[Mpls] City contracts promised for Small, Minority and Women Businesses

[Shawn Lewis]

Does anyone know what the City of Minneapolis is doing?????
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City contracts promised

Small, minority- and women-owned businesses say St. Paul 
not living up to ordinance

BY TIM NELSON

Pioneer Press


The city of St. Paul will beef up its efforts to include 
minority-, women-owned and small businesses in the 
development projects it funds and the goods and services 
it buys, Mayor Randy Kelly told a gathering of minority 
businesspeople on Wednesday.

He laid out a 15-point plan to address criticism from 
minority builders, business owners and service providers, 
who have complained that the city isn't living up to the 
standards set out by ordinance 30 years ago.

"We're going to take the ordinance, Chapter 84, and push 
it to the limit," Susan Kimberly, planning and economic 
development director, told business people gathered at the 
St. Paul Area Chamber of Commerce offices.

The most important change, she said, was a commitment that 
all new development agreements and offers of assistance 
will require a "good-faith effort" to steer at least 
15 percent of the total expenditure toward minority-owned, 
women-owned and small businesses.

Minority contracting has been a matter of some contention 
in St. Paul. The city's former affirmative action officer 
and minority business development director was fired 
after alleging that the city's signature development effort, 
Housing 5000, was ignoring anti-discrimination measures.

http://www.twincities.com/mld/twincities/10031996.htm
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We must monitor City projects
By: Pauline Thomas
Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder
Originally posted 12/17/2003 
http://www.spokesman-recorder.com/News/Article/Article.asp?NewsID=36377&sID=16&Search=YES
Shawn Lewis, Field Neighborhood

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