Long-awaited changes to the Metropolitan Sewer District’s inclusion program passed the Board of Trustees Thursday night – but not before a dynamic last few minutes of political maneuvering in the fourth quarter.
It deserves an instant replay.
Seconds before the trustees were about to vote on a resolution for a six-month interim policy on minority participation, Vice Chair James H. Buford pulled a quarterback sneak, of sorts. He proposed to look at the goals that were voted down in December once again.
That’s not what was on the agenda.
The voted-down resolution proposed in December would have set separate subcontracting goals for minority business enterprises (MBEs) at 25 percent and women business enterprises (WBEs) at 5 percent for all construction and professional service contracts of $50,000 or more. It would have also set a new workforce goal of 25 percent minorities and 6.9 percent women on contracts $1 million or greater.
What was on the agenda were interim goals that stakeholders – minority contractors, union leaders, the NAACP, construction organizations and minority and women business advocates – attempted to agree upon during the last several months.
These goals included a considerably lower goal – 15 percent – for both MBE and WBE participation on non-building construction contracts of $50,000 or more. And the proposed workforce goals were set at 14.7 percent minorities and 6.9 percent women.
So why did Buford push to revisit the December goals in the final seconds? Buford was making a major play for the survival of minority businesses in the region, onlookers said.
Between April to October 2012 – the time period in which the interim goals would be in effect – MSD will spend about $68 million on non-building construction and only $1.2 million on building construction, according the district. With a 25 percent MBE goal for non-building construction, minority businesses could potentially get $16.9 million of those contracts, if they all were for $50,000 or more.
However with the interim goals on the agenda, trustees were only aiming for a 15 percent combined M/WBE goals, with a minimum 7.5 percent of the contracts going to minority businesses. That 7.5 percent would only award minority businesses about $5 million over the next six months in non-building construction.
Buford first asked if any of the trustees who opposed the December resolution wanted to change their initial votes. Surprisingly one of the original opposing trustees, John Goffstein, said he had “no problem with 25 and 5.” Goffstein had voted against the goals in December, saying that without a disparity study the district had no safeguard against a lawsuit. However in February, the board commissioned a disparity study, which will be completed in October. The interim goals will be in place until the district receives the study results.
With Goffstein’s approving comment, the end zone was seemingly in clear sight for Buford and the minority business community. More than 50 minority stakeholders were in the audience waiting on the edge of their seats.
Buford then proposed to amend the resolution on the agenda to include the original 25/5 goals. But before it could go to a vote, Buford was taken down by an unsuspecting defender, Eddie Ross Jr. – who is African-American and was appointed to the board by St. Louis County Executive Charlie A. Dooley. Ross voted in support of the December resolution.
Ross said, “There has been a great deal of good faith to get to the document that’s in front of us now. As far as amending what’s on the table now, I would say strictly for the workforce.”
Buford seemed happy to at least increase workforce goals and called it a “friendly amendment.” The interims goals then became:
∙ 25 percent MBE and 5 percent WBE on building construction $50,000 or more
∙ 15 percent MWBE (with at least 7.5 percent MBE) on non-building construction $50,000 or more
∙ 30 percent MWBE for professional service contracts $50,000 or more
∙ 25 percent minority and 6.9 percent women workforce goals on construction and professional service projects $500,000 or more.
The vote was taken. The board unanimously approved the amended resolution. And the meeting was over.
Outcry from MOKAN
Immediately, MOKAN Executive Director Yaphett El-Amin, who advocates for minority businesses, rushed to confront Ross about his decision. Soon the two were encircled by eager listeners.
“I stand here today with companies that will feel the pinch because of that,” El-Amin said. “Those goals being minimized today will be hurtful for them.”
During public comment, El-Amin made a strong case before the board members on why they should adopt higher workforce and MWBE goals.
She noted that several of the City of St. Louis’ recent major projects have had no problem reaching minority participation goals of 40 percent or higher, including the O’Fallon Park Recreation Center, and the North Sarah and Arlington Grove redevelopment projects.
She also questioned the board’s reasoning for setting lower non-building construction goals than they were currently achieving.
From July 2011 to January 2012, MSD awarded 19.8 percent of non-building construction contracts to minority or women businesses combined – with minorities receiving 10.7 percent of those contracts. She challenged why they would aim at a goal nearly 5 percent lower than its current participation.
“In our opinion, by setting a minimum goal, it sets up a potential for minority businesses to lose $3.1 million,” El-Amin said. “I don’t know about anyone else in this room, but I am concerned about minority businesses surviving.”
For El-Amin and the minority businesses, this is not political football. They are fighting for the well being of their families, she said.
NAACP President Adolphus Pruitt credited El-Amin with successfully pushing the trustees to rethink the goals. In his comments, Pruitt told the board that the NAACP will be drafting a workforce agreement to be directly tied to the consent decree, in which MSD agreed to improve its sewer system and treatment plants at an estimated cost of $4.7 billion over 23 years.
“It is essential that we have some sort of agreement that specifically outlines what would happen post-disparity study, as it relates to addressing any disparities the study identifies,” he said.