CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Charlotte taxpayer-funded organizations are doing much more business with minority and women-owned small business enterprises (MWSBEs) than expected, according to a new city council report.
Councilmember James Mitchell requested a breakdown of MWSBE utilization ahead of Thursday's financial partner budget workshop.
"I want them to know they got advocates on city council that say, 'We're trying to help you grow,'" Councilmember Mitchell told WCNC Charlotte after Thursday's meeting.
The staff report shows the Charlotte Regional Visitors Authority, which receives the most funding from the city ($18 million in Fiscal Year 2022), spent more than $4 million (23%) with MWSBEs. The public authority far exceeded its 4% goal. The CRVA is seeking an extra $500,000 million in funding in the upcoming budget.
Earlier this year, WCNC Charlotte discovered the CRVA paid a leadership coaching company a series of paydays totaling $750,000 over a decade without considering other qualified companies for the same work. In response to WCNC Charlotte’s reporting, the CRVA did not promise any changes as a result, but instead reaffirmed the public authority’s commitment to MWBEs. The CRVA also recently updated its website to solicit new MWBE vendors.
In the wake of WCNC Charlotte's reporting on the CRVA and city of Charlotte’s past decisions that shut out qualified companies from getting a fair shot at government work, elected leaders have repeatedly expressed a desire for the city and its partners to be more inclusive and to track their efforts.
The report shows at least eight of the city's 10 funded partners met or exceeded their MWSBE utilization goals in FY 2022 as well.
"It's good and very surprising," Mitchell said. "There've been major cases that qualified minority firms have not received contracts, so I am pleased that...there's been some success and we need to celebrate those, but we also need to continue to do better."
WCNC Charlotte discovered there are a couple of discrepancies in the report. The information appears to be incorrectly incomplete for the Charlotte Regional Business Alliance. The report notes the city is in the midst of “continuing outreach with organization” due to incomplete reporting.
Senior Communications Director Tanya Mendis told WCNC Charlotte it’s the Charlotte Regional Business Alliance’s understanding the information was provided to the city.
“According to our records, our FY2022 MWSBE spend was $91,422, which is approximately 55% - substantially above the 10% goal,” Mendis said.
Safe Alliance, a domestic violence and sexual assault advocacy organization, meanwhile, provided WCNC Charlotte with documentation to show the organization met its goal.
“…partnering with minority, woman-owned, and small business enterprises is a priority for the agency,” Safe Alliance Corporate and Community Engagement Director Sarah-Kate Pease told WCNC Charlotte. “However, there are several minority and/or woman-owned small business vendors that we contract with that have not gone through the process to register as a vendor with the City so they do not count towards our reported numbers.”
Contact Nate Morabito at nmorabito@wcnc.com and follow him on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.