The Legislation Committee.
A five-year update of the city’s law to increase opportunities for small black, Latinx, and women-owned construction companies advanced toward a final vote, amid questions about whether it can be updated to reflect new language and concerns surrounding equity in New Haven.
At the conclusion of a hearing Thursday night, the Legislation Committee of the Board of Alders voted in favor of a five-year renewal of the law, Chapter 12 ¼ of the New Haven Code of Ordinances. The full Board of Alders is scheduled to take a final vote on it on Aug. 3.
The ordinance in question sets aside opportunities for small black, Latinx, and women-owned contracting companies to compete for contracts on publicly funded development projects. It also establishes outreach and training programs to help those underrepresented businesses grow and navigate the bidding process.
Lil Snyder, who manages the city Small Contractor Development program that spearheads initiatives under the ordinance, presented to the alderson the ordinance.
“The small contractor needs an advocate, and that’s what our office is,” said Snyder. “I can pick up the phone and call the [developer] and say, ‘Here is a vendor who hasn’t gotten paid in four weeks. What’s the holdup?’”
The ordinance outlines representation goals for the city’s construction contracts. It aims for at least 10 percent of the city’s construction contracts and 10 percent of subcontracts to be awarded to African American-owned businesses. It aims for 2.5 percent of contracts and 6 percent of subcontracts to be awarded to Hispanic American-owned businesses. And it aims for 11 percent of contracts and 15 percent of subcontracts to be awarded to businesses run by women.
In 2019, according to Snyder, black, Latinx, and women-owned businesses were contracted for a total of 18 percent of opportunities.
Snyder noted several proposed tweaks to the law in her presentation to the committee.
Significantly, the ordinance currently allows for department heads to select three contractors to bid for any contracts worth under $50,000; contracts worth more than that amount must be subject to an open bid. The new version of the ordinance would require an open bid to program contractors for projects worth $10,000 or more.
Snyder explained that the change arose from contractors’ feedback. “Some contractors have been expressing to me that they weren’t one of the three who got called” for a job, she said, even though they were interested in bidding.
Westville/Amity Alder Richard Furlow asked what kinds of jobs would be worth less than $10,000. Snyder replied that painting an office, replacing carpeting, and some electrical and plumbing work could qualify.
In addition, while the current version of ordinance serves businesses that have been in operation for at least a full year, the new ordinance would effectively reduce that minimum to six months by adding a precertification phase giving six-month-old businesses full access to the program.
Lil Snyder shares her screen to present.
Alders asked whether the law could be amended to go further — and heard back that the ordinance is constrained by a 1992 federal court ruling that deemed an early version of the law to be unconstitutional.
The U.S. District Court for the State of Connecticut ruled that an ordinance promoting the representation of specific racial and gender groups had to be directly tied to data about the New Haven region. As a result, a “disparity study” was commissioned to demonstrate the need for such a law. The 1992 study remains the foundation of the current ordinance.
Westville Alder Adam Marchand asked about the definition of a “minority-owned business” in the ordinance, which specifically focuses on businesses owned by “African Americans” and “Hispanic Americans.”
“I notice that the category for minorities is pretty limited,” he said. He noted — and Snyder confirmed — that a new disparity study would need to be conducted in order to encompass Asian and Middle Eastern-owned businesses.
Marchand also noted that the 1992 study’s term “Hispanic American” is distinct from “Latinx.” “Hispanic” refers to people with origins in Spanish-speaking countries, including Spain and excluding countries like Brazil and Haiti. “Latinx” refers to people of Latin American descent.
He asked how the target percentages for African American, Hispanic American, and women-owned businesses hired by the city were determined, and how recently they were developed.
The goals were derived from the 1992 study, Snyder said. “If you’re going to change the goals, you should change them based on a disparity study,” she added.
Dixwell Alder Jeanette Morrison said she has seen the Small Contractor Development office in action through her work spearheading the revival of the Q House community center in her ward: “Everything that you said … all those efforts that you outlined, you guys definitely do. I can be a witness to it.”
Morrison asked if the program could specifically foster opportunities for businesses located in New Haven’s lowest-income neighborhoods. In her work coordinating the construction of the Q House, she said, “I’m seeing different groups — they’re minorities, yes — but I don’t really see them coming from neighborhoods of need in the city.”
Snyder replied that she was unsure whether it would be legal for the office to distinguish between businesses coming from different neighborhoods in the city, as the 1992 study did not assess economic opportunity by neighborhood.
Fair Haven Heights Alder Rosa Ferraro Santana noted that the scope of the program focused on encouraging small businesses in New Haven County, rather than the city of New Haven specifically.
“Why are we not hiring New Haven businesses?” she asked. If the program promotes contractors from neighboring towns, “we’re not doing anything for our city residents.”
Deputy Economic Development Director Steve Fontana said that targeting businesses from the city of New Haven over businesses from neighboring towns might not be legal, either.
Snyder added that the scope of the program has been based on the disparity study, which focused on New Haven County rather than New Haven itself.
John Ward, the city staff attorney for economic development, promised to look further into the question of whether it would be possible to institute city- and neighborhood-specific goals based on the 1992 disparity study.
While all of the committee alders expressed their support for the ordinance, they suggested that an updated disparity study may be prudent.
“I expect that there’s a continuing disparity and maybe we don’t need to study it to confirm that,” Marchand said, but “it’s important to know if there remains a disparate impact and there could be a way to make it more geographically specific.”
Morrison agreed. “There might be a company in West Haven that’s all-minority and able to do the job, but the people in the Newhallville section of town” might not be benefiting from the program as it is, she said. “I really want to see if there’s a way that we can make an additional amendment that would speak to the areas of need.”
Echoing this sentiment, Ferraro-Santana commended the program, but noted that “something’s missing from it.”
Carlos Rodriguez: “They gave me the tools.”
”Crawl Before I Walked”
Several businesses owners who have benefited from the program testified in support of the ordinance’s five-year renewal.
Allen Page started Core Site Services three years ago after working in construction for over a decade. With the help of the Small Contractor Development program, he said, he’s been able to grow his business and take up projects such as working on the Barack H. Obama Magnet University School’s new building.
With the program’s training, “they had me crawl before I walked,” said Page, whose business is located in Fair Haven. “Now I have the opportunity to hire fellow New Haven people and train them to do construction.”
“This is our third year, and we’ve seen our company grow, which is leading into job creation,” said North Haven resident Robert Cerilli of Cerilli Constructions.
“They tell me a lot. I just started my company two years ago and they gave me the tools,” said Carlos Rodriguez, a Dixwell resident, of Affordable Glass and Mirror LLC. He said he hoped the program would be renewed not just for five years, but for the next decade.
This program is a good for small businesses that need the assistance most. I would highly recommend that it not be restricted to small businesses located in specific neighborhoods. That is actually harmful to most small businesses.
If Newhallville, for example, favors its own small businesses, then businesses from Fair Haven and other neighborhoods will be excluded. Those neighborhoods will reply in kind and not let Newhallville businesses work in their area. That goes for the application to other towns as well. If NH excludes other town's contractors, then those towns will exclude NH contractors and their chance at growing and becoming successful is harmed.