Getting Caught Up to DBE Speed

Last week I arrived in New Orleans (in the midst of record breaking temperature). Fortunately I was able to beat the heat at my new desk in the Office of Supplier Diversity that houses the city’s Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) Program.  My first couple days have been spent getting caught up to speed on all the various laws and city ordinances that govern the DBE program.

State and local DBE programs were chartered under the idea of “leveling the playing field” for socially and economically disadvantaged individuals.  The histories of these programs began under the Nixon Administration in the late 1960’s with the establishment of the Office of Minority Business Enterprise (OMBE).  Since 1981, the City of New Orleans has operated a program for its disadvantaged businesses. The program was first established as a “set aside” for minority suppliers, guaranteeing that 10 percent of all purchases of goods and services by the Sewage & Water Board would go to DBE firms (Times-Picayune. Pushed Aside. 2001).

In 2009, New Orleans City Council codified changes to the DBE program (Sec. 70-432.1), establishing an overall goal of 50 percent utilization of businesses that were locally owned and 35 percent utilization of socially and economically disadvantaged businesses for all public spending or private projects that utilize public funding and/or incentives. Social and economic disadvantage is determined, such that the business’ ability to compete has been restricted due to discriminatory practices beyond its control (industry practices and/or limited capital and/or restricted credit opportunities, etc).

Despite good intentions of the participation goal, the City of New Orleans has encountered consistent difficulty in executing this corrective public policy and hasn’t quite achieved the desired 35 percent level of DBE participation in city contracts.  And this is where I come in. 

A year ago, Mayor Mitch Landrieu, issued Executive Order MJL 10-02 outlining specific reforms to the DBE program. Working with Norman Roussell this summer, some of our top priorities will be developing 1) an internal DBE training curriculum for city departments and agencies, 2) outreach and social media strategy, and 3) a pilot alternative certification along with a whole host of other research projects and operational activities.

In the upcoming weeks I will be working remotely from Cambridge, MA and Las Vegas, NV where I will be attending the Women Business Enterprise Conference before returning back to New Orleans the last week of June.