO MY QUESTION IS, WHAT ARE OUR CURRENT KEY PERFORMANCE INDICATORS? IN OTHER WORDS, WHAT IS THE COUNTY ACTUALLY DOING TO MEASURE AND TRACK PROGRESS? NUMBER ONE. 
          NUMBER TWO, UM, IT SAYS, ALTHOUGH NOT REQUIRED BY NEW JERSEY STATE, LOCAL PUBLIC CONTRACT LAWS, ESSEX COUNTY STRONGLY ENCOURAGES PRIMES TO REPORT SUBCONTRACTOR AND SUPPLIER UTILIZATION BY RACE, ETHNICITY, AND GENDER. 
          UM, AS IDENTIFIED IN THIS REPORT, LIMITED, WMWB SUBCONTRACT DATA WAS AVAILABLE. 
          SO TO COMMISSIONER RICHARDSON AND, UH, OH GOD, I'M FORGETTING MY LAST NAME. 
          I'M MS. COOPER, VICE PRESIDENT COOPER. 
          UM, AND MERCADO'S POINTS, YOU GOT CERTAIN VENDORS WHO WON'T EVEN TELL YOU THE SUBS AND, AND THE BREAKDOWN BY RACE. 
          AND SO WHAT DOES IT LOOK LIKE FOR US AS A BOARD OR US AS AN ADMINISTRATION TO JUST HAVE THAT BE A POLICY? LIKE YOU ACTUALLY HAVE TO TELL US, UM, HAVE THAT BE A PRACTICE ON A REGULAR BASIS. 
          AND AS A BOARD, YOU KNOW, OBVIOUSLY THERE'S SOME ACTION THAT WE CAN TAKE ON THAT TOO. 
          BUT THE, JUST TO REITERATE, THE FIRST QUESTION IS, WHAT ARE OUR KPIS TWO, UM, WHAT IS OUR OPPORTUNITY TO MAKE SURE THAT WE MANDATE THE REPORTING AND DISAGGREGATION OF PRIMES ON SUB ON SUBCONTRACTOR SUPPLY UTILIZATION, DISAGGREGATED BY RACE, GENDER, ET CETERA. 
          UM, AND THEN THREE, AND MAYBE THIS LIVES WITHIN THE AFFIRMATIVE ACTION COMMITTEE. 
          HOW CAN WE JUST HAVE THAT, THOSE NUMBERS COMING TO US? WHEN I WAS ON THE SCHOOL BOARD AND WE WERE WORKING ON IMPLEMENTING AMISTAD LEGISLATION PASSED IN 2002 TO MANDATE THAT EVERY KID IN MISS STATE LEARNS ABOUT AFRICAN AMERICAN HISTORY. 
          IT TOOK 15 PLUS YEARS FOR IT TO ACTUALLY BE IMPLEMENTED. 
          AND IT WOULDN'T HAVE HAPPENED WITHOUT, I THINK I SAW MS. GREGORY IN THE ROOM, FOLKS LIKE MS, UH, DEBORAH SMITH, GREGORY, THE NAACP, SO, SO MANY OTHER, UH, COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS WORKING TOGETHER TO GET THIS TO HAPPEN. 
          SO WHEN I WAS A CHAIR OF PROGRAM AND INSTRUCTION, I SAID, OKAY, LET'S MAKE SURE JUST EVERY MONTH Y'ALL ARE TELLING US WHAT WE'RE DOING AT AMISTAD. 
          HAVING A PRACTICE IN PLACE WHERE THERE'S A REPORT COMING TO THE BOARD SAYING, WHERE ARE WE HERE? AND SO I GUESS THIS IS TO YOU, MR. RICHARDSON, OR TO ANYONE ON THE BOARD, HOW CAN WE JUST HAVE THIS DATA ON OUR PROGRESS, OUR KEY PERFORMANCE INDICATORS LIVING WITHIN A COMMITTEE IN THE BOARD, SO THAT WAY WE ARE CONSTANTLY ABREAST AND WE CAN SUPPORT YOU GUYS ON OUR END. 
          I KNOW THAT WAS A LOT, SO LET ME KNOW IF, IF THAT'S CLEAR, IF I COULD JUST CHIME IN FOR A MOMENT. 
          UM, THANK YOU FOR THAT. 
          AND I HEARD 
          [01:20:01]
SOME, SOME VERY GOOD PHRASES AND SOME WORDS, COMMISSIONERS. 
          YOU, YOU ACTUALLY HIT THE NAIL ON THE HEAD. 
          I HEARD CHANGE IN POLICIES. 
          I HEARD MATCHING, UM, I THINK YOU SAID MATCHING GAME. 
          MM-HMM . 
          I HEARD, UM, HAVING A, MAKING A LITTLE GUY STRONGER AND IMPROVING OUR COMPUTER TRAINING. 
          UM, I WOULD SAY LAST COUPLE OF WEEKS I WAS IN, UM, MR. JULIUS'S OFFICE AND WE WERE TALKING ABOUT ENHANCING THE DATA SYSTEM SO THAT WE CAN TRACK JUST WHAT WE'VE BEEN DISCUSSING TONIGHT. 
          AND I THINK THAT'S WHERE IT'S GOING TO BEGIN. 
          AND LIKE I SAID, THE DISCUSSION HAS ALREADY STARTED. 
          ONCE, UM, WE'RE ABLE TO GO INTO THE SYSTEM AND, AND SEPARATE VENDORS TO WHAT THEIR SPECIALTIES ARE, WE'RE ABLE TO PLAY THAT MATCHING GAME, RIGHT? NOT ONLY PLAY THE MATCHING GAME, WE CAN ALSO REACH OUT TO THESE VENDORS TO THE ONES THAT HAVEN'T RESPONDED. 
          AND I, I DON'T WANNA REPEAT MYSELF, BUT TO, TO, TO UNDERSTAND AND SEE WHY THEY HAVEN'T RESPONDED. 
          YOU MENTIONED HAVING, UM, THE DOG AND PONY SHOW. 
          I DON'T, I DON'T WANNA BE THE DOG OR THE PONY, BUT, UM, THAT'S WHAT WE HAD ALREADY DISCUSSED GOING FORWARD, RIGHT? GOING TO , GOING TO EACH SITE AND DOING THE SAME THING. 
          HAVING THAT COFFEE AND CONVERSATION. 
          AND THAT'S JUST WHAT THE CONVERSATION IS GOING TO BE. 
          WHAT ARE THE ISSUES? I, FOR MYSELF, THINK THAT OUT OF THE 96 PEOPLE THAT WERE AT THE EVENT, AND I'M SORRY YOU DIDN'T GET THE NOTIFICATION, I KNOW THAT, UM, COMMISSIONER, UM, RICHARDSON WAS THERE, AND I'LL WORK BETTER TO GET IT OUT TO, TO THE REST OF EVERYBODY. 
          I THINK IT WAS SUCCESSFUL BECAUSE THO THE, THE, WHAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT NOW WAS THE CONVERSATION. 
          AND IF WE CAN HAVE THAT CONVERSATION IN EACH DISTRICT OR EACH WARD, I THINK THAT'D BE THE BEGINNING OF THE SUCCESS OF WHAT WE'RE TRYING TO OBTAIN NOW. 
          MM-HMM . 
          JUST FOR CLARITY TOO, AND THEN THIS IS MY LAST THING, JUST, I JUST WANNA MAKE SURE I I GET THIS. 
          SO IS THERE CURRENTLY A PRACTICE FOR PRIMES TO REPORT THEIR SUBCONTRACTOR SUPPLY UTILIZATION? AND DOES, DOES THE ADMIN TRACK THAT? AND WHAT ARE, WHAT ARE OUR OUTCOMES?  PUR PURCHASING, AGING, UM, EVERY BID THAT WE RECEIVE FOR CONSTRUCTION, AND THEY HAVE TO, DEPENDING ON IF THEY NEED A STEEL PERSON, IF THEY NEED A-H-V-A-C PERSON, THEY HAVE HAVE TO NAME THOSE WITH THEIR PUBLIC WORK CERTIFICATE WITHIN THE BID. 
          SO THAT INFORMATION IS IN THE BID AT THAT PARTICULAR TIME. 
          SO THE QUESTION WOULD BE, UH, MR. VENDOR, YOU WERE NAMING, UH, JOHN JONES AS YOUR HVAC PERSON. 
          YOU CAN ASK A QUESTION ABOUT THAT. 
          SO CURRENTLY THERE IS NO PRACTICE TO ASK THAT QUESTION AND, AND SEE LIKE WHAT THEIR RACE, GENDER, ETHNICITY IS. 
          WELL, EVERY BID COMES IN FOR CONSTRUCTION. 
          IT, WHATEVER SUBS THEY NEED, THEY'RE IN THE BID PACKAGE, THEY MUST BE IN THERE. 
          MM-HMM . 
          YOU HAVE TO NAME 'EM. 
          AND IT'S DISAGGREGATED BY RACE, GENDER, ETHNICITY. 
          NO, WE, WE DON'T DO, WE CAN'T ASK THAT QUESTION. 
          THAT WAS THE QUESTION. 
          SHE, YEAH, THAT'S WHAT I'M ASKING. 
          SO, SO THE QUESTION IS, I CAN'T ASK THAT QUESTION. 
          YOU'RE A LEGISLATIVE BODY. 
          YOU MAY HAVE A DIFFERENT APPROACH. 
          AND THAT LEADS TO COUNCIL BECAUSE, 'CAUSE IF, JUST, IF I'M READING THIS CORRECTLY AND COUNSEL YOU, YOU CAN CHIME IN HERE. 
          UM, IT'S NOT REQUIRED BY STATE OR PUBLIC CONTRACT LAW, BUT THE COUNTY DOES HAVE THE CAPACITY TO ACT PRIMES JUST TO REPORT IT. 
          CORRECT. 
          IN THE BID IN THEIR, IN THEIR BID SPECIF IN THEIR BID, UH, DOCUMENT THAT THEY'RE SUBMITTING. 
          WELL, MAYBE THAT'S THE QUESTION FOR YOU. 
          SINCE YOUR LEGAL COUNSEL, WHERE COULD THEY WORK? NO, THEY CAN'T ASK THAT IN THE, IN THE ACTUAL BID. 
          SO IT COULDN'T BE IN THE BID, BUT IT COULD BE JUST, IF YOU WERE HERE AND YOU WOULD HAVE, UH, ACCESS TO WHAT PURCHASING GETS, YOU GET THE BID PACKAGE, HERE'S A, B AND C VENDORS, IT'S, YOU KNOW, UH, BOB SMITH, HVAC. 
          LIKE YOU SAID, THEY'LL HAVE THEIR PUBLIC WORK CERTIFIC, UH, PUBLIC WORK CERTIFICATE FROM THE STATE BUSINESS REGISTRATION THAT HAS TO BE PROVIDED. 
          I THINK YOU COULD ASK A QUESTION. 
          TELL ME SOMETHING ABOUT BOB SMITH, HVA STATEMENT. 
          WHERE ARE THEY FROM? WELL, YOU'LL KNOW WHERE THEY'RE FROM. 
          YOU CAN ASK THAT INFORMATION IS IN THE BID PACKET. 
          LET ME, LET ME TELL YOU WHAT THEY, SO THEN THE SECOND STEP IS JUST ASK, LEMME TELL YOU WHAT THEY'LL SAY. 
          YEAH, YEAH. 
          BOB SMITH, UH, AND ASK 'EM, HOW MANY TIMES HAVE YOU USED BOB? WELL, I ALWAYS USE BOB SMITH, RIGHT? BECAUSE THESE PRIMES ALWAYS USE THEIR SAME SUBS. 
          SO NO NEW PERSON EVER GETS AN OPPORTUNITY BECAUSE THEY ALREADY HAVE THE DECK STACK, EVEN THOUGH THEY'LL SAY THAT THESE GUYS, YOU KNOW, HAVE TO PUT A BID IN. 
          BUT THE SAME SUBS WHO WORK FOR THE SAME GC ALWAYS SEEMS TO KNOW WHAT THE 
          [01:25:01]
BID IS OR TO BID AND TO GET TO WIN THE MONEY, TO WIN THE, UH, BID. 
          YEAH, BUT DON'T WE ASK, UH, IF THEY'RE WNBE OR VETERAN, DON'T WE ASK THAT IN OUR BID SETS, WE DON'T ASK THAT. 
          THEY USUALLY PROVIDE THAT INFORMATION TO US. 
          WE'LL KNOW IF A VENDOR IS A WB OR WHATEVER THEY, WHEN THEY REGISTERED ON THE PORTAL. 
          THAT'S ONE OF THE QUESTIONS WE ASK YOU. 
          BUT WE DON'T RE REITERATE THAT QUESTION IN THE BID SPEC ITSELF. 
          NO, NO. 
          SO I'M GOING, CAN WE, CAN WE ADD THAT TO THE BID SPECS OR, OR NO, TO ASK THAT QUESTION ABOUT THE, THAT'S A COUNCIL QUESTION ABOUT THE SUBS? NO, JUST IN GENERAL IS THE, IS THE PRIMARY PERSON WHO'S RESPONDING TO THE BID? I THINK THAT QUESTION'S IN THERE, ISN'T IT? I THOUGHT IT WAS IN THERE. 
          I THOUGHT IT WAS INSIDE SOME OF YOUR BID. 
          I DON'T KNOW OFFHAND. 
          THE PRIME PERSON. 
          I, I THINK THERE'S A QUESTION IF THEY HAVE ANY, ANY MAJOR SAY, ANY STATE CERTIFICATIONS. 
          SO, SO IF WE COULD ASK THAT QUESTION, ADD IT, AND IF WE COULD ASK IT FOR THE SUBS THAT IS START TO HELP US COLLECT SOME OF THE DATA THAT WE'RE LOOKING FOR. 
          UM, I HAVE A QUESTION FOR YOUR PORTAL. 
          WHEN YOU SIGN UP TO BE IN THE PORTAL, DOES IT AUTOMATICALLY SEND OUT NOTIFICATIONS EVERY TIME YOU PUT UP A BID? OR IS IT SPECIFIC DRIVEN TO WHATEVER, LIKE CATEGORIES YOU SELECT, YOU, THE VENDOR CHOOSES WHAT THEY WOULD LIKE TO RECEIVE? IF YOU'RE A CONSTRUCTION PERSON, YOU WANT CONSTRUCTION BIDS. 
          IF YOU ARE A SMALL BUSINESS THAT DOES, UH, T-SHIRTS, THEN YOU APPLY FOR THAT. 
          YOU CHOOSE, MEANING THE VENDOR CHOOSES WHAT THEY WOULD LIKE TO RECEIVE. 
          THEY, NIGP HAS A TON OF CATEGORIES. 
          YOU PICK THE CATEGORY THAT YOU WOULD LIKE TO RECEIVE THE EMAIL ABOUT AND THE BID ABOUT. 
          ALRIGHT. 
          UH, WHEN YOU GO TO THE COUNTY'S WEBSITE, I CAN'T RECALL RIGHT NOW, DOES IT SAY ON THE MAIN PAGE, SIGN UP TO BECOME A VENDOR FOR CONTRACTING OPPORTUNITIES? VENDOR OPPORTUNITIES? IT'LL SAY REGISTER. 
          IT JUST SAYS REGISTER. 
          IT JUST SAYS REGISTER. 
          OKAY. 
          WE'RE, WE'RE GONNA, WE'RE GONNA OPEN IT UP FOR PUBLIC COMMENTS SHORTLY. 
          SO JUST, JUST, JUST, JUST HOLD ON. 
          I JUST GOT ONE OTHER THING. 
          SO I RECALL SOME TIME AGO THAT THE COUNTY DID A BONDING PROGRAM YEARS AGO. 
          I KNOW A PARTICULAR CONTRACTOR, A WOMAN, A BLACK WOMAN FROM NEWARK, WHO WENT THROUGH THAT BONDING PROGRAM AND THROUGH THAT STARTED HER ON A PATH TO WHERE SHE HAD TO GET SOME OTHER CERTIFICATIONS AND SOME OTHER THINGS. 
          AND SHE BECAME AN EIGHT, A CONTRACTOR, UM, AND MADE A LOT OF MONEY AND WORKED WITH THE UNIONS AND DID VERY, VERY WELL. 
          AND WHAT SHE DISCOVERED WAS THAT THE BONDING WASN'T ENOUGH, AND IT WAS CERTAIN CERTIFICATIONS THAT WAS NEEDED. 
          SO SHE NOW HAS A WHOLE PROGRAM WITH THE MENTORSHIP, WITH ALL OF THESE THINGS INCLUDED, THAT CAN CERTAINLY BE HELPFUL TO YOU. 
          AND I, I DISCUSSED THIS WITH YOU. 
          YES, SIR. 
          UM, AND IT'S SOMETHING THAT THIS COUNTY SHOULD LOOK AT. 
          IF WE'RE REALLY SERIOUS ABOUT CHANGING THESE NUMBERS AND REALLY ACHIEVING SOME OF THE RECOMMENDATIONS FROM MGT, UH, WE NEED TO CERTAINLY LOOK AT WORKING WITH THIS GROUP. 
          UH, MAYBE A, MAYBE A COURSE IN, IN THE TRAINING PROGRAM, UM, AT OUR, AT THE, AT THE 51 CLINTON PLACE, A TWO WEEK TRAINING PROGRAM ON HOW TO BECOME A VENDOR, YOU KNOW, UM, BECAUSE IT IS THAT COMPLICATED. 
          YOU KNOW, WE'RE, WE'RE FAIRLY INTELLIGENT PEOPLE AND IT, AND IT IS A STRUGGLE TO GET THROUGH THAT PROCESS. 
          AND, AND IF WE CAN SOMEHOW STREAMLINE SOME PART OF IT, I'M NOT SURE IF THAT'S EVEN POSSIBLE. 
          UM, SO THAT THE, THE LAY PERSON CAN, CAN UNDERSTAND IT. 
          AND, AND I THINK IF INCUMBENT UPON US TO, TO, TO, TO, TO, TO, UH, TO HAVE A FORUM FOR THEM, TO, TO EDUCATE THEM AND TO TRAIN THEM, AND, AND, AND IT'S, IT, IT'S, IT'S A LOT. 
          IT'S NOT THE, IT'S NOT, YOU CAN'T DO IT IN ONE DAY. 
          IT'S, IT TAKES TIME TO ACTUALLY KNOW AND, AND TO GET THROUGH AN ENTIRE, AND THEN THERE ARE NOT TO CUT YOU OFF, BUT THERE ARE THINGS THAT, ESPECIALLY IN CONSTRUCTION, IF YOU ARE, YOU ARE A CONTRACTOR, JUST GETTING A CONTRACTOR'S CERTIFICATION FROM THE STATE IS NOT ENOUGH. 
          MM-HMM . 
          RIGHT? YOU, YOU HAVE TO HAVE INSURANCE. 
          YOU, YOU CAN'T BE PAYING CASH OR A MYRIAD OF THINGS THAT YOU HAVE TO HAVE IN PLACE IN ORDER TO DO, UH, BUSINESS, ESPECIALLY PUBLIC WORKS. 
          AND NOW YOU HAVE TO HAVE YOUR PUBLIC WORK CERTIFICATE. 
          FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO DOESN'T KNOW WHAT THAT MEANS, THAT MEANS YOU HAVE TO BE ASSOCIATED WITH AN APPRENTICESHIP PROGRAM. 
          MM-HMM . 
          RIGHT? . 
          SO YOU HAVE TO HAVE THAT CONNECTION, 
          [01:30:01]
RIGHT. 
          AND HOW DO YOU GET THERE? RIGHT? BUT THAT'S WHAT, UH, BM LEAP HAS PUT TOGETHER, THIS WHOLE PROGRAM, A COMPREHENSIVE PROGRAM ON HOW TO GET THERE EVERY A STEP BY STEP GUIDE ON HOW YOU DO IT. 
          SO I, I'M DEFINITELY GONNA BRING THEM IN SO WE CAN HAVE A MORE ROBUST, UH, CONVERSATION, BECAUSE THOSE CONSTRUCTION NUMBERS ARE VISIBLE. 
          ZERO. 
          THE WHOLE THING IS, UM, I WANT, I WANNA OPEN IT UP FOR THE PUBLIC. 
          I DID THIS LAST COMMENT. 
          I WANT US TO ALSO, TO ADD, AS A PART OF THE TO-DO LIST, FIGURE OUT A BETTER WAY FOR US TO CONNECT THE EMPLOYMENT AND TRAINING SIDE TO THE VENDORS. 
          WE AWARD A LOT OF CONTRACTORS. 
          WE GOT A BUNCH OF PEOPLE DOWN THE STREET THAT'S TRAINING AT SOME OF THE PROGRAMS THAT WE FUND LOOKING TO BECOME GAINFULLY EMPLOYED. 
          WE'RE GIVING OUT ALL THESE MILLIONS OF DOLLARS AND THEY HAVE VACANCIES. 
          WHY ARE WE NOT REQUIRING THEM TO AT LEAST HAVE A CONVERSATION WITH THE EMPLOYMENT AND TRAINING OFFICE WHO DOES A FANTASTIC JOB AND MARRY SOME OF THOSE PEOPLE TOGETHER? YOU KNOW, THEY'RE ALL COUNTY RESIDENTS. 
          LET'S, LET'S ALSO PUT THAT ON OUR TO-DO LIST TO FIGURE OUT. 
          ABSOLUTELY. 
          MAKES PERFECT SENSE. 
          SO NOW I WANT TO OPEN IT UP TO THE PUBLIC. 
          IF ANYONE FROM THE PUBLIC, UH, WOULD LIKE TO SPEAK, COME UP AND ASK A QUESTION OR MAKE A STATEMENT AND YOU'LL HAVE THREE MINUTES TO SPEAK. 
          BE SHY. 
          NOW, YOU WERE TALKING IN THE AUDIENCE. 
          OH, THEY SIGNED, THEY HAVE A SIGN UP TO OH, OKAY. 
          SIGNED UP. 
          OKAY. 
          I'M SORRY. 
          SIGNED. 
          WELL, JUST A QUICK QUESTION. 
          UM, GOOD EVENING. 
          JUST STATE YOUR NAME. 
          UH, MY NAME IS DR. 
          SHANA BARNETT. 
          UM, MY QUESTION IS, WHERE CAN WE GET A COPY OF THIS EXTENSIVE REPORT? YOU CAN HAVE MINE. 
          THANK YOU. 
          MM-HMM . 
          IT'S POSTED ON THE WEBSITE. 
          YOU KNOW, IT MAY BE ON THE WEBSITE. 
          OH YEAH, IT'S ON THE WEBSITE. 
          IT'S ON WEBSITE PAPER COPY. 
          WE COULD WORK ON GETTING SOME PAPER COPIES TOO. 
          YEAH. 
          GOOD EVENING. 
          WE ALL SIGNED IN, COMMISSIONER. 
          OKAY. 
          I DIDN'T KNOW . 
          THEY WERE, SO IT WASN'T ME. 
          UM, MY NAME IS DEBORAH SMITH. 
          GREGORY, AND I SERVE AS THE PRESIDENT OF NEWARK AND A CP AND COMMISSIONER COOPER. 
          UM, I, I WANT TO SAY, WELL, I WANNA SPEAK TO THE COMMISSIONERS FIRST, UM, BECAUSE YOU'VE BEEN TALKING ABOUT THIS A LONG TIME, AND I REMEMBER THE LAST REPORT, HOW TERRIBLE IT IS. 
          IT WAS. 
          AND SO FOR YOU TO SAY THAT THIS IS AN IMPROVEMENT IS REALLY A TRAVESTY FOR OUR COMMUNITY. 
          I THINK THAT EVEN THOUGH THE ADMINISTRATION HAD SOMEONE COME IN AND DO AN OFFICIAL ASSESSMENT, THE QUESTIONS THAT YOU ALL HAVE AND THE SUGGESTIONS THAT YOU HAVE NEED TO BE MEMORIALIZED IN PA ON A PAPER AND BE PART OF A STRATEGY FOR THE DIRECTOR. 
          UM, WE CAN'T KEEP GOING ON LIKE THIS BECAUSE IT'S IN EVERY ASPECT, WHICH IS WHY COMMISSIONER MURRAY CAN TALK ABOUT IT, BECAUSE THE SAME THING WAS GOING ON WITH THE NEWARK BOARD OF EDUCATION. 
          THE SAME THING IS GOING ON AT UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL. 
          SO FOR YOU, FOR THIS BOARD TO COME UP WITH IDEAS, RECOMMENDATIONS, AND TO BE AGGRESSIVE ABOUT IT, BECAUSE CLEARLY THE COUNTY IS FAILING. 
          I WANTED TO SEE THE PROFESSIONAL SERVICES. 
          WE KNOW HOW ABYSMAL THE CONSTRUCTION IS, BUT I SUSPECT THAT THE PROFESSIONAL SERVICES ARE AS BAD. 
          AND EVEN THOUGH WE HAVE PROFESSIONAL SERVICES INSIDE ESS COUNTY JAIL, INSIDE THE SCHOOL SYSTEM, INSIDE COUNTY, UM, OWNED AND OPERATED BUSINESSES, UM, YEAH. 
          SO THE PROFESSIONAL SERVICES, OKAY, SO WE GET 1.35%. 
          THAT'S UNACCEPTABLE. 
          AND SO I, I WANT TO COMMEND THIS BOARD TO BE AGGRESSIVE ABOUT MAKING THIS CHANGE AND THE IDEAS NOT TO JUST LET THEM BE 
          [01:35:01]
IDEAS THAT YOU THROW OUT INTO THE ETHER, BUT THAT YOU PUT THEM IN WRITING AND PRESENT THEM AS A STRATEGY FOR THE EXEC, COUNTY EXEC AND HIS ADMINISTRATION, AND THEN HOLD THEM ACCOUNTABLE. 
          THANK YOU. 
          THANK YOU. 
          NEXT, PLEASE. 
          GOOD EVENING. 
          MY NAME IS MARQUIS ABRAHAM. 
          I'M THE DIRECTOR OF THE HUDSON COUNTY OFFICE OF BUSINESS OPPORTUNITY. 
          I'M VERY HAPPY TO BE HERE WITH YOU ALL TONIGHT. 
          UM, GOOD EVENING, ADMINISTRATOR JACKSON AND SENATOR BURGESS. 
          GOOD EVENING. 
          GOOD TO SEE YOU. 
          UM, WE ARE HERE IN SUPPORT OF THE ADMINISTRATION AND SENATOR BURGESS IN HER NEW ROLE, BECAUSE WE HAVE THE SAME ISSUES IN HUDSON COUNTY. 
          UH, WE HAVE A DISPARITY STUDY. 
          WE'LL BE DOING SOMETHING SIMILAR AS WE DID, AS YOU ALL ARE DOING HERE. 
          AND WE WANT TO LET YOU KNOW THAT FOR DISCUSSION PURPOSES, FOR WORKSHOPPING IDEAS, FOR TALKING ABOUT BEST PRACTICES, UM, WE'RE MORE THAN AVAILABLE AND WILLING TO WORK ON THAT. 
          WE LOOK AT OUR ROLE, EVEN THOUGH WE WORK IN HUDSON COUNTY, EVEN A PART OF A LARGER ECOSYSTEM OF THE ENTIRE STATE, WE HAVE THE SAME DEMOGRAPHIC PURCHASING AS YOU ALL DO. 
          SO WE DEAL WITH SOME OF THE SAME BUSINESSES. 
          AND I WANT TO ENCOURAGE YOU ALL TO BE AGGRESSIVE OUT THE GATE. 
          I AGREE WITH YOU, MAN, BECAUSE WHEN WE START TIPTOEING AND FOCUSING ON SMALL, USING THAT TERM, SMALL, WE MISS IT. 
          AND THEN IT'S TOO LATE. 
          THIS IS WHY, AND THE PURCHASING AGENT HERE COULD PROBABLY BACK ME UP. 
          YOU HAVE A HUGE BUDGET, YOU SPEND A LOT OF MONEY AND YOU WANT TO GET TO 20%. 
          BUT WHAT HAPPENS IS, FOR ONE, MOST OF THE PURCHASES ARE NOT DONE BY CONTRACTS OR SOLICITATIONS. 
          THEY'RE DONE BY PURCHASES OF CO-OPS. 
          SO THERE'S NEVER AN OPPORTUNITY FOR YOU TO GALVANIZE AS A BOARD AND AS AN OFFICE AND AS A COMMUNITY TO GET THAT. 
          SO, AS AN EXAMPLE, AND I'M NOT GONNA BELABOR THIS, IF YOU'RE DOING 70% OF YOUR PURCHASES OFF A CO-OP, AND MOST PEOPLE WHO WIN CO-OP BIDS ARE NOT MINORITY BUSINESSES, AND YOU ARE LAWFULLY ALLOWED TO DO YOUR PURCHASES OFF THE CO-OP, SO THERE'S NOTHING ILLEGAL ABOUT IT, AND YOU HAVE A A BILLION DOLLAR BUDGET, THEN 700 MILLION OF ALL YOUR PURCHASES ARE ALREADY TAKEN CARE OF. 
          YOU HAVE 300 MILLION LEFT. 
          EVEN IF YOU DO 20%, 30% OF THAT LAST 300 MILLION THAT YOU PUT ON THE STREET, YOU STILL HAVEN'T GOTTEN TO THE OVERALL NUMBER THAT YOU NEED. 
          GREAT POINT. 
          SO THERE ARE VERY, THERE ARE NUANCES THAT WE REALLY GOTTA DIVE INTO. 
          WE HAVE TO ATTACK CONSTRUCTION WITH VIGOR. 
          WE CAN'T SPEND TIME FOCUS, LET'S FOCUS ON THE CONTRACTS UNDER 6,600. 
          I TRIED THAT WHEN I FIRST GOT INTO OFFICE, AND THEN I REALIZED I WAS MISSING SO MUCH. 
          AND IT'S HARD TO BACKTRACK. 
          SO YOU GOTTA COME OUT THE GATE ATTACKING THAT CONSTRUCTION HARD, ATTACKING THE PROFESSIONAL SERVICES HARD. 
          THE OTHER THING IS, YOU CAN, AS A, AS A ADMINISTRATION, AS A GOVERNING BODY, PUT A POLICY IN THAT REQUIRES THAT PEOPLE REPORT THEIR SUBS. 
          MM-HMM . 
          YOU ALREADY DO THAT. 
          YES, SIR. 
          YOU CAN JUST GO ONLINE AND CHECK FOR THEIR CERTIFICATION STATUS. 
          YOU DON'T HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT THEM TELLING YOU JUST CHECK FOR THEIR CERTIFICATION STATUS, AND THEN YOU CAN TABULATE YOUR OWN NUMBERS. 
          WHEN YOU ADD THAT EXTRA STEP IN FOR OTHER PEOPLE TO DO WORK, IT MAKES YOUR WORK MUCH HARDER. 
          SO AS LONG AS THEY SUBMIT AND YOU MAKE THEM COMPLIANT WITH SUBMITTING THEIR SUBS, YOU CAN JUST CHECK YOURSELF AND THEN YOU'LL GET YOUR NUMBERS. 
          AND THE LAST THING I'LL SAY IS, I'M SORRY I'M OVER TIME, THAT WE REALLY NEED TO THINK ABOUT THE FACT THAT THERE'S STILL PEOPLE INSIDE OUR COUNTIES MAKING DECISIONS. 
          SO ALTHOUGH WE COULD PUT THE GREAT POLICIES IN PLACE, WE GOTTA GET WITH THE PEOPLE, GET 'EM IN THE ROOM, AND TRAIN THEM AND TALK TO THEM AND EXPLAIN TO THEM IT IS YOUR JOB, NOT YOUR PERSONAL OPINION TO DO THIS WORK THAT WE'VE COME UP WITH TO AMELIORATE THIS PROBLEM. 
          BECAUSE THE DECISION MAKERS, THE DEPARTMENT DIRECTORS, THE DEPUTIES, THEY'RE STILL DRIVING THE BOAT. 
          YOU CAN IMAGINE WHEN AN RFP COMES IN, NOT A BID WHEN AN RFP COMES IN. 
          UNDERSTOOD. 
          WE ARE HERE IN SUPPORT. 
          I'LL DO ANYTHING TO HELP THE COUNTY. 
          WE HAVE THE SAME INTERESTS. 
          AND I HOPE WHATEVER I SAID HERE WAS HELPFUL. 
          THANK YOU. 
          YEAH. 
          VERY, VERY HELPFUL. 
          THANK YOU FOR THOSE COMMENTS, ESPECIALLY ON THE, UH, MR. CO CO-OP ON THE CO-OP STUFF. 
          MAYBE WE OUGHT TO LIMIT SOME OF THAT STUFF. 
          MR. JACKSON? UH, THANK YOU, MR. CHAIRMAN. 
          I, I JUST WANTED TO THANK, UM, MARQUIS FOR, FOR COMING, UH, COMING THIS EVENING. 
          ME APPRECIATE IT. 
          HE AND HIS TEAM HOSTED US, UH, FOR A, AN EXTENSIVE PERIOD, UH, OVER IT IN HUDSON COUNTY. 
          UH, GAVE US SOME GREAT IDEAS ABOUT WHAT THEY'RE DOING, AND IT REALLY, UH, I I MUST SAY 
          [01:40:01]
YOU GUYS ARE AT THE FOREFRONT. 
          I MEAN, THEY'RE, THEY'RE, THEY GAVE US SOME GREAT IDEAS. 
          UM, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT I TOOK AWAY FROM IT IN PARTICULAR WAS THEY'RE VERY BIG ON NOT ONLY JUST FOCUSING ON WHAT HUDSON COUNTY'S THE GOVERNMENT IS DOING, BUT ALSO MAKING SURE THAT IT'S, IT HUDSON COUNTY BUSINESSES ARE LOOKING OUT IN THE PRIVATE SECTOR AND WHAT OTHER COUNTY, OTHER GOVERNMENTS ARE, BIDS THEY'RE DOING SO THAT THEY'RE GROWING HUDSON COUNTY BUSINESSES, NOT JUST ON WHAT HUDSON COUNTY ITSELF. 
          SO, UM, A LOT OF GREAT IDEAS. 
          UM, THE FACT THAT HE IS HERE TONIGHT, UH, SPEAKS VOLUMES. 
          AND I JUST WANTED TO THANK YOU FOR COMING AND THANK YOU FOR HOSTING US, UH, SO GRACIOUSLY TOGETHER, UH, NOT SO LONG AGO, THANK. 
          OKAY, GOOD EVENING, LISA MADDOX DOUGLAS, I, UH, YOU'D BE RELIEVED TO KNOW I'M NOT HERE ON BEHALF OF PSU. 
          I'M HERE AS A CONSTITUENT. 
          I RESIDE IN ESSEX COUNTY, AND OF COURSE I'M HERE WITH THE NAACP WITH MY PRESIDENT, UM, PRESIDENT, UH, DEBORAH SMITH. 
          GREGORY. 
          UM, THANK YOU FOR SHARING INFORMATION THAT WE ALL KNOW THAT WE ARE UNDERREPRESENTED IN TERMS OF CONTRACTS, UM, THE FOLKS THAT ARE REPRESENTED. 
          AND, UH, WHAT I NOTICE IS THAT WHEN A MINORITY, UM, WHO MAY BE A WOMAN, UM, BUT MAYBE A CAUCASIAN WOMAN, AND I'LL GET A LITTLE BIT MORE DETAILED, MAYBE THE WIFE OF SOMEONE WHO OWNS OR WHO RECEIVES A LARGER CONTRACT, UM, I DON'T CONSIDER THAT TO BE, UM, FAIR, RIGHT? SO, UM, WE'RE LOOKING FOR, UM, THE BOARD TO BE A LITTLE BIT MORE ACCOUNTABLE. 
          UM, WHEN WE'RE MAKING DECISIONS AND WE'RE APPROVING CONTRACTS, UH, WE NEED TO BE REPRESENTED, MEANING PEOPLE OF COLOR AND SPECIFICALLY WOMEN OF COLOR. 
          SO, I, UM, DID HAVE A PERSONAL CONCERN HERE ON THIS EVENING. 
          UM, LIKE I STATED, THANK YOU FOR SHARING WHAT WE ALREADY KNEW. 
          AND, UM, DIRECTOR BURGESS, I'M SO EXCITED THAT SOMEONE HAS TAKEN ON THE FULL-TIME RESPONSIBILITY AND WE HOPE THAT YOU CAN GET THE STAFFING THAT YOU NEED TO PROVIDE YOU AND TO HELP YOU TO MAKE SURE THAT THESE GOALS ARE OBTAINED. 
          AND WE KNOW THAT STAFFING IS AN ISSUE. 
          SO I'M FLIPPING ON MY UNION HAT NOW. 
          WE KNOW THAT STAFFING IS AN ISSUE IN THE COUNTY OF ESSEX, SO WE HOPE THAT YOU ARE ABLE TO GET THE STAFFING THAT YOU NEED TO MEET THESE GOALS AND OBJECTIVES. 
          SO, UM, YOU KNOW, YOU DEFINITELY HAVE OUR SUPPORT THERE. 
          UM, WE ALSO ASK THAT YOU ALSO REACH OUT TO THE DIFFERENT ORGANIZATIONS HERE, THE HOMEGROWN ORGANIZATIONS THAT HAVE BEEN HERE FOR YEARS. 
          THE NAACP COME AND DO SOME PRESENTATIONS THERE. 
          URBAN LEAGUE, MAKE SURE YOU DO SOME PRESENTATIONS THERE, FOCUS, DO SOME PRESENTATIONS THERE. 
          AND OF COURSE, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE TO AS DIRECT UP. 
          SORRY, UM, COMMISSIONER, UH, HELP ME, RICHARD RICHARDSON,  ASK, I THINK I WOULD KNOW YOU RIGHT? RICHARDSON HAS STATED, WE DEFINITELY HAVE TO HAVE SOME PROGRAMS WE NEED TO BE ABLE TO GET OUT TO GET THESE PEOPLE SO THAT THEY'RE ABLE TO MAKE THE MARK SO THAT THEY'RE ABLE TO MEET THE GOALS THAT YOU HAVE SET FORWARD FOR THEM. 
          SO WE HAVE PEOPLE THAT HAVE ISSUES WITH CREDIT, SO WHAT ARE WE GONNA DO IN TERMS OF MAKING SURE THAT THEY MEET THE CREDIT THAT THEY NEED TO HAVE IN ORDER TO HAVE THESE BUSINESSES? WHAT ARE WE DOING TO ENSURE THAT THEY MEET THE OBLIGATIONS OR THE RESPONSIBILITIES TO BE BONDED? IT'S, IT'S PROBLEMATIC. 
          SO, YOU KNOW, SEEING THESE NUMBERS WAS DEFINITELY NOT A SHOCK FOR ME. 
          IT'S JUST, YOU KNOW, A LITTLE BIT MORE HORRIFIC WHEN YOU SEE IT IN WRITING. 
          THESE ARE THINGS THAT WE'VE ALWAYS KNOWN SPECIFICALLY WITHIN THE COUNTY OF ESSEX AND NOT EVEN THE COUNTY OF ESSEX EVERYWHERE. 
          AND ALSO, I'M LOOKING FORWARD TO SEEING THE REPORT. 
          I HEAR IT'S ONLINE. 
          THEY SAID THAT IT WAS, IT WASN'T THERE A WEEK OR SO AGO 'CAUSE I WAS WAITING FOR IT. 
          SO MAYBE YOU JUST PUT IT ONLINE. 
          SO THANK YOU FOR THAT. 
          AND I WILL MAKE SURE THAT I GET TO THAT PARTICULAR, UM, DOCUMENT. 
          AND I WOULD DEFINITELY BE INTERESTED IN FINDING OUT WHAT THE KPIS ARE THAT COMMISSIONER MURRAY MENTIONED. 
          I DON'T THINK WE REALLY TALKED ABOUT THAT. 
          AND I HOPE THEY WERE REALLY IMPORTANT KPIS BECAUSE WE NEED TO KNOW EXACTLY WHAT WE'RE MEASURING. 
          SO, AND IF YOU CAN, I MEANT, I THINK YOU DID MENTION THAT YOU WERE GOING, GOING TO YOUR DATABASE TO SEE THE FOLKS THAT YOU CAN OUTREACH, WHICH IS AN EXCELLENT THING THAT YOU SHOULD BE DOING. 
          I THINK YOU SHOULD OUTREACH THE FOLKS THAT HAVE NOT REACHED BACK OUT TO YOU. 
          BUT I THINK THAT YOU NEED TO SEE WHAT SOME OF THE DEFICIENCIES WERE IN THEIR APPLICATIONS OR PERHAPS THE REASONS WHY THEY WEREN'T SELECTED. 
          AND THAT WOULD BE A STARTING POINT FOR YOU TO TRY TO IDENTIFY WHAT IT IS THAT WE CAN MEET IN TERMS OF WHAT THEY NEED FROM US OR NEED FROM YOU. 
          THANK YOU. 
          SO THANK YOU SO MUCH. 
          THANK YOU. 
          HAVE A GOOD, GOOD EVENING EVERYONE. 
          GOOD EVENING. 
          MY NAME IS STANLEY BRIDGEFORTH AND I AM WITH THE HUDSON COUNTY OFFICE OF BUSINESS OPPORTUNITY. 
          UH, ALSO A PLEASURE TO BE HERE IN SUPPORT OF YOU AND YOUR EFFORTS. 
          AS OUR DIRECTOR MENTIONED EARLIER, WE'RE IN THE SAME BOAT AND WE ARE ALSO LOOKING TO WORK TOGETHER. 
          [01:45:01]
COLLABORATION IS GONNA BE HOW WE DRIVE THIS THING FORWARD AND GET THE RESULTS THAT WE'RE ALL LOOKING FOR IN THE DIFFERENT MUNICIPALITIES ACROSS THE STATE AND REALLY ACROSS THE COUNTRY. 
          BUT AS WE THINK ABOUT SOLUTIONS, A COUPLE THINGS I WOULD LIKE TO OFFER. 
          WHEN YOU ASKED ABOUT WHO CAN BE RESPONSIBLE FOR THE COMPLIANCE AND HUDSON COUNTY, THAT'S MY ROLE AND THAT'S MY OFFICE'S ROLE. 
          SO MY TITLE IS THE CERTIFICATION AND COMPLIANCE OFFICER. 
          SO WE HOLD THE COUNTY ACCOUNTABLE TO THE ORDINANCE OF THE FINANCIAL SPENDING COMMITMENT TO OUR SUPPLY DIVERSITY PROGRAM. 
          AND I OFFER THAT AS SOMETHING POTENTIALLY THAT YOU CAN PUT IN IN YOUR MUNICIPALITY. 
          THE OTHER THING THAT IS GONNA BE NEEDED IN THE OFFICE OF SMALL BUSINESS POTENTIALLY IS GONNA BE A BUDGET. 
          SHE'S DIRECTOR BURGESS IS GONNA NEED POTENTIALLY A BUDGET FOR TRAINING AND TO REALLY, UH, BUILD THE CAPACITY NECESSARY FOR YOU TO HIT THAT, THOSE UTILIZATION NUMBERS. 
          AND THEN THE LAST THING THAT I WOULD OFFER IS, UH, STAFFING. 
          I FORGET MY LAST POINT, BUT DEFINITELY JUST WANT TO REITERATE THE POINT THAT WE'RE HERE TO OFFER SUPPORT. 
          WE'RE LOOKING AT, LOOKING FORWARD TO HAVING CONTINUING CONVERSATIONS. 
          AND DON'T WORRY, YOUR MUNICIPALITY IS NOT ALONE. 
          WE'RE IN THE SAME BOAT AND WE'RE ALL LOOKING TO, TO FIND MORE INNOVATIVE SOLUTIONS SO THAT THE ENTIRE COMMUNITY GETS A PIECE OF THE, THE, UH, SPENDING THAT THESE MUNICIPALITIES ARE PUTTING OUT. 
          THANK YOU. 
          PLEASE MAKE SURE THAT WE, WE GET A COPY OF YOUR POLICY THAT YOU HAVE. 
          UH, LAST THING, ADAM, MAKE SURE YOU GET THEIR INFORMATION SO WE CAN GET THAT COPY OF THAT POLICY. 
          AND WE, WE, WE WILL, UH, WE'LL GET YOU SOME, SOME DEFINITELY SOME INFORMATION. 
          BUT THE LAST THING IS TO CONSIDER FROM A LEGISLATIVE PERSPECTIVE, A SET ASIDE ORDINANCE. 
          AND THAT ORDINANCE COULD POTENTIALLY MANDATE. 
          AND, AND BEHIND THAT, YOU PUT TOGETHER A PROGRAM THAT SAYS WE'RE GONNA GO OUT TO THE STREET WITH OPPORTUNITIES THAT ARE ONLY AVAILABLE FOR CERTIFIED BUSINESSES. 
          AND AS A RESULT OF YOUR DISPARITY STUDY, YOU SHOULD HAVE THE LEGAL TEETH TO BE ABLE TO PULL THAT OFF. 
          THAT WAS THE LAST POINT I WANTED TO MAKE. 
          YEAH, UNFORTUNATELY WE DON'T. 
          ANYBODY ELSE WISHING TO SPEAK? OH, COME ON. 
          HI. 
          GOOD EVENING EVERYONE. 
          GOOD EVENING. 
          GOOD. 
          MY NAME IS . 
          I'M THE VICE PRESIDENT OF OPERATIONS AT WELLCARE NURSES. 
          UM, WE'RE A HOME HEALTHCARE AGENCY HERE IN ESSEX COUNTY. 
          WE'VE BEEN AROUND FOR 21 YEARS, FAMILY OWNED BUSINESS. 
          AND I'M, I AND MY TEAM, WE'RE CURRENTLY GOING THROUGH THE PROCESS OF SUBMITTING OUR FIRST BID. 
          AND TO SAY THAT IT HAS BEEN NOTHING SHORT OF A NIGHTMARE WOULD BE A LIE. 
          UM, I SURVIVED TWO KIDNAPPING ATTEMPTS IN MY LIFE. 
          I'M A VERY SMART PERSON. 
          THIS BID HAS ME FEELING SO STUPID AND I DON'T LIKE THAT. 
          'CAUSE I KNOW I'M NOT STUPID. 
          UM, SO I JUST WANTED TO, I WROTE DOWN SOME SUGGESTIONS 'CAUSE I THINK IT WOULD BE HELPFUL IF YOU GUYS HEAR FROM A SMALL BUSINESS THAT'S GOING AFTER A CONTRACT. 
          YOU KNOW, JUST SO YOU KNOW WHAT YOU CAN DO TO IMPROVE OUR EXPERIENCE. 
          UM, FROM MY PERSPECTIVE AS A DIGITAL NATIVE, IT'S SO HARD TO NAVIGATE THE, THE RFP, THE APPLICATION. 
          IT'S IN A PDF FORMAT. 
          I CAN'T EVEN SEARCH FOR LIKE, PAGES OR TERMS WITHIN THE CONTRACT. 
          SO IT'S NOT USER FRIENDLY. 
          UM, AND LIKE I SAID, I'VE BEEN USING COMPUTERS ALL MY LIFE. 
          THAT'S ONE. 
          THE, THE FIRST RFP THAT WAS RELEASED BY THE COUNTY. 
          UM, THE COUNTY ACTUALLY HAD TO RELEASE TOO, BECAUSE I WENT DOWN TO THE OFFICE. 
          I WAS EXPECTING IT LIKE, YOU KNOW, SEPTEMBER 20 SOMETHING ON A TUESDAY, FRIDAY ROLLS AROUND. 
          I HAVEN'T HEARD ANYTHING. 
          I'M SIGNED UP TO GET THE NOTIFICATIONS. 
          I HAD TO COME ALL THE WAY DOWN TO NEWARK, GO TO THE DIVISION OF SENIOR SERVICES AND LET THEM KNOW, HEY, HAVEN'T SEEN THE, THE RFP COME THROUGH. 
          AND THEN THANKFULLY, YOU KNOW, THEY EXTENDED THE DEADLINE, WHICH I, UM, I APPRECIATE BECAUSE THREE DAYS IS A LOT OF TIME, ESPECIALLY WHEN IT'S YOUR FIRST TIME SUBMITTING A PROPOSAL, WHICH LEADS ME TO MY THIRD POINT. 
          THREE WEEKS IS NOT ENOUGH. 
          I FOUND OUT THAT WE NEED, UM, FOR ONE OF THE FUNDING SOURCES, A 25% MATCH IN THE BUDGET. 
          AS A SMALL BUSINESS, THREE WEEKS IS NOT ENOUGH TO COME UP WITH 25% OF ANYTHING. 
          UM, SO THAT'S ANOTHER THING THAT YOU GUYS SHOULD BE AWARE OF. 
          UH, LET ME SEE. 
          BETTER OUTREACH. 
          YEAH. 
          BEFORE I FOUND OUT ABOUT THIS BID, I HAD TO GO TO LIKE 10 DIFFERENT EVENTS AND THEY WERE ALL BY ACCIDENT. 
          SO I SIGNED UP FOR LIKE THE SENIOR 
          [01:50:01]
WELLNESS SPHERE IN WEST ORANGE LAST YEAR. 
          AND I RAN INTO SOMEBODY AT THE COUNTY. 
          WE HAD RAN INTO EACH OTHER BEFORE WE SET UP A MEETING. 
          I MET WITH THE PEOPLE OVER AT THE DIVISION OF SENIOR SERVICES, GAVE THEM A PRESENTATION. 
          THEN SOMEBODY JUST HAPPENED TO TELL ME, OH, HEY, BY THE WAY, RF P'S GONNA BE UP NEXT YEAR. 
          THIS IS WHEN IT'S GONNA BE UP. 
          KEEP AN EYE OUT FOR IT. 
          I HAD A YEAR NOTICE. 
          I'VE DONE THE BEST THAT I CAN TO PREPARE, AND I STILL DON'T FEEL LIKE I'M PREPARED. 
          AND IT'S FRUSTRATING BECAUSE I KNOW THAT MY COMPANY CAN PROVIDE THE SERVICES THAT THE COUNTY NEEDS. 
          SO, UM, YEAH, IT WOULD BE GREAT IF WE HAVE LIKE A SMALL BUSINESS ADVISORY AS WELL TO GUIDE SMALL BUSINESSES, ESPECIALLY FIRST TIMERS. 
          THREE WEEKS IS NOT ENOUGH. 
          THAT PROJECTION SUGGESTION WOULD REALLY BE NICE. 
          UM, IF OTHER BUSINESSES HAD KNOWN THIS, I'M SURE THEY COULD BE BIDDEN AS WELL. 
          THANK YOU. 
          THANK YOU. 
          THANKS FOR YOUR FEED, MR. JACKSON. 
          I JUST WANT TO, WHAT, WHAT SERVICE ARE YOU BIDDING FOR? UM, OFFICE OF THE 24 DASH 2 3 4, UM, . 
          SHE KNOWS THAT BY HEART. 
          THAT'S GOOD. 
          THAT'S GOOD. 
          COME ON BY THE BOOK. 
          THAT'S IT. 
          IT'S, I DON'T, I DON'T KNOW THE FULL, IT'S THROUGH THE DIVISION OF SENIOR SERVICES. 
          THE PLAN FOR SOMETHING. 
          I JUST KNOW THE 24 DASH 3 2 3 4. 
          YEAH, BECAUSE SOMEONE FROM THE ADMINISTRATION ADDRESSED HER, UH, POINT ABOUT HOW DIFFICULT IT IS TO NAVIGATE THROUGH THIS PDF AND YOU CAN'T LOOK UP INFORMATION WHO, WHO ACTUALLY, MR. COLT, I SHOULD HAVE KNOWN . 
          FIRST OF ALL, ALL OF OUR BIDS COME FROM THE DEPARTMENTS. 
          THE OFFICE OF PURCHASING DOESN'T REALLY GO OUT TO SOLICIT ANYTHING FOR THEMSELVES. 
          SO IN THIS PARTICULAR CASE, IT COMES FROM SENIOR, UH, SERVICES. 
          AND THAT DEPARTMENT, WHEN WE GET QUESTIONS IN, I CAN'T ANSWER THEM BECAUSE I DON'T KNOW THAT SUBJECT MATTER. 
          SO WHAT HAPPENS IS WE RETURN IT TO THE DEPARTMENT, THEY SHOULD HAVE THE EXPERTISE TO GIVE BACK THE ANSWER OR GIVE BACK SOMETHING RELATIVE TO WHAT THE QUESTION MAY BE. 
          THE SECOND PART OF IT, SOME DEPARTMENTS GIVE YOU, UH, A YES, A NO, A YES. 
          WHEN I LOOK AT THEM AND SAY, THIS PERSON'S ASKING THIS LEGITIMATE QUESTION AND WE'RE GETTING, UH, YOU KNOW, A ONE WORD ANSWER MAKES NO SENSE. 
          SO THE DEPARTMENTS ARE REALLY NEED TO STEP UP WHICHEVER DEPARTMENT IT MAY BE AND DO A CLARIFICATION OF THEIR SPECIFICATIONS. 
          THAT'S WHAT IT COMES DOWN TO. 
          I READ SOME OF THESE SPECS AND SAY, I DON'T UNDERSTAND ANY OF WHAT THEY'RE PUTTING OUT THERE. 
          I'M ASSUMING BECAUSE YOU'RE A CONSTRUCTION VENDOR OR YOU ARE A MEDICAL VENDOR, YOU WOULD HAVE THE KNOWLEDGE OF THAT. 
          UM, OUR OFFICE OR GENERALISTS BASICALLY, BECAUSE WE DEAL WITH ALL TYPES OF SERVICES THAT WE HAVE TO GO OUT. 
          SO EACH DEPARTMENT REALLY NEEDS TO, UM, CLARIFY IN THEIR SPECIFICATIONS A BETTER WAY TO DO IT. 
          YOU KNOW, MR. JACKSON . 
          YEAH, I WAS GONNA SAY, I THINK THOUGH THAT, UH, BUT MAYBE MR. CHAIRMAN. 
          SURE. 
          UH, I I JUST WANT TO, I THINK HER QUESTION WAS MORE TECHNOLOGICAL THAN IT WAS SUBSTANTIVE. 
          LIKE, AGAIN, I DON'T KNOW, MAYBE CARL COULD RIGHT, THAT'S WHAT I WAS GONNA SAY ALSO, UM, IS THERE A WAY TO HAVE SEARCHABLE DOCUMENTS AS PART OF CARL WOULD NEED TO CONVERT THOSE? JUST A BETTER SEARCH? I DON'T, THERE'S SEARCHABLE PDFS. 
          JUST A BETTER INTERFACE FOR, OKAY. 
          YEAH. 
          SO, SO LEAVE YOUR NAME, SIR. 
          YOUR NAME. 
          CARL HUNT. 
          CIO. 
          YES. 
          WE CAN CREATE, UM, SEARCHABLE DOCUMENTS. 
          THAT MEANS THAT THE DEPARTMENT THAT SIT ON A RP WOULD'VE TO SEND IT PROBABLY TO US, AND WE CREATE A SEARCHABLE DOCUMENT FOR THAT. 
          SO THAT'S SOMETHING THAT CAN BE DONE. 
          SO MR. CHAIRPERSON FIRST POLICY CHANGE. 
          THERE YOU GO. 
          SO YEAH, BEFORE THEY GO TO PROCUREMENT, ASK IT TO CONVERT IT LIKE THE WAY CARL JUST SAID, SO THAT WHEN HE POST IT, THE TWO OF THE ISSUES THAT THE YOUNG LADY JUST DESCRIBED COULD BE ADDRESSED. 
          MAKE IT A SEARCHABLE PDF. 
          WHAT HAPPENS IS THE PROCESS COMES IN THIS WAY, WE LOOK FOR A WORD DOCUMENT FROM THE DEPARTMENT, WE THEN JUST UPLOAD IT TO OUR PORTAL. 
          AND THAT'S AN IT QUESTION THAT I DON'T REALLY KNOW WHAT HAPPENS. 
          SO, SO IF, IF WHEN IT COMES TO YOU, UH, MR. HUNT, SO BEFORE IT GOES TO JAIL OR AFTER IT GOES TO JAY, THEN YOU NEED IT WHEN HE GETS NO, BEFORE, BEFORE IT GOES TO JAY, THEY CAN SEND IT TO NARCAN. 
          SO THE DEPARTMENT HAS TO GET IT TO ME, WHICHEVER. 
          SO THEN EVERY, AND IT'S AGAIN, STAFFING AND TIMING BECAUSE YOU GET THIS MORNING, I GOT ONE, WE HAVE TO HAVE IT OUT BY TODAY TO BE IN FOR TUESDAY'S PAPER. 
          [01:55:01]
AND IT'S ALWAYS TIME SENSITIVE. 
          AND THAT'S GONNA BE ANOTHER STEP WITHIN THE PROCESS. 
          I'M NOT GOING ANYMORE THAN THAT DAY. 
          IT'S NOT GONNA BE, YOU SEE WHAT HAPPENS. 
          SO THIS IS SOMETHING WE'RE GONNA HAVE TO WORK ON, BUT IT DO THIS TO WORK. 
          IT MAY NOT BE A HUNDRED PERCENT, BUT, BUT IT'S DOING, IF YOU CAN GET TO 80 WOULD BE GOOD. 
          YES, SURE. 
          MR. JACKSON, I'M TRYING TO UNDERSTAND TOO, THE 25% MATCH, IT'S FOR ONE OF THE SOURCES. 
          UM, WHATEVER, IF SHE COULD COME TO THE MIC AND PUT HER NAME ON THE RECORD. 
          SURE. 
          YEAH. 
          WHO'S, WHO SPEAKING? YES. 
          YEAH, SORRY. 
          UM, FOR ONE OF THE FUNDED SOURCES, PUT YOUR NAME ON THE RECORD. 
          OH, MY NAME. 
          OKAY. 
          UM, MY NAME IS ACTUALLY, DO I NEED TO STAY WHERE I'M FROM OR NO, DON'T. 
          OKAY. 
          UM, SO FOR ONE OF THE FUNDING SOURCES, YOU HAVE TO HAVE LIKE A 25% MATCH IN ORDER TO ACTUALLY COMPETITIVELY BID FOR IT. 
          OKAY. 
          I WASN'T AWARE OF THIS AND ALL THE, YOU KNOW, GOVERNMENT CONTRACT AND 1 0 1 WORKSHOPS, SEMINARS THAT I WENT TO, NOBODY MENTIONED ANYTHING LIKE THAT. 
          SO AS A SMALL COMPANY, I CAN'T COME UP WITH 25% OF LIKE, YOU KNOW, $800,000 IN THREE WEEKS. 
          YEAH. 
          IT HAS TO BE INCLUDED IN THE, I MIGHT BE MISINTERPRETING THIS BECAUSE SO MANY THINGS IN THE RFP ARE ALREADY CONFUSING. 
          UM, BUT WITH THE PDF THING, I JUST, I FEEL LIKE THAT'S NOT, THAT SHOULDN'T BE SOMETHING THAT SOMEBODY HAS TO COME HERE AND ASK FOR. 
          IT SHOULD, IT'S 2024, YOU KNOW, LIKE, I DON'T UNDERSTAND WHY THERE HAS TO BE ALL THESE, YOU KNOW, JUST A, A FILLABLE PDFI DON'T UNDERSTAND IT. 
          THAT'S A GOOD POINT. 
          A FILLABLE PDF IT CAN BE FILLABLE, IT CAN BE SEARCHABLE. 
          I LITERALLY HAVE TO MANUALLY MAKE IT BOTH WRITE DOWN AND NOTE EVERY SINGLE QUESTION I HAVE AND EVERYTHING THAT I WANT TO GO BACK TO. 
          I CAN'T EVEN COPY AND PASTE ANYWHERE IN THE 202 PAGE DOCUMENT. 
          IT'S VERY FRUSTRATING. 
          SO IF YOU GUYS WANNA RELEASE ANOTHER RFP ON EXTENDED DEADLINE, I'D APPRECIATE IT. 
          , I HAVE A ONE, ONE QUICK QUESTION FOR YOU. 
          I THINK WE TALKED BRIEFLY ON SOME OF YOUR ISSUES AND YOU MENTIONED THE 25%, AND I THINK YOU SAID YOU WERE GOING TO GO TO ONE OF THE, UM, THE, THE MEETINGS THAT THEY WERE GONNA HAVE ABOUT THE BID TO ASK SPECIFICALLY WHAT THEY WERE ASKING FOR. 
          AND WERE THEY ABLE TO ANSWER YOUR QUESTION? SO, SO IF WE'RE GONNA DO A BACK AND FORTH, FIRST OF ALL, DIRECTOR, PLEASE PUT YOUR NAME. 
          SO FOR THE TRANSCRIPT, IF WE NEED TO DO ONE LAST QUESTION WAS FROM DIRECTOR RENEE BURGESS, SMALL BUSINESS. 
          OKAY. 
          AND YOU WERE ASKING, OH, AND, AND MY QUESTION WAS, WERE YOU ABLE TO PLEASE COME BACK TO THE MIC? MY QUESTION WAS, WERE YOU ABLE TO, UM, DIRECT THE, UM, QUESTION AT THE, UM, THE PRE-BID MEETING? YES. 
          THAT WAS ACTUALLY YESTERDAY, UM, OVER IN CEDAR GROVE. 
          NAME ON THE RECORD, PLEASE. 
          UH, MY NAME IS  ACTUALLY. 
          AND YES, THAT WAS YESTERDAY IN CEDAR GROVE. 
          THEY HAD THE TECHNICAL, UM, Q AND A. 
          TO MY SURPRISE, THEY TOOK ALL OF OUR QUESTIONS AND WE WILL BE GETTING AN EMAIL WITH ANSWERS IN A FEW DAYS. 
          SO I JUST, OH, THEY DIDN'T, JULIA'S CULTURE, UH, PURCHASING AGENT WHO HANDLED THE MEETING? UM, MS. BROWN. 
          MAURICE BROWN. 
          OKAY. 
          AND LIKE, YOU KNOW, SOME MEMBERS OF THE, UM, THE DIVISION OF SENIOR SERVICES, I'M ASSUMING, BUT LIKE A LOT OF US GOT THERE AND WE EXPECTED TO HAVE OUR QUESTIONS ANSWERED SAME DAY. 
          AND THEY TOOK ALL OF OUR QUESTIONS AND THEN THEY'RE GONNA BE SENDING US AN EMAIL WITH, SO IT'S LIKE ANOTHER UNNECESSARY, AND AGAIN, LIKE, YOU KNOW, TIME IS OF THE ESSENCE. 
          THE RFPS DUE ON THE SEVENTH. 
          THREE DAYS IS A LOT OF TIME TO BE WAITING FOR ANSWERS. 
          SO YEAH. 
          SEVEN. 
          I HAVE A QUESTION. 
          GO AHEAD. 
          COMMISSION. 
          UM, I, I JUST WANTED TO MAKE, UM, A COMMENT 'CAUSE IN, IN THE REPORT, UM, IT INDICATED, UH, THE LOANS THAT WERE APPLIED FOR BY WOMEN, UM, WERE DENIED AT, AT A MUCH HIGHER RATE. 
          AND, UM, AND JUST ALL OF JUST, JUST JUST THE DATA THAT, THAT CAME OUT OF THAT. 
          UM, AND I THINK IT TIES INTO OUR, OUR BANKING COMMITTEE, UM, IN TERMS OF HOW THEY CAN CONNECT WITH, WITH YOUR OFFICE IN TERMS OF WHO, UM, IS APPLYING FOR AND HOW CAN WE ASSIST IN THOSE APPLICATIONS, UH, FOR THOSE APPLYING FOR ANY OF, UM, THE LOANS THAT THEY NEED TO BE ABLE TO BE COMPETITIVE IN THE BID. 
          AND I JUST SAW THAT AS A, UM, UH, AN AREA THAT, 
          [02:00:01]
THAT REALLY STRUCK OUT FOR ME, UM, IN TERMS OF, UH, THE PERCENTAGE OF, OF LOANS THAT WERE GIVEN OUT TO MINORITY WOMEN. 
          AND THEN NOT ONLY THE PERCENTAGE, BUT ALSO THE AMOUNT THAT WAS, AND THERE'S A, AND THEN THE CREDIT THAT IT, IT ALL, IT IS ALL TIES IN. 
          AND, AND SO THERE'S, THERE'S A LOT OF, YOU KNOW, IT'S A LOT. 
          SO I JUST WANTED TO MAKE THAT STATEMENT. 
          THAT'S A, IF I MAY, THAT'S A GREAT POINT. 
          SO WHEN WE GO BACK TO WHEN WE HAVE OUR BANKING COMMITTEE VICE PRESIDENT, THAT'S A QUESTION FOR THE, THAT'S A QUESTION WE CERTAINLY NEED TO BRING UP AND START DISCUSSING, UH, WITH OUR BANK, WITH THE BANKS WHO DO BUSINESS WITH THE COUNTY. 
          MR. RICHARDSON. 
          , THANK YOU. 
          UM, FIRST OF ALL, I JUST WANNA THANK ALL OF THE COMMUNITY MEMBERS AND SMALL BUSINESS OWNERS IN THE ROOM AND EVEN THE, UH, REPRESENTATIVES FROM HUDSON COUNTY. 
          THESE ARE VALID, SUPER VALID QUESTIONS AND COMMENTS. 
          AND I KNOW YOU DON'T BELIEVE THIS, SO I'M NOT, I'M SPEAKING TO THE CHOIR HERE, BUT LIKE, THEY WEREN'T SILLY. 
          THEY WEREN'T RUDIMENTARY. 
          'CAUSE I KNOW FOR SURE THAT EVERY VENDOR THAT WE'VE HAD HAS ACTUALLY SEEN QUESTIONS BEFORE TOO, BUT MAYBE IT DIDN'T HAVE TO HAPPEN RIGHT HERE. 
          RIGHT? AND SO MAYBE THEY HAVE SOMEONE TO SUPPORT THEM IN THOSE QUESTIONS. 
          AND SO I JUST WANNA AFFIRM YOU, ONE, FOR WHAT YOU DO AND TWO, FOR HAVING THE, THE, UH, THE COURAGE TO COME UP AND ACTUALLY SAY IT PLAIN AND PUT IT ON THE RECORD. 
          IT'S IMPORTANT AND IT'S NECESSARY AND IT HELPS US DO OUR JOB. 
          UM, MY QUESTION IS JUST FOR MGT. 
          THERE, THERE'S, UH, TWO, ONE AFTER LISTENING TO COMMUNITY RESPONSE, AND I DON'T KNOW IF THIS IS WITHIN YOUR PURVIEW, SO LET ME KNOW IF YOU LIKE, CAN'T DO THIS, BUT I'D LOVE TO KNOW WHAT GENERAL BROAD STROKE FEEDBACK EITHER RELATED TO THE RECOMMENDATIONS CURRENTLY IN THE REPORT OR OUTSIDE OF THEM THAT YOU'D LIKE TO SHARE WITH BOARD MEMBERS AFTER JUST HEARING COMMUNITY RESPONSE. 
          UM, AND THEN NUMBER TWO, THIS KEEPS COMING UP THIS QUESTION OF WHAT ARE WE LEGALLY ALLOWED TO DO AS FAR AS, UM, REPORTING FROM THE CONTRACTORS ABOUT THEIR SUBS AND, AND DISAGGREGATING WHO THEIR SUBS ARE BY RACE, GENDER, ETHNICITY. 
          SO MY QUESTION IN REGARDS TO THAT IS, WHEN AND HOW, UM, HAVE YOU SEEN IN OTHER CITIES OR, UH, MUNICIPALITIES WHEN THEY DO ASK FOR SUB REPORTING, WHEN AND HOW DOES THAT OCCUR? IS IT DURING THE BID PROCESS? IS IT AFTER? UM, AND THEN TWO, COULD YOU SHARE CASES IF YOU HAVE SEEN ANY, UM, WHERE THERE HAVE BEEN ORDINANCES PASSED AROUND REPORTING, UM, THAT'S DISAGGREGATED BY RACE, GENDER, ETHNICITY. 
          UM, COULD YOU SHARE EXAMPLES OF THOSE BEST PRACTICES AND CASES WITH BOARD MEMBERS AND WITH THE ADMINISTRATION SO THAT AS WE MOVE FORWARD IN THIS PROCESS, WE CAN SEE EXAMPLES. 
          AND THEN WE HAVE HUDSON COUNTY IN HERE, BUT OTHER EXAMPLES WHERE THIS IS WORKING AND PEOPLE ARE DOING THIS. 
          'CAUSE WHAT I DON'T WANT TO HAVE HAPPEN IS FOLKS ARE TRYING TO MAKE LEGISLATIVE DECISIONS THAT ARE PROMOTING EQUITY AND IT'S LIKE, OH, WE CAN'T DO THIS 'CAUSE IT'S NOT LEGAL. 
          RIGHT? ESPECIALLY IF THERE'S EVIDENCE OF THIS LIKE BEING LEGAL IN OTHER PLACES IF IT'S DONE IN AN APPROPRIATE WAY. 
          SO IF YOU COULD JUST GIVE US INSIGHT ON THAT. 
          A ABSOLUTELY. 
          AND I'LL TAKE YOUR LATTER QUESTION FIRST. 
          MM-HMM . 
          BECAUSE I THINK THAT MIGHT BE AN EASIER ONE TO, TO ANSWER. 
          I'D HAVE TO FIND SOME, UH, ANY CASES OR ANY EXAMPLES BECAUSE I CAN'T THINK OF ANYTHING OFF THE TOP OF MY HEAD. 
          BUT I DID NOTE TO TRY TO FIND SOME IN TERMS OF REPORTING THE CONVERSATION THAT I WAS HAVING WITH THIS, THE TEAM DURING THE LIFE OF THE STUDY, UM, THAT WE WERE DOING, THIS IS THE FIRST TIME I'VE EVER HEARD THAT IT'S ILLEGAL TO ASK FOR SUBCONTRACTOR DATA. 
          I I'VE NEVER HEARD THAT BEFORE. 
          I'VE CONDUCTED MAYBE 60 OR 70 STUDIES ACROSS THE COUNTRY. 
          FIRST TIME EVER HEARD THAT. 
          SO NOT BEING A LAWYER AND NOT UNDERSTANDING NEW JERSEY LAW AT ALL, UM, I'M NOT EXACTLY SURE HOW YOU ADDRESS THAT. 
          I DON'T KNOW IF IT BECOMES CONTRACTUAL LANGUAGE, LIKE AS PART OF THE, UM, DELIVERY OF THIS CONTRACT. 
          THIS BECOMES A REQUIREMENT. 
          AND AT THE BID IS GREAT BECAUSE IT LETS YOU KNOW WHO'S AT THE BID IN TERMS OF, OF CONTRACTS. 
          BUT THE LIFE OF A CONSTRUCTION PROJECT, HAVING CONSTRUCTION BACKGROUND CHANGES DRAMATICALLY FROM DAY TO DAY. 
          AND SO YOU'LL HAVE SUBS ALL THROUGHOUT THE LI AND SUPPLIERS ALL THROUGHOUT THE LIFE OF THAT CONTRACT. 
          SO YOU'LL WANT THAT TYPE OF INFORMATION MONTHLY. 
          WHAT I HAVE SEEN AGENCIES DO IS IF YOU DON'T REPORT YOUR SUB DATA, WE DON'T PAY YOU. 
          THANK YOU. 
          AND, AND THAT WORKS VERY WELL,  MM-HMM . 
          THAT THAT WORKS VERY WELL. 
          AGAIN, IT ALL DEPENDS ON WHATEVER YOUR STATE LAWS ARE THAT CAN, THAT ALLOWS YOU OR DOES NOT. 
          AND EVEN CITY ORDINANCES, EXCUSE ME, UM, SOME CITY AND COUNTY ORDINANCES GIVES YOU MORE FLEXIBILITY TO IMPLEMENT PROGRAMS. NOW I I I DO WANT TO JUST KIND OF TOUCH ON, THERE IS SOMETHING 
          [02:05:01]
TO BE SAID ABOUT HAVING YOUR DISPARITY STUDY BECAUSE YOU NOW DEFINE WHAT IS HAPPENING IN YOUR MARKETPLACE TO MAKE ANY ADJUSTMENTS THAT YOU NEED TO, TO MINIMIZE THE DISPARITIES AND THE DISCRIMINATION THAT WAS FOUND. 
          MM-HMM . 
          SO, YOU KNOW, YOU EACH, AND THAT'S WHY HUDSON COUNTY IS DOING THEIR OWN, BECAUSE THEY HAVE TO DEFINE THEIR DISPARITY IN THEIR MARKETPLACE AS WELL. 
          UM, SO THERE MAY BE SOME FLEXIBILITY AND YOU HAVE TO CHECK WITH LEGAL ON THAT, THAT SINCE YOU NOW HAVE YOUR LEGAL PRECEDENT OF WHAT YOU NEED TO DO, ARE THERE ORDINANCES OR, OR, UM, POLICIES THAT YOU CAN NOW SET AS THAT BEING THE FOUNDATION TO DO WHAT YOU NEED TO DO TO ADDRESS THAT? SO THAT, THAT IS SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT. 
          AND I CAN REMEMBER WHAT YOUR FIRST WAS ON THE QUESTION. 
           NO. 
          YOU, I THINK YOU KINDA HINTED ON IT, BUT I WAS WONDERING IF YOU HAD GENERAL INSIGHT OR FEEDBACK BASED OFF COMMUNITY QUESTIONS. 
          GENERAL INSIGHT AND FEEDBACK, UM, FOR THE COUNTY IS, UM, AND YOU KNOW, WE TALKED THROUGH THIS, UH, ONE OF THE APPROACHES THAT WE LIKE TO MAKE WITH WHEN WE'RE WORKING WITH THE CLIENT IS, IS REALLY A PARTNERSHIP. 
          UM, OVER THE TIME THAT WE DID THE STUDY, IT WAS REALLY IMPORTANT FOR MGT, MYSELF BEING THE PROJECT LEAD TO UNDERSTAND WHERE IS THE COUNTY RIGHT NOW. 
          SO MR. JACKSON AND I HAD LONG CONVERSATIONS WITH MR. HUNT, HAD LONG CONVERSATIONS ABOUT THE TEMPERATURE, RIGHT? SO I KIND OF EXPECTED COMING IN THAT THERE WAS GONNA BE SOME VERY GOOD DIALOGUE AROUND WHAT YOU WANT TO DO BECAUSE THEY LET YOU KNOW, THEY LET US KNOW WHAT THE TEMPERATURE WAS AND I LOVE IT. 
          UM, THE KPIS IS A SPECIFIC RECOMMENDATION BASED ON WHAT WE KNOW NEEDS TO BE MEASURED, BASED ON WHAT WE KNEW, THE TEMPERATURE, NOT ONLY OF YOU, BUT THE COMMUNITY AS WELL. 
          UM, SO THOSE KPIS ARE CRITICAL. 
          WHAT, WHAT ARE YOU MEASURING? HOW DO YOU MEASURE IT MM-HMM . 
          UM, AND BEING ABLE TO, UH, REPORT THOSE METRICS OF WHAT'S HAPPENING, WHAT'S NOT HAPPENING. 
          UM, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT I HEARD FROM THE QUALITATIVE IS BUSINESSES DON'T TRUST YOU, UM, BECAUSE THEY HAVE NOTHING TO BASE THEIR TRUST ON. 
          AND SO THAT'S GOING TO BE ADVICE, UH, OR YOU KNOW, JUST KIND OF A GENERAL, UH, OVERVIEW TO THE COUNTY IS THAT BUILDING AND GAINING TRUST IS NOT AN EASY TASK. 
          IF YOU'VE EVER BEEN IN A RELATIONSHIP, YOU KNOW, IT TAKES TIME TO DO THAT. 
          YES. 
          UM, AND SO, UH, DON'T GET FRUSTRATED IF THE FIRST YEAR OR MAYBE EVEN THE FIRST YEAR OR THE SECOND YEAR DOES NOT WARRANT THE TYPE OF ENGAGEMENT THAT YOU THINK YOU SHOULD HAVE. 
          UM, BECAUSE IT TAKES TIME TO BUILD THAT TRUST. 
          AND, UM, SO CONTINUE TO STAY DILIGENT ABOUT THAT. 
          BUT I THINK THE KPI CONVERSATION, UM, THE DIFFERENT COLLECTIVE WAYS OF PARTNERING WITH OTHER ORGANIZATIONS, UM, HUDSON COUNTY'S IN YOUR RELEVANT MARKET AREA MM-HMM . 
          SO THE TWO OF YOU ARE CHASING THE SAME VENDORS. 
          RIGHT? RIGHT. 
          UM, SO YOU KNOW THAT COLLABORATION IS REALLY IMPORTANT. 
          THANK YOU SO MUCH. 
          COMMISSIONER COOPER, MR. CHAIRPERSON. 
          THANK YOU. 
          UM, THANK YOU. 
          I'M FINALLY EXCITED THAT THE ADMINISTRATION BROUGHT THIS REPORT. 
          WE FINALLY GOT IT DONE. 
          IT IS, ALTHOUGH, UM, DISAPPOINTING TO READ. 
          WE'RE HAPPY THAT IT'S DONE. 
          SO NOW WE KNOW WHAT OUR STARTING POINT IS AND WHAT OUR MARCHING ORDERS ARE. 
          I THINK, UH, MR. CHAIRPERSON, WE SHOULD PROBABLY HAVE A WORKING SESSION SUBCOMMITTEE BETWEEN THE BOARD AND THE ADMINISTRATION. 
          MM-HMM . 
          UM, I ALSO BELIEVE THAT MR. JACKSON, I THINK WE MAY NEED TO RETAIN THE GOOD PROFESSOR HERE A LITTLE BIT LONGER BECAUSE THE DIRECTOR HAS VERY SMALL STAFF. 
          IT'S TWO OR THREE OF YOU. 
          ME. 
          RIGHT. 
          HOW, HOW MANY, UM, NOT COUNTING MYSELF TECHNICALLY. 
          I JUST HAVE ONE MORE NOW. 
          SPEAK OF ONE. 
          WE CAN'T HEAR YOU SPEAKING TO THE MICROPHONE, INCLUDING MYSELF. 
          TWO CURRENTLY RIGHT NOW WORKING ON ANOTHER, INCLUDING YOURSELF. 
          SO IT'S YOU AND ONE OTHER TWO. 
          TWO . 
          SO, UM, SO IF WE'RE SERIOUS ABOUT SEEING SOME REAL SYSTEMIC CHANGE IN THIS AREA, WE HAVE TO PUT OUR MONEY WHERE OUR MOUTH IS. 
          WE SPEND A WHOLE LOT OF MONEY ON A WHOLE LOT OF THINGS. 
          AND IF WE WANT TO SEE THIS GROW SOME, I THINK WE, YOU KNOW, NEED TO MAKE A LITTLE BIT MORE INVESTMENT TO HELP COME UP WITH THE PLAN THAT WE'RE GONNA COLLECTIVELY WORK ON TO IMPROVE THESE NUMBERS. 
          AND THEN THE BOARD, MR. PRESIDENT, UH, THROUGH THAT COMMITTEE MAYBE NEED TO HAVE SOME POLICY DISCUSSIONS. 
          ABSOLUTELY. 
          UH, LEGAL RESEARCH TO SEE WHAT SOME THINGS CAN WE DO AND REVIEW THIS REPORT ALONGSIDE THAT ORDINANCE THAT 
          [02:10:01]
WAS DONE, UH, A COUPLE YEARS BACK TO SEE WHAT TEETH IS REALLY IN IT AND, AND WHAT, WHAT, WHAT CAN WE DO IS WHAT I WOULD SAY. 
          I AGREE, CHAIR. 
          I'M NOT AT ALL, I'M NOT EVEN SAYING THAT THAT THREE IS A GOOD NUMBER, BUT JUST TO, TO CLARIFY WHAT THE DIRECTOR SAID, THERE ARE ACTUALLY THREE POSITIONS RIGHT NOW AND THAT DIVISION ACTUALLY THREE AND A HALF. 
          'CAUSE UM, WHAT'S THE GENTLEMAN'S NAME FROM, UH, DDTE? UM, MY APOLOGY, UM, DR. 
          JOBY, HE WORKS AT 50 SOUTH CLINTON, WHO WORKS FOR DTT, WORKS WITH THE WORK GROUP, TRYING TO ESTABLISH SOME OF THOSE RELATIONSHIPS WITH THE EMPLOYEES THAT YOU SPOKE ABOUT BEFORE OUR COMMISSIONER. 
          BUT RIGHT NOW, THE PERSON WHO WAS IN THAT POSITION GOT WANTED TO MOVE TO ANOTHER, UH, UH, POSITION IN THE COUNTY. 
          AND WE'RE INTERVIEWING A THIRD A PERSON NOW TO COME IN TO TAKE HER PLACE. 
          SO WHILE IT'S TRUE WHEN YOU LOOK AT IT TODAY, THERE'S, THERE ARE TWO, BUT THAT'S BECAUSE THE ONE PERSON WHO WAS THERE WAS GOING, IT WENT, WENT SOMEPLACE ELSE, WHICH IS FINE, GOOD OPPORTUNITY, BUT WE'RE, UH, INTERVIEWING AND I THINK WE'VE IDENTIFIED ACTUALLY A PERSON WHO'S GONNA BE COMING INTO TAKING HER PLACE. 
          SO IT'S, I JUST WANTED TO CLARIFY. 
          THANK YOU. 
          SO THERE'S ONE VACANCY AT THIS POINT. 
          AM I UNDERSTANDING THERE'S ONE CURRENT VACANCY THAT'S POTENTIALLY ASSUMED, WHICH I LOOKING TO BE FILLED, SHOULD BE FILLED, IMMINENT. 
          SO THREE AND A HALF BODIES IT WILL BE. 
          OKAY. 
          SO I, I STILL WILL PUT THAT, ASK YOUR SUBJECT THERE THAT WE MAY STILL NEED SOME HELP, HELP DISAGREE. 
          MARCH ON TO WHERE OUR COLLECTIVE GOALS ARE GOING TO BE TO GET SOME OF THOSE BENCHMARKS THAT PROFESSOR TOLD US ABOUT THAT. 
          SO THANK YOU MR. PRESIDENT. 
          THANK YOU ALL FOR COMING. 
          I APPRECIATE IT. 
          I GOTTA GO GET A KIT. 
          THAT'S DONE. 
          ALRIGHT. 
          THANK YOU. 
          UH, VP. 
          SO I WANT TO, UH, THANK THE ADMINISTRATION AS WELL FOR, UH, DOING THIS DISPARITY STUDY AND FUNDING IT. 
          UH, IT'S DEFINITELY WELL NEEDED. 
          UM, SO NOW WE HAVE A REAL IDEA OF WHERE WE ARE AND WHAT NEEDS TO HAPPEN, WHAT WE NEED TO DO GOING FORWARD TO CLOSE THIS DISPARITY GAP, UH, WITHIN THE COUNTY. 
          SO IT'S JUST TIME TO GET TO WORK. 
          MM-HMM . 
          IT'S TIME TO DO THE WORK. 
          WE STOP TALKING ABOUT IT. 
          WE KNOW WHAT THE NUMBERS ARE. 
          MM-HMM. 
          YOU'VE SEEN THEM. 
          WE FEEL 'EM, WE SEE THE VENDORS WHO COME IN EVERY MEETING. 
          WE KNOW WHO THEY ARE AND A LOT OF 'EM WITH THE BIG CONSTRUCTION'S, THE USUAL SUSPECTS. 
          ALRIGHT. 
          SO WE HAVE TO DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT AND WE WILL. 
          SO I WANT TO THANK THE COMMUNITY, EVERYONE WHO CAME OUT, EVERYONE WHO CAME OUT AND SPOKE, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR PARTICIPATING. 
          AND UH, MOTION TO ADJOURN. 
          SECOND, MOVE IT. 
          ALL IN FAVOR. 
          AYE. 
          GREAT MEETING.
* This transcript was created by voice-to-text technology. The transcript has not been edited for errors or omissions, it is for reference only and is not the official minutes of the meeting.