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Description
Government Accountability, Transparency & Accessibility Hearing- Docket #0253- Order for a hearing to audit the City of Boston's procurement processes, procedures and progress.
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E
This
matter
was
sponsored
by
myself
and
counselor
Tanya
Anderson
and
was
referred
to
the
committee
on
January
25th
2023.,
in
accordance
with
chapter
107,
the
acts
of
2022
modifying
certain
requirements
of
the
open
meeting
law
and
relieving
public
bodies
of
certain
requirements,
including
the
requirement
that
public
bodies
conducts
its
meetings
in
a
public
place
that
is
open
and
physically
accessible
to
the
public.
The
city
council
will
be
conducting
this
hearing
virtually
we
assume
and
it
is
being
recorded.
E
E
it'll,
also
be
rebroadcasted
at
a
later
date.
Written
comments
may
be
sent
to
the
committee
email
at
ccc.gata
boston.gov
and
will
be
made
part
of
the
record
and
available
to
all
counselors
public.
Testimony
will
be
taken
at
the
end
of
this
hearing
if
you
wish
to
sign
up
for
public
hearing
and
have
not
done
so.
Please
email,
Shane,
pack,
chain.pac
boston.gov,
for
the
link
and
your
name
will
be
added
to
the
list.
E
B
Good
afternoon
everybody,
my
name
is
Erica
Perez
and
I
will
be
working
with
my
colleague,
Gabriel
Herrera,
providing
Spanish
English
interpretation
for
a
Spanish-speaking
folks.
When
will
will
have
somebody
speaking
Spanish,
so
at
the
bottom
of
your
screen,
you
will
see
a
little
clove
click
there
and
make
sure
to
choose
English
to
hear
the
interpretation.
E
Okay,
so
I
just
wanted
to
note
for
the
record
that
we
have
been
joined
by
our
city
council
colleagues.
We
have
always
in
attendance,
counselor
president
Ed
Flynn
of
District
2
counselor
list
Breeden
of
District
9
counselor
kendallada
of
District
Six,
councilor,
Brian,
Royal
of
District
Four
and
myself
as
the
chair
and
for
our
community
panel.
We
have
Luis
Roman,
who
is
with
Amplified
latinx
a
board
member
and
the
architect
from
the
Power
Up
program.
We
have
Darian
Johnson,
who
is
with
the
black
Economic
Council
of
Massachusetts.
E
We
have
Argentina
Villar
who's,
the
manager
of
LV,
Home
Improvements
and
cleaning
company
Roberto
green
who's,
the
owner
of
Las
Palmas
El,
Rafael,
danielito
Guzman,
who
is
a
owner
of
race
services
and
Company
before
I.
Introduce
the
administrative
panel
I
want
to
note
for
the
record
that
our
office
requested
Chris
Radcliffe,
the
interim
purchasing
agent
in
procurement
and
Marine
Joyce,
the
city
auditor,
to
present
at
today's
hearing,
as
well
as
representatives
from
the
BPS
purchasing,
since
they
are
one
of
the
biggest
buyers
of
the
city
of
Boston.
E
Unfortunately,
we
are
excited
and
grateful
for
those
who
are
here
with
us.
We
had
the
the
same
Usual
Suspects
and
we
are
really
grateful
to
have
Chief
eduo
from
the
economic,
empowerment
and
inclusion
cabinet,
and
we
also
have
members
from
the
supplier
and
Workforce
inclusion
because
of
this
change.
E
We
have
had
to
Pivot
slightly
to
accommodate
these
changes.
However,
I
hope
that
if
there
are
additional
questions
that
the
panel
is
not
able
to
answer
during
this
hearing,
that
we
can
have
those
shared
with
us
in
probably
in
a
in
a
different
manner
with
that
said,
I
also
wanted
to
make
note
of
our
Administration
panel.
We
have
Chief
iru,
who
is
the
chief
Economic
Opportunity,
the
cabinet
for
Economic
Opportunity
and
inclusion,
Andre
Lima,
who
is
the
director
of
supplier
Workforce
diversity?
E
We
have
Michael
Miller
the
director
of
strategic
procurement
and
Jennifer
Dufour,
who
is
the
deputy
director
of
strategic
procurement?
So
I
would
like
to
give
my
colleagues
the
opportunity
to
share
any
opening
remarks
in
the
order
of
of
attendance,
so
we'll
start
with
President
Flynn.
You
now
have
the
flow.
F
G
You,
madam
chair,
and
thank
you
to
the
panel
members
who
are
all
here
this
afternoon.
This
is
an
important
topic
procurement.
We
spend
a
lot
of
money
in
the
city
on
on
services
that
are
come
in
on
a
at
a
lower
cost
and
all
together
at
months
to
millions
of
dollars
and
I'm,
really
interested
in
learning
more
about
how
potential
contracts
are
advertised.
G
I
Thank
you,
councilor
Mejia,
and
thank
you
to
all
the
panelists
and
thank
you
for
everyone.
Who's
been
intended.
I
want
to
just
give
a
big
shout
out
to
the
to
the
whole
OE
o.I
team
on
their
work,
and
but
they
have
done
in
such
a
short
period
of
time.
We
are
starting
not
starting
to
see
larger
dollar
contracts
getting
awarded
to
mwbes
and
also
us
as
a
council,
along
with
the
administration
passing
Chapter
30
B.
I
E
I'm
super
well
so
I'll
just
start
briefly
with
some
opening
remarks.
You
know
the
2020
just
already
study
indicated
it
just
proportionate
under
neutralization
of
minority
and
women-owned
businesses.
In
response,
the
mayor
issued
an
executive
order
to
address
and
improve
the
outcomes
by
committing
to
a
utilization
goal
of
at
least
25
Contracting
with
minority
and
women-owned
businesses
across
all
contracts
awarded
in
any
fiscal
year.
E
Today,
we're
here
to
learn
a
little
bit
about
some
of
the
changes
that
have
been
made
and
some
of
those
outcomes
and
creating
transparency
around
this
incredibly
important
work
for
our
small
businesses
and
our
micro
businesses.
I
mentioned
micro
businesses
because
there
are
not.
They
were
not
addressed
in
the
disparity
study,
nor
our
small
businesses
defined
in
a
way
that
allows
us
to
separate
small
from
micro
businesses
in
a
way
that
will
ensure
we
are
responding
to
their
needs
appropriately.
E
Micro
businesses
are
typically
slow,
sole
Proprietors
of
one
to
two
person
operation
shops
and
make
less
than
one
million
in
gross
profit
a
year.
50
of
all
businesses
started
as
sole
Proprietors
of
the
10
million
businesses
started
in
2022.
A
hundred
percent
said
that
access
to
Capital
was
their
biggest
concern.
Access
to
cash
is
a
bigger
barrier
to
any
to
many
micro
and
small
businesses.
Once
a
micro
or
small
business
is
giving
an
opportunity
to
do.
Business
with
the
city
of
Boston
working
capital
is
often
an
issue.
E
The
payment
schedule
is
inconsistent
and
with
the
financial
constraints
of
many
micro
and
small
businesses,
a
quick
pay
policy
for
small
businesses
needs
to
be
explored
in
order
to
ensure
minority
and
women-owned
micro
and
or
small
businesses
have
the
cash
flow
needed
to
fully
participate
and
scale,
while
micro
businesses
in
particular
benefit
the
most
from
Grants.
These
one-off
only
support
a
few,
the
city
of
Boston
I'm,
looking
forward
to
ensuring
that
we
can
help
support
them
and
being
more
intentional
behind
on
their
support
for
micro
and
small
businesses.
E
This
can
only
be
done
by
placing
a
more
comprehensive
support
system
for
them,
especially
around
funding.
The
city
should
consider
replicating
the
model
they
have
around
housing
by
working
with
funders
to
support
and
expand
on
the
capacity
of
micro
and
small
businesses.
Various
departments
across
the
city
of
Boston
have
their
own
procurement
process,
which
makes
working
for
the
city
of
Boston
even
harder.
Some
departments
like
the
BHA
continue
to
implement
a
hand,
delivery
method
which
is
antiquated
and
inaccessible
to
most,
who
have
never
done
business
and
or
would
like
to.
E
E
Is
that
when
we're
here
in
these
spaces
is
that
we
see
these
moments
to
learn
from
each
other
to
identify
what
are
the
solutions
so
that
we
can
really
focus
in
what
we
need
to
do?
And
it's
not
just
about
calling
people
out,
it's
really
an
opportunity
for
us
to
take
those
notes
and
utilize.
What
we
learn
in
this
space
to
do
something
about
it
in
collaboration
with
the
administration.
E
So
I
hope
that,
as
we
continue
through
go
through
this
conversation
today
that
it's
within
that
spirit
that
we're
all
operating
under
so
with
that
I
am
going
to
now.
I'll
kick
things
off
with
our
community
panel
and
I'm
going
to
ask
if
you
could
please
introduce
yourself
for
the
record,
your
name
title
and
affiliation
before
presenting
and
I'm
going
to
start
off
with
Lewis
Roman
Roman,
who
is
with
amplify
latinx
a
board
member
and
the
architect
of
the
power
up
program
Louis.
You
now
have
the
floor.
J
Thank
you,
madam
chair,
at
counselors
panelists
in
and
anybody
participating.
My
name
is
Luis
Roman
and
I've
been
with
amplify
latinx
since
September
of
last
year,
I'm,
the
treasurer
and
a
board
member
prior
to
that,
my
professional
experience
is
eclectic
since
I
used
to
be
a
professor
in
Academia
I
work
for
the
financial
sector
a
number
of
years
and
more
recently,
as
a
financial
advisor
business
consultant
happy
to
be
here.
Thank
you.
D
E
J
So
for
those
new
or
not
that
familiar
with
amplify
latinx
is
a
non-profit
organization
with
overreaching
goals,
fundamental
to
Upward
mobility
within
the
Latino
community.
They
positively
impact
the
Latino
Community
by
helping
across
main
pillars,
such
as
policy
and
advocacy
leadership,
representation
and
Economic
Opportunity.
J
Why
organizations
like
this
are
essential
can
be
answered
in
several
ways.
I
want
to
stick
today,
perhaps
to
some
recent
data
research
that
has
been
conducted
by
a
number
of
different
organizations.
For
example,
the
Boston
Foundation
underscores
how
latinx
latinx
people
drive
population
and
small
business
growth
which
are
critical
to
the
economic
and
social
prosperity
of
the
Commonwealth
of
Massachusetts.
J
Unfortunately,
this
community
is
challenged
by
social,
political,
educational
and
economic
disparities
that
have
blocked
access
to
high
wage
high
income
sectors,
driving
the
economy
in
Massachusetts
and
that
contributing
to
a
vast
racial
income
in
wealth
caps
and
all
the
research
supports
how
entrepreneurship
can
grammatically
increase
income
and
wealth
and
reduce
racial
disparities
for
small
businesses.
Latinx
businesses
still
lack
Equitable
access
to
Capital
government
contract
contracts
and
political
power.
J
That's
something
that
was
published
by
masking
in
at
one
of
their
research
papers
and
one
way
how
Amplified
latinx
has
helped
as
small
businesses
is
through
their
PowerApp
program,
which
is
geared
to
small
business
Community.
It's
a
program
that
it
supports
key
goals
of
the
Massachusetts
Latino
advisory
commission
as
it
works
to
build
latinx,
small
business
capacity,
increase
taxes
to
Capital,
build
stronger
cross-sector
connections
and
business
Network,
Foster
equity
on
state
boards
and
commissions,
domestify,
Government
Contracting,
and
bolster
Supply
diversity
programming
through
culturally
affirming
and
bilingual
support.
J
It's
been
successful
as
a
as
a
for
the
record
in
2022.
It
helped
about
66
small
businesses
out
of
42
of
those
they
were
able
to
stable
help
and
stabilize
or
become
profitable,
financially
speaking,
it
guided
30
of
those
businesses
to
develop
Capital,
Readiness
and
digital
Transformations,
and
it
helped
to
stabilize
about
80
different
jobs
and
create
13
new
jobs
in
those
businesses.
E
Gracia,
thank
you
Lewis.
Thank
you
for
that.
I
am
going
to
switch
things
up
a
little
bit
in
this
I'm,
always
all
about
telling
a
story.
So
now
that
Lewis
has
laid
down
the
the
foundation
for
some
of
the
the
challenges,
some
that
some
specifically
some
of
the
Latino
businesses,
have
faced
I'm
going
to
move
on
to
I'm,
going
to
ask
Argentina,
who
is
a
small
business
owner
to
be
next
and
then
Darian
I'm
going
to
go
to
you
Mr
Johnson.
E
E
E
C
B
B
Okay,
so
good
afternoon,
everyone,
my
name-
is
Argentina
and
I'm.
The
owner
of
lb,
Home,
Improvement
and
clean
Inc,
so
I
gotta
say
that
the
procurement
of
process
with
the
city,
it's
complicated,
to
work
with
the
bids.
But
I
was
fortunate
enough
that
Carlos
Espinoza
from
JP
and
DC
was
able
to
help
me
with
this
process.
So
I
have
to
say
that
the
language
barrier
is
an
issue.
The
forums
are
all
in
English.
B
C
B
C
C
C
B
But
also
I
felt,
like
businesses
can
get
hurt
by
or
based
on
the
the
bid
that
they
get
for
one
year.
For
example,
in
my
company,
everyone
seemed
happy
with
the
work
that
we
were
doing
and
they
were
seeing
the
difference
that
we
were
making,
but
at
the
end
of
the
day
it
doesn't
matter
if
you
do
a
good
job
because
they
want
the
services
to
be
paid
cheaper.
B
You
know
they
don't
want
to
pay
the
the
price
that
we
asked
for
so
they're
saying
we're
doing
a
good
job,
but
they
don't
want
to
keep
paying
that
price.
Instead,
let's
say
they're
offering
to
pay
25
an
hour,
and
then
they
want
us.
They
want
my
company
to
clean
or
provide
the
service
for
Less.
Let's
say
the
other
person
takes
five
dollars
and
then
I
have
only
make
twenty
dollars.
B
C
D
E
I
am
going
to
now
ask
foreign
from
the
black
Economic
Council
of
Massachusetts,
another
thought
partner
with
our
office,
and
we
were
really
grateful
for
your
leadership
and
insight
and
getting
us
here.
So
you
now
have
five
minutes
in
the
floor
and
then
I'm
gonna
go
to
danielito
Guzman
and
then
Roberto
so
I
just
wanted
to.
Let
you
know
what
the
order
is,
so
that
you
know
that
you're
up
next
so
Mr
Johnson
Then,
followed
by
Mr
Guzman,
Mr
Johnson.
You
have
five
minutes
and
the
floor.
K
Back.
My
son
is
our
work
around
four
pillars:
entrepreneurship,
placement,
Commerce
and
ownership,
and
these
are
the
ways
in
which
we
seek
to
eliminate
the
racial
wealth
Gap
within
our
state,
supporting
entrepreneurs
and
and
their
businesses
is
vital
to
doing
our
mission
driven
work
and,
frankly,
make
Boston
what
it
is
today
in
2019
beckma
presented
to
then
mayor
Wallace
on
how
to
address
the
city
Supply
diversity,
issues
within
and
then
within
that
meeting,
Beckman
advocated
for
several
tangible
ways
in
which
the
city
can
address
its
diversity
and
Contracting.
K
This
included
creating
accountability
measures
such
as
setting
funds
aside
for
a
singular
position
to
address
Supply
diversity
issues,
allocate
more
money
for
personnel
and
technical
assistance
and
finally,
abiding
by
the
city's
own
rules
and
regulations
by
following
the
Boston
City
council's
promoting
equity
in
the
city
of
Boston's
contracts
and
in
in
2020
2021
beckma
collaborated
and
supported
the
city
to
increase
the
number
of
minority
and
women-owned
businesses.
Later
mayor,
Wu
introduced
the
sheltered
Market
program
to
the
city
council
as
an
order
to
designate
six
City
contracts
to
minority
owned
and
women-owned
businesses.
Later
on.
K
Which
conducted
a
study
study
based
upon
feedback
from
32,
100
Massachusetts,
small
business
owners,
500
of
those
respondents
were
black
business
owners
and
35
were
from
Suffolk
County,
and
we
found
the
following.
In
the
last
two
years,
26
of
the
black
response
contracted
with
a
local
government
versus
19
for
the
overall
set
of
small
business
owners.
K
Five
percent
of
black
respondents
indicated
that
they
would
like
to
do
business
with
anchor
institutions
which
includes
local
government
in
the
future
versus
the
overall
set
of
respondents
at
41
percent.
When
asked
how
hard
it
has
it
been
to
get
businesses
from
local
governments
and
anchor
institutions,
60
of
black
respondents
indicated
somewhat
or
very
hard
versus
the
overall
group
at
57,
which
is
similar
in
the
aggregate.
K
The
causes
of
the
issues
were
more
distinct,
too
much
paperwork
do
not
know
about
opportunities,
would
need
upfront
capital
or
do
not
believe
we
will
win
in
a
competitive
bid
process
and
another
is
slow.
Payment
terms
are
a
cute
issue
for
black
business
owners,
who
are
often
under
capitalized
and
have
little
to
no
working
capital
to
cover
extended
payment
terms.
K
We
recommend
the
following
to
improve
and
sustain
significant
bidding
outcomes
for
black
owned
firms
as
prime
or
subcontractors
on
on
the
city
of
Boston.
One
set
traffic
set
track
and
report
on
contract
goals
by
departments
and
Prime
contractors
to
ensure
that
Minority
and
women-owned
businesses
are
not
being
unfairly
and
unlawfully
excluded
from
equal
Contracting
opportunities.
K
This
was
indicated
as
a
key
recommendation
in
the
2020
disparity
study,
the
City
of
Austin
to
review
and
hold
departments
accountable
to
Supplier
Diversity
and
contracts,
so
specific
goals
on
the
annual
basis
three
published
on
his
website.
A
dashboard
dashboard's
goals
to
actual
disaggregate
by
race,
of
bitter
by
city
of
Boston
department
and
Prime
contractors,
continue
to
hire
and
retain
adequate
staff
to
dedicate
to
supply
diversity,
maintain
a
publicly
available
calendar
of
all
known
upcoming
contract
opportunities,
including
the
date
of
the
opportunity.
K
It's
posted
in
its
bid
date
and
regularly
update
a
public
dashboard
with
disaggregate
procurement
data
and
also,
lastly,
contract
with
bekma
and
other
community-based
organizations
for
culturally
sensitive
Outreach
and
assistance.
We
look.
We
we
at
back
we'll
look
forward
to
working
with
this
Council,
the
mayor's
mayor,
who's,
Administration
and
key
stakeholders.
So
we
can
ensure
the
prosperity
of
our
city
and
our
Commonwealth
for
generations
to
come.
Thank
you
for
thank
you
for
your
time.
E
L
Just
want
to
say
thank
you
to
Darian.
He
did
it
great
presentation,
so
my
name
is
Raphael
Guzman
Raphael,
danilito
Guzman,
it's
my
nickname,
I've
been
I
in
the
construction
business
since
94.
I'm,
an
electrical
engineer
by
education,
UMass
Amherst
I've
also
had
some
master
studies
at
Boston,
University
and
I've
done
a
lot
of
work
for
the
city
of
Boston
over
the
year.
I
work
all
over
New
England
in
construction.
I
want
to
make
a
correction
to
to
a
council
woman
Mejia
said
about
ownership.
L
The
ownership
of
this
company
is
actually
my
son,
Benny
Guzman,
and
my
who
used
to
be
who
used
to
be
my
secretary
20
plus
years
ago,
I
mean
I'm
in
the
process
of
passing
out
the
Baton
I'm
now
doing
real
estate,
so
so
I'm
very
happy
to
be
here.
This
is
I,
think
very
important
and
hopefully
we'll
have
results.
L
So
I
have
a
lot
of
stories
to
tell
us
a
bit
fast
and
I'll
start
by
story
telling
you
I
did
a
job
for
Menino
in
the
90s
late
90s
topping
the
Tobin
building
in
Roxbury
I.
Think
it's
a
community
center,
okay
and
I
was
doing
selected
Demolition
and
we
were
doing
asbestos
abatement
and
at
a
time
in
Boston,
you
had
a
50
50
rule
for
construction.
50
of
the
workforce
have
to
be
from
Boston.
Well,
we
only
got
one
and
we
had
I
forget
over
20
people
working
at
that
job.
L
For,
like
three
months,
the
whole
song
I
believe
it
was
1998
Okay,
so
Workforce
Development
training
opportunity
for
minority
folks
in
Boston.
It's,
like
my
personal
opinion
and
I,
can
speak
about
Lawrence
Lawrence
has
most
asbestos
in
the
relation
working
per
capita
of
any
other
place
in
the
United
States
of
America,
and
that's
because
we
made
it
so.
The
late
night
is
because
we
set
up
a
school,
privately
health
school
to
train
people
on
construction.
L
Okay,
I
want
to
touch
on
what
Darian
talks
about
claiming
in
access
to
capital
for
small
businesses,
especially
minority
businesses.
Okay
in
our
world
construction
from
the
bulk
of
us,
we
do
work
as
a
subcontractor
working
for
a
general
contractor
and
the
average
first
payment
on
a
public
job
in
Boston
take
60
days
to
get
paid
folks
60
days
to
get
paid,
and
yet
you
are
paying
prevailing
wages
like
right
now
we're
working
at
the
McCormick
building
and
those
guys
are
making
70
an
hour.
L
So
imagine
if
you
have
10
people
working
there,
okay
and
you
have
to
wait
60
days
to
get
your
first
paid
most
contractors
minority
contractors
good
enough
for
that
because,
like
you
said,
there's
no
assets
to
Capital,
there's
no
assets
to
cash
and
that's
something
that
we
have
to
address
as
a
community.
In
my
opinion,
if
you
ever
want
to
get
to
the
goal
of
the
25
that
the
city
of
Boston
have
so
I
want
to
talk
about
the
prompt
payment
law
for
the
federal
government,
the
federal
government
forces
their
GC.
L
L
That
needs
to
change
if
minority
contractors
are
to
survive
and
finally
supervision.
Those
responsible,
States
I
want
to
say,
because
they
will
cover
everything.
There
has
to
be
accountability.
We
have
to
hold
all
the
Departments
to
the
same
standard.
You
have
different
departments
for
like
Boston
Housing
per
se.
They
have
different
rules
than
another
department,
the
development
Community
in
Boston
that
they
have
to
be
held
to
the
same
standard.
L
E
All
right,
good
job.
Thank
you
guys.
We
appreciate
you
all
speaking
your
truth
and
helping
us
understand
what
the
lived
experience
looks
like
and
also
those
who
are
working
in
the
space.
So
we're
gonna
end
our
Community
panel
with
our
last
speaker,
who
is
Roberto
green,
the
owner
of
Las
Palmas,
the
co-owner
of
Las
Palmas,
as
well
as
an
entrepreneur
and
someone
who
has
some
really
great
ideas
in
ways
that
we
can
help,
support
businesses,
scale
and
and
and
meet
the
moment
so
Roberto.
M
Thank
you
Julia,
first
and
foremost,
thank
you
guys
for
your
time
and
thank
you
guys
for
bringing
up
this
this
issue
this
matter
that
we
we
really
need
to
resolve
me
as
a
business
owner.
Just
some
back
ends,
I
used
to
work
for
State,
Street,
Bank
and
JP
Morgan
I,
then
transitioned
to
the
the
restaurant
world.
We
now
currently
own
three
restaurant
locations,
one
in
MIT,
one
in
Harvard
and
one
in
Roslindale.
M
Aside
from
that
I'm
also
a
real
estate
investor
and
developer
I
did
that.
Out
of
you
know
the
pandemic.
It
was
very
difficult,
navigating
through
the
pandemic
over
60
of
the
restaurants
closed
as
you
can
imagine,
it
was
a
very
difficult
time.
One
of
the
main
reasons
why
we
stayed
open
and
stayed
afloat
was
because
we
were,
we
were
able
to
really
try
to
figure
out
ways
to
to
get
contracts
with
World,
Central,
Kitchen
and
off
their
plate.
M
Rent
has
increased,
the
cost
of
goods
has
increased,
taxes
are
obviously
still
there
and
then
now
we
have
no
access
to
parking
because
of
a
lot
of
the
bike
Lanes.
So
a
lot
of
the
restaurants
are
taking
massive
hits
and
we
see
that
with
the
space
grant
program
where
now
they're
offering
to
subsidize
or
pay
businesses
to
take
over
restaurants
that
are
not
open
and
they're
closing
because
of
these
factors,
you
know
we
have
all
these
high
increases
in
labor
costs.
M
M
In
addition
to
that,
it's
just
been
it's
real.
It's
really
hard
to
navigate
to
get
these
contracts
like
we're,
we're
able
and-
and
we
have
the
capacity
to
take
on
contracts-
we've
done
anywhere
between
100
to
500
meals
per
day.
So
it's
not
a
matter
of
you
know
us
not
being
able
to
produce
and
not
being
it
being
equipped.
It's
just
that
we
don't
have
either
the
right
resources
or
the
accessibility
to
get
these
contracts.
I
I
I've
asked
for
over
two
years.
M
M
So
that's
one
of
the
main
challenges
that
I've
had
you
know
and
I'm
coming
from
corporate.
You
know,
I
do
have
business
background,
I
have
Financial
education,
I,
have
college
education
as
well
a
lot
of
mentors
and
a
lot
of
connections
in
the
city
and
even
still
with
that
I'm
still
not
able
to
find
contracts
and
then,
when
we
do
submit
a
contract.
M
You
know
it's
like
a
10
15
page
here,
where
we
have
to
really
dissect
and
get
to
the
granular
level,
with
all
the
logistics
of
what
we
need
to
of
how
we're
going
to
produce
for
the
contract,
and
then
they
always
say
they
never
give
us
like
a
minimum
or
a
high
price
bid.
It's
always
like
just
give
us
your
bet,
your
your
lowest
and
your
best.
You
know
and
Lois
and
best
to
me.
It's
like
I'm,
a
smaller
business
right
now.
M
So
I
know
that
I
know
for
a
fact,
a
larger
Corporation
who
can
who
can
take?
Who
can
cut
their
costs
in
a
different
ways?
They
can
give
better
budget,
so
we
never
end
up
getting
the
contract,
but
we
never
even
get
feedback
either
as
far
as
what
we
need
to
do
to
to
improve
to
get
to
these
types
of
contracts.
So
those
are
some
of
the
main
challenges
that
we've
been
facing
as
a
small
business
over
the
past
six
years.
E
E
So
I
am
going
to
open
up
the
floor
before
we
move
on
to
the
administration
and
I
also
want
to
let
Central
staff
know
that
jeep
it
who
is
in
the
attendees
panel
with
his
hand,
up
wanting
to
just
acknowledge
that
he
has
his
hands
up
so
I
wanted.
To
just
note
that
case.
You
all
need
to
know
that
I
am
going
to
so
first
before
we
dive
into
questions.
F
Thank
you,
madam
chair
and
I
know.
One
of
the
panelists
mentioned
a
recommendation
that
the
city
of
Boston
provides
some
training
about
how
to
look
for
the
application,
how
to
complete
the
application.
What
to
look
for
in
an
application
I
just
wanted
to
follow
up
on
that
recommendation.
I!
Think
it's
a
it's!
A
great
recommendation.
Does
the
city
right
now
provide
any
Outreach
to
so
any
of
you
to
any
small
businesses
that
might
be
interested
in
various
contracts
and
how
to
kind
of
navigate
the
application
system
or
or
or
the
application
process.
E
B
B
C
C
L
E
L
This
the
now
the
sdo
does
that
Supply
diversity
office
at
the
state
level
and
it's
accepted
by
by
other
municipalities
and
cities
and
towns,
are
the
Commonwealth
level
right.
However,
each
cow
or
each
City
handled
their
population
different
ways.
Now
the
city
of
Boston,
the
last
training
that
I
was
aware
of
was
on
the
mail.
At
the
end
of
the
20th
century,
I
haven't
seen
the
city
of
Boston,
providing
training
to
their
population
or
to
the
small
business
Community,
especially
the
minority
community.
F
F
Is
there
a
list
of
potential
contracts
that
you
can
look
through
on
on
the
Internet
or
on
paper?
Is
there
a
list
of
contracts
that
you
can
look
at
that
you
might
be
eligible
for
that?
You
might
be
interested
in
that
you
might
want
to
learn
more
about
that's
kind
of
that's
kind
of
been
one
one
document
or
one
area,
that's
easy
to
find
easy
to
look
at,
and
maybe
it
gives
you
an
opportunity
to
take
a
look
at
it
and
see
what
what's
available
in
in
into
gauge
their
interests.
L
Yes,
so
that's
a
very,
very
good
question
Mr
Flynn.
So
let
me
talk
about
the
product
going
for
a
sec,
okay,
so
the
federal
government,
every
agency-
and
there
are
hundreds
and
hundreds
of
agencies
that
work
for
the
federal
government.
As
you
know,
so,
I
started
with
the
USA
that
handles
all
the
buildings
for
the
federal
government
with
the
SBA
itself
every
year
and
they
put
a
capital
plan,
the
capital
expenditures,
including
all
the
projects
that
are
isolated
to
be
completed
within
X
number
of
times,
like
Boston
put
out.
L
L
They
call
it
a
small
business,
something
a
more
busy
I
call
it
Contracting
Office
and
let's
say
they
put
out
on
October
of
every
year
they
put
out
how
much
they're
going
to
spend
and
the
projects
that
are
coming
out
within
a
12-month
period
so
that
we
as
minorities,
can
tell
the
government
look
I'm
interested
in
that
project.
Can
you
make
that
project
am
I,
not
a
business
set
aside?
L
They
be
women
on
MB.
What
whatever,
whatever
certification
I
have,
because
what
we're
trying
to
do
today
is.
We
have
the
whole
feel
to
to
everybody
right.
Everybody
compete
right,
but
minority
is.
We
cannot
compete
on
the
first
playing
Ground
because
we
don't
have
the
resources
to
do
so.
This
is
why
we're
here
today
right
create
a
Plainfield
that
is
more
Equitable
to
us
right,
because
we
cannot
compete
so
the
federal
government
what
they
do
is
they
give
us
the
opportunity
to
cause?
L
Let's
say
Boston,
Housing
and
say:
look
on
this
particular
Housing
Development.
You
have
a
painting
job
coming
out
or
a
cleaning
job
coming
out.
Can
you
make
it
a
minority
set
aside
and
the
federal
government
does
that
right?
In
addition
to
that
story,
they
have
the
88
program,
The
Hope
song
program
that
try
to
hire
people
like
ourselves
that
don't
have
the
resources,
as
the
young
population
yeah.
E
Yes,
thank
you
for
that
and
before
I
move
on
to
the
next,
my
other
colleague
I'd
love
to
just
give
Darian
Mr
Johnson
from
back
my
an
opportunity
to
kind
of
like
help
answer
that,
because
he
had
made
some
recommendations
about
a
database
and
ways
to
help
support.
So
Mr
Johnson
just
wanted
to
give
you
an
opportunity
to
also
chime
in
here
with
that
before
we
move
on.
If
that's
okay,.
K
Thank
you,
chair,
I,
think,
I,
think
that'd
be
really
helpful
and
one
of
the
things
that
I
would
say
you
know
I
represent
Beckham
here
as
on
the
policy
side
of
things.
But
when
we
talk
our
organization
is
broken
up
by
a
membership
base,
and
so
having
that
type
of
lunch
you
know
one.
You
know
one
time
shop
where
you
can
go
to
and
be
able
to
look
for
those
things.
K
That
would
definitely
be
very
helpful
and-
and
we
can
easily
be
able
to
disseminate
that
information
to
our
members,
specifically
here
in
Boston,
so
I
think
that
anything
that
makes
it
a
lot
easier
for
folks.
Just
knowing
that,
like
a
lot
of
times,
business
owners
are
the
administrators
The
Operators
of
their
own
business
and
whatever
can
make
it
easier
for
them,
especially
the
ones
that
don't
might
not
have
the
employees
or
the
capacity
it
does.
It
does
go.
You
know
a
long
way
to
making
it
a
lot
easier
for
them.
K
E
Thank
you
for
that.
I'm
going
to
on
to
I,
know,
I
know
that
Council
British
breed
and
she
had
to
say
the
meeting,
but
will
be
returning,
so
I
am
going
to
go
next
to
conster
and
I
also
wanted
to
know
before
we
keep
moving.
Is
that
my
co-sponsor
of
this
hearing
order,
counselor
Anderson
has
joined
us
as
well.
Thank
you.
Counselor
Anderson,
we're
just
going
through
the
process
of
of
questions
based
on
the
first
panel.
N
Thank
you,
madam
chair.
Apologies
for
being
delayed,
I
had
a
previous
commitment,
I
apologize
and
really
wanted
to
be
here.
Thank
you
so
much
to
the
community
members,
becma
and
all
the
other
organizations
that
are
here
today,
I
I
was
hoping
if
it's
okay
with
you,
madam
chair,
to
hold
my
questions
for
after
the
administration
presents
I
think
it
probably
makes
sense
for
me
I'd
like
to
hear
their
presentation
and
responses
and
then
I
think
it'll,
probably
save
us
time
on
questioning
as
well.
E
D
E
D
I
These
are
things
that
we
here
as
counselors,
often
from
our
businesses
and
those
who
are
seeking
contracts
with
the
city
of
Boston
and
one
thing
that
always
I
go
back
to
and
I
think
I
forgot,
the
gentleman's
Raphael
I'm
brought
up
as
the
payment
and
I
guess.
His
question
to
Raphael
and
also
Darian
is
I.
L
L
Do
a
job
say
for
housing
in
Boston,
Boston,
Housing,
right
and
I'm
working
for
Darien,
it's
the
DC
in
software
construction
and
my
contract
is
eight
hundred
thousand
dollars
right
supposed
to
be
there
for
three
months,
probably
have
10
guys
working
I,
don't
know
what
I'm
doing,
but
this
is
so.
You
know,
let's
suppose,
right
for
in
order
for
software
construction
to
get
paid
the
yeasty
they
have
to
get
from
being
happy.
David
I
say
that
I've
been
paid
so
I
put
in
my
requisition
at
the
end
of
the
month.
L
They
don't
do
that.
The
GC
is
saying
we
we've
been
paid,
but
they
don't
they
don't
look
at
those
dogs,
they
don't
they
don't
call
it
hey.
Have
you
been
paid?
They
don't
do
that
the
federal
government
does
that
not
every
state,
not
every
Federal
agency,
does
it
but
the
the
Navy
does
it
if
you're
a
subcontracting.
Remember
folks,
the
folks
that
are
financing
or
projects
federal
state,
local,
whatever
you
want
to
call
it
other
subcontractors,
because
we
are
planning
paying
our
workers
weekly
and
we
get
to
put
in
a
requisition
once
a
month.
L
So
you
want
to
help
us.
Subcontractors
pass
the
front
payment
law
because
you
cannot
put
out
a
project
if
you
don't
have
the
funds,
if
you're
the
City
of
Lawrence,
if
you're
the
city
of
Boston
you're
gonna
put
it
out,
you
have
the
funds
they
already
have
been
set
aside
in
the
bank
sitting
to
pay
this
general
contractor
or
this
contractor
right.
But
the
contractor
has
to
follow
a
process.
You
have
the
process.
L
E
I
L
Let
me
tell
you:
Massachusetts
is
one
of
the
most
Progressive
state
in
the
country.
As
we
all
know,
right
Massachusetts
passed
the
law.
That's
called
pay
win
pay.
So
when
we
sign
the
contract
with
a
given
contract,
it's
a
subcontract.
Remember:
I'm,
it's
financing
the
stock,
we're
financing
the
work.
Okay,
all
gecs
have
a
pay
when
pay
close
in
the
contract.
Guess
what
on
private
jobs?
It's
illegal!
It's
against
the
state
regulations.
L
It
was
passed
by
the
legislation
at
the
state
level,
but
on
public
jobs,
it's
not
ironically,
it's
not,
in
other
words,
GC
will
not
pay
me.
Oh
I
haven't
been
paid
and
a
lot
of
GC
use
that
it's
an
excuse,
even
though
they've
been
paid
not
to
pay
themselves
and
as
a
fact
you
can
talk
to.
If
we
were
to
have
some
contractors
here,
they
will
tell
you
something.
Sorry,
oh
yeah
I'm
done.
Thank
you
all
right.
Thank.
E
E
Do
because
I
think
it's
important
like
that
we
have
community
and
the
people
who
are
doing
the
work
and
living
the
realities
are
have
the
best
ideas
in
terms
of
how
we
can
support
businesses
so
Mr,
Johnson,
Roberto
or
Lewis
before
we
move
on
to
my
other
colleague,
I
just
want
to
make
sure
that
you
all
have
an
opportunity.
If
you
want
to
chime
in
on
how
you
know
what
are
some
of
the
things
that
we
could
do
differently,
please
use
the
mic.
This
is
your
opportunity
to.
K
K
I
would
love
to
you
know,
look
at
that
the
procedures
right
now,
but
I
do
think
there
is
in
from
what
was
just
said
around
the
timing
of
those
events.
You
know
that
is
you
know.
That
is
an
issue
that
we've
hear
here
at
back.
My
constantly
constantly
and
consistently
but
I
think
part
of
that
is
too
is
to
kind
of
look
at
the
structures
that's
already
in
play,
and
how
do
we
can
we
can
like
can
brainstorm
and
think
about
those
things
together?
K
You
know
I,
don't
want
to
I,
don't
have
a
one-size-fits-all
solution
per
se,
but
I
would
I
think
there
are
some
different
things
we
can
definitely
go
about
and
just
for
the
sake
of
time
would
love
to,
you
know
have
a
conversation
off
after
and
how
we
can.
You
know,
go
forward
and
kind
of
come
up
with
some
solutions
together.
E
Thank
you.
Thank
you,
and
you
know.
I
really
do
hope
that
you
all
as
panelists,
can
stay
on
when
the
administration
goes,
because
I
really
do
believe
that
it's
important
for
all
of
us
to
have
the
same
conversation.
So
for
those
who
don't
have
time
constraints,
if
you
could
stay
on,
we
would
really
value
your
Insight.
So
if
you
don't
have
any
types
of
Trades,
please
stay.
I
just
have
a
few
questions,
because
I
really
want
to
create
an
opportunity
for
us
to
move
on
to
our.
E
You
know
the
next
part
of
our
discussion,
but
I'm
just
curious
for
the
community
panelists.
If
you
could
just
tell
me
a
little
bit
about
the
supplier
portal
and
your
ability
to
navigate
it,
I'd
love
to
be
able
to
just
kind
of
you
know
a
30
second
elevator
pitch
of
like
if
you
had
to
ex
share
your
experience
with
it.
What
would
it
look
like
I
and,
as
you
share
I'd
love
to
know
what
are
some
of
the
ways
you
think
the
administration?
E
That
is,
you
know
consistent
either
with
paperwork
or
you
know
the
navigating
with
ease
just
like
really
helping
us
understand
what
that
would
look
like
and
there's
been
a
lot
of
mention
about
advertising
and
I'm
wondering
if
you
could
share
how
businesses
currently
find
contracts.
What
do
you
think
about
the
city
of
Boston?
You
know
in
terms
of
what
we
can
do
to
expand
the
way
we
share
information
about
New
Opportunities
and
what
other
ways
can
the
city?
You
know
what
what
else
can
we
do
to
support
small
businesses?
E
Those
are
three
high-level
questions
that
I
have
and
I'm
just
curious.
If
you
all
can
just
help
us
understand
what
it
looks
like
and
the
reason
why
I'm
asking
those
questions
is
because
I
know
that
we
have
a
lot
of
money
in
the
city
of
Boston
and
I
know
that
we're
now
in
a
moment
where
everybody
wants
to
make
sure
that
we
close
that
wealth
Gap
that
we've
been
talking
about
now
for
decades.
L
Remember
you
you've,
given
me
a
lollipop
I've
been
doing
this
for
30
years
and
and
every
mistake
it's
a
contract
that
can
be
done
since
our
contract
I've
done
it
and
I'm
so
glad
you
folks
are
doing
this,
but
I
really
really
hope.
That
is
us
again
here
that
that
you
guys
take
it
to
the
next
level,
because
you
can
do
great
good
and
and
small
businesses,
especially
minority
businesses.
They
don't
have
to
go
out
of
business
because
they're
not
getting
paid
or
they're
not
getting
the
opportunity.
L
L
Sometimes
you
find
a
project
here
and
you
don't
see
it
in
the
Boston
portal.
There's
no
consistency,
somebody's
not
doing
his
or
her
job
right,
because
the
Boston
is
a
part
of
it's
supposed
to
put
every
opportunity
that
the
city
has
out.
There
is
the
law
right.
It's
like
the
central
regulator
does,
and
sometimes
vice
versa.
L
E
Thank
you
for
that
Mr,
Johnson
or
Mr
Roman.
Can
you
talk
a
little
bit
about
the
type
of
technical
assistance
that
you've
had
to
provide
some
of
your
members
in
in
navigating,
in
terms
of
like
how
you're
hearing
about
information,
the
different
types
of
advertising
techniques
that
you
have
seen
be
successful
in
other
states
that
you
think
that
we
may
want
to
adopt
here
in
the
city
of
Boston?
Any
any
lessons
that
you
can
share
with
us
foreign.
K
I
want
to
tackle
the
Outreach
part
of
the
initial
question
that
you
have
you.
You
asked
to
this.
This
committee
I
think,
first
with
Supply
diversity
when
the
office
was
created
from
Statewide.
It
just
had
a
lot
of
you
know.
A
lot
of
folks
were
really
trying
to
get
navigate
or
just
trying
to
reach
out
and
I
think
there
has
been
there's
positives
to
the
supply
diversity.
I
was
here
in
the
city
of
Boston
I.
Think
one
of
the
things
that's
I
always
talk.
I
mentioned
the
recommendation.
K
Is
this
like
intentional
Outreach
in
in
cultural
Outreach
too,
as
well,
because
what
we
also
see
is
some
of
our
members
will
say:
we've
reached
out
or
we
you
know,
we've
gotten.
You
know
the
support
we
needed,
but
there
are
the
ones
that
are
outside
of
that
scope
and
we're
also
as
an
organization,
that's
Statewide.
You
know
trying
to
find
out
ways
how
we
more
inclusive,
so
I
think
that
one
of
the
ways
that
we
we
definitely
need
to
you
know
consider
is
what
are
the
organ
and
there's
a
language.
K
There's
language
barriers
here
too,
that
can
to
consider,
is
you
know,
I
think
sometimes,
when
we
talk
about
out,
you
know
using
the
internet
or
using
these
other
ways
of
advertising,
sometimes
there's
some.
There
is
some
types
of
barriers
for
folks,
especially
older
folks
that
may
have
an
old
Mom
Pop
shop
that
might
not
really
use
the
internet.
K
Sometimes
so
one
of
the
things
I
would
you
know
I
always
consider,
is
you
know
really
coming
up
with
ways
that
what
kind
of
partners
that
hit
specific
demographics
to
be
very
helpful
in
bringing
in
folks
especially
around
the
supply
of
diverse,
because
sometimes
I
I'll
hear
folks
that
have
you
know
done
interactions,
but
sometimes
they
have
it,
and
some
folks,
like
oh,
like
I,
didn't
even
know
that
or
I
didn't
know.
Where
do
I
go
now,
and
sometimes
you
know
we're
not
a
technical
assistant
shop
and
I
just
want
to
make
that
clear.
K
You
know
Financial
opportunities
and
what
I'm,
what
I
mean
by
that
is.
If
there
are
things
that
are
coming
out
constantly
that
people
need
to
know
those,
if
those
organizations
can
be
very
helpful
into
disseminating
that
information,
so
the
burden
is
not
always
on
the
city.
I
think
that
gets
really
tough,
because
you're
going
to
have
so
many
folks
reaching
out
to
you
consistently
and
sometimes
it's
going
to
be
hard
to
always
get
back
to
them
and
I
think
sometimes
with
folks,
especially
when
it's
their
livelihood
it
can.
It
can
get
really.
K
You
know
folks
can
get
really
anxious
and
not
not
sure
so.
I
really
do
think
that
really
taking
a
look
at
what
are
the
organizations
that
you
have
done?
Partners
with?
Obviously
Beckman
is
in
that,
but
we
need
to
make
sure
that
Outreach
is.
You
know,
you're
not
always
going
to
get
everyone,
but
at
the
same
time
you
got
to
do
your
best
to
make
sure
that
everybody
feels
included
in
the
process.
E
E
In
particular,
we
advocated
and
I
just
want
to
thank
chief
kirubu
for
really
helping
to
support.
This
is
that
we
I
think
it
was
either
350
000
or
500
000
for
to
support
minority
immigrant
businesses,
because
what
we
learned
is
that,
yes,
it's
already
hard
enough
to
navigate
the
the
portal
and
to
navigate
becoming
a
contractor
here
in
the
city
of
Boston.
E
It's
even
a
a
harder
when
you
are
an
immigrant
owned
business
that
you
don't
understand
the
language
that
you
don't
understand
what
it's
like
to
do
business
here
in
America,
and
that
we
need
to
add
additional
supports
and
I.
Think
that
there's
there's
a
number
of
things
happening
here
is:
how
do
we
get
people
who
know
how
to
navigate
the
system
to
do
it?
And
then
how
do
we
start
from
folks?
K
K
They
need
these
opportunities.
These
contracts
they
want
its
livelihoods,
are
here
as
well,
and
so
just
you
know,
I
would
I
just
want
to
add
on
to
what
you
said
about
support
that
could
also
be
look
like
in
terms
of
Staffing
and
then
also
just
ensuring
that
when
we
it's,
you
know
also
not
at
the
end
of
the
like,
when
you
don't
get
the
contract,
but
right
at
the
beginning.
How
do
we
keep
people
on
this?
The
timeline?
That's
needed
in
order
to
get
up
to
get
after
these
contracts.
K
E
E
What
are
your
next
steps,
like
all
of
those
things
need
to
be
clearly
laid
out
and
they
should
be
consistent,
because
I
think
that
that
is
where
I
feel
the
need
is
and
I
I
hear
you
Darian,
like
you
know
the
reason
why
we're
having
this
hearing
it's
not
just
to
go.
We
need
to
do
this,
it's
about
listening
to
what
we
need
to
do.
M
Yeah
no
I
mean
it's
just
it.
It
amazes
me
like
the
like
I'm
looking
at
the
city
of
Boston
supplier
portal,
and
it's
like
I've
had
such
a
hard
time
navigating
through
it,
and
it's
just
by
looking
at
it.
You
can
see
that
it's
such
like
an
outdated
system,
it's
not
organized!
You
know.
If
I'm
looking
for
something
for
a
restaurant,
they
have,
they
just
have
like
a
whole
bunch
of
different
event.
Names
start
dates,
end
dates,
and
it's
not
really
like
technology
driven.
M
M
As
far
as
like
the
needs
and
the
wants,
because
you
know
small
businesses,
they
want
it.
You
know
me
personally,
like
I'm,
not
asking
for
a
handout.
You
know
like
I,
I'm,
confident
in
my
product,
my
service,
we
get.
You
know
five
star
reviews
with
catering.
We
work
with
corporate
clients,
we
we
are
able
to
to
produce,
but
there's
just
this
huge
disconnect
and
there's
just
the
tech
factor
of
it.
Where
we
could,
we
should
be
having
a
dashboard.
You
know
one
one.
M
Software
system
that
I,
like
is
submittable
for
an
example
like
submittable,
is
just
like
a
website
that
I've
used
where,
if
we
apply
for
something
we
get
constant
updates,
you
know
we're
it's
it's
in
review
or
we're
looking
at
this
or
that
you
missed
this
document.
Can
you
please
upload
this?
It's
just
like
a
a
straight
through
process,
and
you
know
it's
like,
and
we
have
all
this
technology
coming
out,
plus
artificial
intelligence,
which
is
now
being
implemented
in
a
lot
of
businesses.
You
know
I
just
feel
like.
M
We
really
need
to
have
this
updated
because
it
shouldn't
be
as
difficult
as
we're
making
it.
You
know
we're
just
working
with
outdated
systems,
but
if
we
organize
the
software,
the
technology
aspect
of
connecting
small
businesses
with
the
need
that
the
city
of
Boston
has
in
regards
to
contracts,
I
feel
like
there's
just
so
much
opportunity
there
for
growth
on
all
different
levels.
M
But
again
it
comes
down
to
the
technology
and
I
think
it's
identifying
what
the
main
issue
is
and
then
coming
up
with
the
resolutions
for
it
and
then
just
just
taking
action.
You
know
we
can
talk
about
this.
All
we
want,
but
at
the
end
of
the
day,
it's
it's
the
taking
action
aspect
of
it.
So
I
would
love
to
see
more
technology
in
regards
to
making
things
more,
like
Technologies
made
to
be
make
things
more
simple,
not
more
complicated.
Folks,
thank.
E
You
thank
you
Roberto
and
I
I,
just
all
I
I
hate
to
be
when
you're
chairing
a
hearing,
your
house
to
always
have
to
be
mindful
of
the
time,
because
you
want
to
make
sure
that
everybody
has
an
opportunity
to
be
fully
expressed.
So
I
really
do
appreciate
everybody's
patience
as
we
navigate
through
this
conversation,
so
I'm
going
to
ask
the
community
panel
to
stay
here.
There
might
be
opportunities
for
you
all
to
to
keep
being
part
of
the
dialogue.
I
do
things
non-traditionally,
so
a
stay
here.
A
A
You
know
councilor
you
mentioned
at
the
top
that
there
were
other
members
of
the
administration
that
you
wanted
to
be
here,
but
I
I
will
let
you
know
that
whether
invited
or
not
I
I
would
have
jumped
into
this
hearing,
because
this
is
my
favorite
topic.
As
you
know,
you
and
I
have
sat
in
hearings
together
about
this.
That
you've
called
and
I
certainly
had
the
privilege
of
being
in
the
ionella
chamber
since
May
of
2019
to
talk
about
this
issue.
A
When
then
Council
and
then
councilor
Janie
brought
a
hearing
order
up
to
talk
about
discretionary
spend
with
our
businesses
and
so
proud
to
see
beckma
on
the
call
and
amplify
latinx,
and
so
many
of
the
small
business
owners
that
were
hopeful
to
be
able
to
do
business
with
and
want
to.
Thank
also
members
of
the
Coalition
for
an
equitable
economy.
A
You
know
we
don't
just
see
these
organizations
during
these
hearings.
We
see
them
every
single
day
and
talk
with
them
every
single
day
and
there
there
are
some
programs
that
we're
going
to
be
launching
shortly
that
have
been
built
in
partnership
with
these
organizations
and
we're
very
much
looking
forward
to
that,
because
it
addresses
some
of
the
key
issues
that
were
brought
up
this
afternoon.
O
And
thank
you
to
the
council.
We're
really
excited
to
be
here
to
talk
to
you
about
this
very
important
subject.
We
have
a
set
of
slides
that
we've
prepared,
but
before
we
jump
into
that,
I
just
want
to
Echo
gpu's
comments
and
thank
all
the
community
participants
for
their
input.
As
Chief
Edo
mentioned.
It's
it's
really
great.
O
As
we
as
we
move
forward,
trying
to
bring
greater
Equity
to
City
Contracting,
we've
made
a
lot
of
progress
in
the
past
two
years.
Some
of
the
programs,
the
sheltered
Market
program,
for
example,
were
mentioned
in
some
of
the
testimony
from
the
community,
but
we
have
more
stuff
in
the
works
and
so
excited
to
to
share
a
little
bit
about.
You
know
our
plans
for
the
next
year,
both
the
Supplier
Diversity
Program,
but
also
you
know
in
in
collaboration
with
finance
and
other
cabinets
of
the
city.
O
P
Yeah,
thank
you.
Andre
overall
I
agree
with
everything
that
they
said.
I
now
have
about
14
or
15
15
stickies
of
follow-ups
already
sitting
on
my
desk,
but
this
is
this
is
something
we
really
do
care
about,
and
there's
been
a
tremendous
amount
of
work
that
we've
been
putting
into
trying
to
find
a
way
to
make
sure
that
we're
making
smart
interventions
that
are
going
to
have
a
real
impact,
and
so
I
think
but
yeah
I
think
we
hop
into
the
slides
and
get
rolling
unless
Jen
you've
got
something
else.
E
We're
all
really
excited
about
this
energy
I
just
want
to
acknowledge
the
energy
that
is
in
this
Zoom
right
now,
and
the
direction
that
we're
all
moving
in
so
I
just
I
just
want
to
say
that
I
Echo
it
and
I
am
here
for
it.
So
if
somebody
can
help
Jen
make
sure
that
she
can
go
through
those
slides.
That
would
be
great
and.
A
As
as
we
wait,
counselor
if
I
can
say
Roberta
if
he
can,
if
you
can
email
me,
it's
just
first
up
last
name
at
boston.gov
on
that
acquisition
piece
because
I
know
this
hearing
is
about
procurement
and
making
sure
we're
getting
contracts
where
they
gotta
go,
but
absolutely
acquisition
and
ownership
by
businesses
of
color
throughout
the
city
is
vitally
important
for
the
future
sustainability
of
the
city.
So
I
would
love
to
talk
to
you
about
that,
and
that's
the
last
time
you
hear
from
me.
E
Oh
no
Chief
I
just
wanted
to
let
you
know
that
Roberto
in
the
acquisition
conversation
had
talked
about
this,
that,
if
he's
able
to
have
this
space,
the
local
opportunity
for
Contracting
based
on
religion,
so
that
there
is
a
connection
to
that,
so
I'm
really
I
will
make
sure
that
you
guys
get
connected
so
that
you
all
can
help.
So
thank
you.
P
So
let's
take
a
quick
little
look
at
through
the
beginning
here,
but
one
of
the
first
things
to
just
sort
of
get
a
sense
of
is
this
is
the
scale
of
what
we're
doing
and
so
fundamentally
departments
rely
heavily
on
procurement
in
order
to
execute
their
policy
goals.
I
think
this
has
been
pretty
clear
in
terms
of
the
the
different
types
of
things
that
we're
buying,
but
what
you're
seeing
here
is
a
little
bit
of
a
breakdown
of
the
for
one
year.
P
The
next
one
is
sort
of
ifb's
invitation
for
bid
again
low
bid,
but
it
can
be
for
any
value,
rfps
requests
for
proposals,
and
so
there
are
a
number
of
different
and
proposals.
It's
where
you're,
judging
the
best
value-
and
so
this
is
one
of
the
ones
that
we're
working
on
and
we'll
come
back
to
this
a
little
bit
later
on.
P
But
one
of
the
big
things
to
also
remember
is:
we
have
no
go
ahead.
Let's
yeah,
there
are
a
number
of
different
people
that
are
working
on
this
and
I
think,
as
has
been
referenced
at
a
couple
different
points
throughout
today.
We've
got
several
different
departments,
so
breaking
it
down,
we
have
under
Economic
Opportunity
inclusion.
P
One
of
the
things
that
is
really
core
to
this
and
I
want
to
just
tag
this
while
we're
here
is
that
departments
generally
want
to
actually
procure
more
equitably,
they
want
to
improve
their
Supplier
Diversity,
and
so
a
lot
of
what
we've
been
doing
is
trying
to
find
ways
to
make
it
easier
for
them,
and
so
that
sort
of
turns
the
next
piece
over
to
my
little
shop
here.
This
is
under
strategic
procurement.
We
are
based
right
out
of
the
finance
cabinet,
we're
actually
sitting
here
in
outside
the
cfo's
office.
P
P
How
do
we
help
departments
do
a
better
job,
looking
at
individual
interventions
in
in
very
large
contracts
or
things
that
are
complicated
or
difficult
and
really
starting
to
focus
a
lot
more
on
the
internal
process
reform,
and
so
this
is
the
stuff
that,
as
we're
looking
at
it
and
discussing
it
today,
this
is
about
all
of
the
Hoops
that
people
are
feeling
like
they're
going
to
jump
through
and
so
looking
at
you
know
what
are
the
different
steps
you're
going
to
take
along
the
way?
What
forms
what
what
what's
the
process?
P
Where
do
you
see
it?
How
do
you
respond?
This
is
all
stuff
that
we
are
spending
an
extraordinary
amount
of
time,
looking
at
researching
and
trying
to
find
ways
to
improve
being
as
careful
as
possible.
So
then,
in
addition
to
this,
we've
got
two
other
shops
that
have
also
sort
of
been
mentioned
today,
and
so
this
would
be
the
procurement
Department
up
on
the
eighth
floor,
and
this
is
a
central
purchasing
operation
that
really
focuses
on
procuring
Goods.
P
It's
it's
a
it's
a
big
team,
but
there's
a
ton
going
on
up
there
as
well
as
has
been
coming
up.
A
lot
is
the
auditing
department,
and
so
this
is
where
accounts
payable,
and
they
are
the
last
step
along
the
process,
as
you're
actually
going
out
and
getting
paid
they're
responsible
for
a
lot
of
the
compliance
work
and
approving
those
contracts
and
reviewing
them
as
well
as
the
AP
function.
P
So
this
is
sort
of
a
basic
quick
overview,
so
you
can
start
to
get
a
sense
of
the
different
players
that
are
involved
as
we're
trying
to
make
some
change
here.
So,
let's
hop
on
to
the
next
one,
it's
great
and
so
looking
at
an
overall
process
just
as
a
quick
review.
This
may
be
something,
but
it's
sort
of
a
couple
of
the
different
steps
along
the
way
as
we
go
through
this
one
of
the
biggest
ones
is
really
looking
at
that
buying
plan,
and
so
from
the
beginning.
P
It's
how
do
we
let
people
know
about
things.
This
is,
as
the
Departments
are
getting
their
budgets
as
they're
moving
forward,
trying
to
figure
out
what
are
we
going
to
do?
How
are
we
going
to
start
to
execute
these
policies
over
the
next
year?
They're
then
going
out
and
evaluating
businesses
to
see
who
could
potentially
do
this.
Is
this
a
thing
that
really
exists,
because
one
thing
that
we'll
come
back
to
we
have
to
work?
It's
not
just
about
informing
folks.
P
You
really
have
to
craft
these
solicitations
in
a
way
that
makes
sense,
and
that's
one
of
the
hardest
pieces
of
this
work,
then
we're
planning
and
releasing
those
bids.
This
is
the
one
where
you
start
to
look
at
what
are
the
interventions
that
are
available
again:
the
sheltered
Market,
the
Equitable
procurement
Outreach,
the
new
special
written
quote,
contract
home
rule
that
we
that,
with
your
help,
we
all
passed
and
then
individual
contract
specific
goals.
P
Then
it's
awarded
in
contract
great,
not
signed
in
the
actual
contract.
Then
the
services
get
delivered.
Then
here's
where
one
of
the
things
that
I
had
actually
spoken
with
Maureen
Joyce,
the
city
auditor
before
this
she's
sorry
she
couldn't
make
it.
She
literally
has
jury
duty,
but
one
of
the
things
is
that
the
vendor
is
going
to
submit
their
invoice.
P
Then
the
department
confirms
receipts
and
then
it
goes
through
and
gets
paid
one
of
the
important
things
to
try
and
wrap
our
heads
around
as
we're
doing.
This
is
from
a
system
perspective
when
people
are
following
the
process
internally,
things
actually
move
pretty
quickly.
The
issue
that
we
sometimes
bump
into
is
when
somebody
either
isn't
trained,
doesn't
know
or
gets
confused
by
a
complex
thing,
and
so,
at
the
end
of
the
day,
we're
ultimately
responsible
for
finding
no
matter
where
it
breaks
down.
P
P
But
a
lot
of
the
interventions
that
we've
made
have
been
very
limited,
Pilots
a
couple,
we're
still
figuring
it
out,
making
sure
these
individual
things
work,
and
so
we've
been
trying
we're
starting
to
see
some
of
those
come
through.
But
it's
not
on
the
scale
that
we'd
like
definitely
not,
because
every
go
ahead.
I'm.
E
P
E
The
the
city,
just
the
spending,
can
you
just
like
just
give
us
a
quick
understanding
of
kind
of
what
this
graph
means
and
kind
of
just
the
most
absolutely.
What
is
what
is
the
state
of
our
financial
affairs
when
it
comes
to
Contracting
and
spending
money
with
small
minority
businesses?
Can
you
just
totally.
P
And
Jen
Andre
Michigan
happened
anytime.
What
we're
looking
at
here
across
this
graph
is
quarter
based
on
the
fiscal
year.
The
quarter
of
the
so
every
three
month
blocks,
but
importantly,
it's
the
top
level
number
is.
This:
is
the
total
discretionary
spend
by
the
city
and
the
orange
along?
The
bottom
is
the
amount
spent
with
diverse
businesses
with
identified
and
certified
businesses.
E
E
P
P
How
do
we
make
sure
that
we're
we're
tracking
this
and
holding
ourselves
accountable
for
it,
but
also
trying
to
figure
out,
but
also
remembering
that
sometimes
it
takes
a
little
bit
for
things
to
show
up
in
this,
and
so
the
next
one
that
we'll
come
to
is
actually
coming
back
to
one
question
that
keeps
getting
asked,
which
is
actually
about
the
dollar
value
of
the
awarded
contract.
So
this
is
something
that's
to
break
down
a
little
bit
of
what
we're
looking
at
here
between
fiscal
year.
P
20
is
this:
this
is
calendar
year,
I
think
okay
calendar
year
2022
and
calendar
year,
2023.,
looking
at
the
dollar
value
of
awarded
contracts
to
certified
businesses.
Now
this
is
with
the
ethnicity
breakdown,
and
so
just
so
that
people
have
a
sense
of
what
they're
looking
at
the
top
lines
are
the
ones
that
these
are
the
ones
for
which
we
have
the
ethnicity
information.
P
The
bottom
is
one
where
we
don't
know,
but
is
part
of
a
actual,
but
is
a
certified
business,
which
usually
means
it
is
a
state
certification
and
but
they
have
not
actually
then
shared
that
ethnicity
data
with
us
we're
working
to
do
a
better
job
of
capturing
that.
But
that's
that's.
Why
you're
seeing
sort
of
the
bulk
of
it
falling
into
that
category
right.
E
So
that
I'm
clear
again
only
just
because
I
do
have
a
lot
of
people
who
are
tuning
in
that
this
is
the
first
time
they're,
seeing
something
like
this
I
just
want
us
to
it
in
terms
of
this,
so
the
number
of
businesses
is
the
last
one,
so
it
was
12
Asian
businesses,
20
black
businesses
and
two
latino
businesses
that
got
contracts.
Is
that
what
that
is
right?
There.
A
But
so
cancer,
this
is
saying
that
they're,
so
total
is
how
much
all
minority
businesses
received
and
then
for
what
you
just
read
off
1222,
that's
just
for
who
we
know
and
then
there's
a
larger,
so
that
31
could
contain
more
Latino
businesses
or
black
businesses
or
Asian
businesses.
We
just
don't
know
because
that
information
lives
with
the
state
and
they've
not
yet
shared
that
data
with
us.
E
All
right
so
then
I'm
curious
when
you,
okay,
so
I'll
wait
for
my
questions,
but
I
just
want
to
make
sure
that
people
know
kind
of
like
this
is
the
amount
of
money
that
they
receive.
This
is
how
many
people
apply.
This
is
the
the
amount
that
was
rewarded,
and
this
is
the
number
of
businesses
correct.
That's
what
that
graph
is
about.
Okay,
great
thanks.
Absolutely.
P
And
please
interrupt
any
time
the
more
this
is
a
conversation,
the
better
as
anyone
around
can
attest.
If
anybody
has
14
or
15
hours
that
they'd
like
to
spend
talking
about
this
I
am
happy
to
go
into
whatever
level
of
detail
and
I.
Think
everybody
else
in
this
office
is
sick
of
hearing
me
talk
about
it.
So
in
any
case,
this
is.
This
is
really
important.
P
P
the
that's
City
fresh
and
the
reason
why
there's
an
asterisk
is
that's
the
effective
value
of
that
contract
is
17
million
dollars,
and
so
it's
a
it's
a
big.
It's
a
big
jump
and
it's
an
incredible
value.
But
one
of
the
things
that
we're
really
trying
to
do
is
also
make
sure
that
we
can
make
this
the
process
easier
to
make
more
to
not
just
bigger
contracts,
but
also
more
of
them
and
get
a
broader
and
more
diverse
group.
O
Yeah
so
I'm
just
going
to
briefly
touch
on
a
few
different
interventions
that
we've
used
over
the
past
few
years
and
continue
to
use
or
are
expanding
specifically
to
increase
the
city
spending
with
mbes
and
wbes.
They
fall
under
a
lot
of
different
categories:
business,
certification,
events
and
technical
assistance,
direct
financial
support
tools,
policy
and
process
improvements
and
I
might
throw
to
Mike
or
Jen
on
a
few
of
these.
But
just
to
get
us
started
off,
you
know.
One
of
the
core
programmatic
elements
of
our
office
is
doing
events
and
technical
assistance.
O
We
have
a
business
manager
and
an
Outreach
and
engagement
manager
that
do
direct
work
with
businesses
that
oftentimes
constitutes
getting
vendor
accounts
set
up
in
the
supplier
portal,
doing
matchmaking
for
like
relevant
City
Contracting
opportunities
that
might
be
of
interest
to
particular
businesses
and
helping
guide
businesses
through
some
of
our
newer
programming
and
Grant
programs
that
are
specifically
built
to
support
mbes
and
wbes.
We
also
do
do
a
fair
amount
of
in
community
events.
O
Think
in
the
past
year,
in
2022,
I
think
we've
done
nearly
20
different
events,
where
we've
shared
trainings
for
certification
or
just
general
information
about
our
events.
So
we
like
to
take
a
lot
of
that
information
to
the
community
so
folks
who
are
attending
our
partners,
events
can
learn
a
little
bit
more
about
our
work.
O
We
also
have
a
pretty
substantial
direct
financial
support
grant
program,
which
is
called
the
Contracting
opportunity
fund
We've
made
nearly
two
million
dollars
in
Grant
funds
to
certified
businesses,
the
majority
of
whom
are
our
minority-owned
businesses
over
the
past
two
years
that
we've
run
the
Grant.
You
can
see
this
little
table
here.
O
Just
includes
the
total
dollar
Awards
through
the
awarded
through
the
grants
and
the
breakdown
based
on
the
nbe
or
WB
status
of
the
grantees,
and
in
this
case
we're
also
showing
that
the
majority
of
our
grantees
for
the
past
two
years
have
been
black
owned
businesses.
We
are
planning
on
launching
a
third
round
of
the
Contracting
opportunity
fund
this
year,
which
again
is
meant
to
support
businesses
that
are
certified,
mbes
and
WBS
small
businesses,
and
really
close
that
disparity
that
we
have
been
referencing
for
the
entirety
of
this
hearing.
O
We
also
have
put
a
lot
of
work
into
spinning
up
some
tools
and
I
think
that
this
actually
speaks
to
this
particular
one.
The
buying
plan
speaks
to
some
of
the
comments
that
the
community
members
who
joined
us
have
made
business
owners
specifically
about
sort
of
having
better
visibility
into
what
the
city
is
planning
on
buying.
O
So
the
buying
plan
is
something
that
we
have
been
working
on
and
have
published
for
two
years
now
and
we're
going
into
our
third
round
this
year
and
it's
essentially
a
forecast
of
what
the
city
is
planning
on
buying
in
a
coming
fiscal
year,
broken
down
by
Department
by
type
of
spending
type
of
procurement.
And
this
is
really
meant
to
give
business
owners
a
preview
sort
of
like
honestly
to
give
them
lead
time
so
that
they
can
prepare
themselves
to
bid
on
relevant
contracts.
O
And,
as
we
go
into
this
third
round,
we're
continuing
to
refine
the
way.
We
display
this
information
to
include
more
information
that
helps
businesses
get
in
contact
with
the
Departments
that
are
doing
the
procurements.
And
so
this
is
a
really
great
tool
for
businesses
who
are
interested
in
City
Contracting,
but
are
not
sure
what
the
city
is
planning
on
buying
and
how
they
quite
fit.
O
In
this
publicly
viewable
dashboard
will
give
you
by
each
department
a
description
and
breakdown
of
what
that
department
is
planning
on
appearing
in
the
coming
fiscal
year,
and
so
we
always
like
to
to
shout
this
out
because
it's
a
great
tool
for
for
small
businesses
on
the
policy
side.
I
think
many
of
the
counselors
know
this,
of
course,
but
we
launched
a
sheltered
Market
program
at
the
end
of
last
year.
After
having
completed
a
pilot
in
2022
in
the
first
half
of
2022..
O
We've
awarded
five
contracts,
two
of
which
were
part
of
our
pilot
and
then
the
three
following
contracts
for
snow
removal
were
awarded
at
the
end
of
last
year
and
we
are
in
a
process
right
now,
of
working
with
departments
to
put
together
their
Equitable
spending
plans
for
the
year,
so
that
we
can
identify
more
contracts
that
we
can
send
through
the
sheltered
Market
program.
As
we
try
and
scale
up
the
volume
of
contracts
that
were
we're
designating
as
available
only
to
mbes
and
WBS,
we
also
and
and
again
this
will
come
as
no.
O
So
this
is
a
really
powerful
tool
that
allows
sort
of
a
it
feeds
two
birds
with
one
scone:
it
allows
City
buyers
to
use
a
simplified
process
and
promotes
the
use
of,
and
the
E's
and
wbes
as
City
contractors,
and
so
this
is
a
a
really
great
tool
and
we're
in
the
process
right
now
of
implementing
this
and
scaling
it
up
over
the
next
few
months.
So
we're
really
excited
to
see
some
of
the
some
of
the
results
from
from
launching
this
new
program.
O
P
And
thank
you
Andre.
A
couple
of
the
folks
from
the
community
mentioned
the
absolute.
You
know,
nightmare
of
legalese
that
often
comes
down
as
one
of
these
one
of
the
standard.
Rsps
I
do
this
for
a
living,
and
sometimes
it
takes
me
15
or
20
pages
to
figure
out
what
it
is
that
they're
buying
and
so
a
lot
of
the
way
that
we've
been
rethinking.
P
This
is
trying
to
make
it
as
simple
as
possible
for
a
business
to
At
a
Glance
know
if
this
is
something
that
they
might
actually
be
able
to
bid
on,
and
this
is
the
actual.
So
there
are
a
couple
things
that
are
going
on,
but
overall
we're
creating
a
new
standard
and
a
new
template
of
for
request
for
proposals.
Specifically,
we
break
it
up
into
a
couple
different
thoughts.
P
P
We
sometimes
look
at
it
as
like
the
baseball
card
of
this
like.
When
are
the
dates
what's
going
on?
Roughly?
How
big
is
it
you
know?
What's
what
are
we
actually
doing
here,
and
so
it
doesn't
necessarily
immediately
address
some
of
the
translation
issues
but,
as
was
mentioned,
even
if
we
can
get
this
into
language.
That
just
makes
sense
people
just
talking
about
the
thing
that
they're
trying
to
buy,
then
that's
something
that
can
be
translated
on
the
Fly
and
at
least
enough
to
be
able
to
give
somebody
an
idea.
P
P
E
O
So,
finally,
our
office
certifies
businesses
as
nbes,
wbes
and
small,
so
SBE
and
small
local
businesses.
We
also
recognize
veteran-owned
businesses,
and
so
what
you're
seeing
here
is
just
sort
of
the
the
increase
year
over
year
of
our
certification
pool
so
certified
businesses
at
the
city
of
Boston.
O
You
can
see
that
we've
been
as
a
result
of
a
lot
of
the
new
programming
as
a
result
of
introducing
the
Contracting
opportunity
fund.
We've
been
adding.
You
know
a
substantial
number
of
new
certified
businesses
every
year
and
oh
that's!
It
I
thought
there
was
another
one
after
that,
but
that's
it
so
I'll
stop
sharing
that.
E
Chief
edu
just
wanted
to
just
make
sure
before
we
opened
up
for
questions
wanted
to
see.
If
you
or
or
Jen
I
know
you
didn't
get
to
say
much
and
you
know
I'm
all
about
girl
power
and
it's
women
International
month
and
I
want
to
make
sure
that
your
voice
is
heard
too.
Before
we
move
on
to
questions
so
Jen
I'm,
not
sure
if
you
were,
you
know.
H
H
That
is
something
that
we
all
agree
is
really
painful
and
discouraging,
and
something
that
we
are
looking
at
directly
as
part
of
like
our
financial
system
upgrade
and
everything,
but
we've
really
pivoted
to
looking
at
that
and
pulled
together
a
broad
Coalition
of
people
to
to
really
get
to
the
bottom
of.
What
do
we
need
this
to
do,
to
make
it
a
better
experience
for
our
business
Community
and
some
of
our
guiding
principles
around
around
being
accessible,
predictable?
E
Thank
you
Chief
and
your
entire
team
I
am
so
super
encouraged
and
looking
forward
to
I'm
going
to
ask
we're
gonna
dive
into
questions
and
I
wanted
to
lead.
With
my
co-sponsor
Then,
followed
by
President,
Flynn
and
I
know
that
councilor
Breeden
has
joined
us
again
then
going
to
consolata
and
then
console
around
so
I'm
gonna
start
the
questions
with
my
co-sponsor
counselor
Anderson
Then,
followed
by
President
Flynn,
so
councilor
Anderson.
If
you
are
available,
and
here
with
us,
you
now
have
before.
D
E
F
So
I
I
want
to
make
sure
that
the
the
staff
that
you
supervise
Chief
and
that's
that's
under
your
supervision
are
fully
aware
of
what
they
need
to
do
and
what
they
can't
do.
I
want
to
make
sure
that
they're,
following
the
guidelines
in
in
the
rules
and
the
laws
exactly
I,
don't
want
to
see
any
City
employee
do
something
inappropriately
and
I
and
I
say
that,
because
these
issues
are
critical,
this
this
program
is
critical.
F
I
have
I,
have
many
woman-owned
companies
in
my
my
district
in
my
minority-owned
companies
in
my
district,
especially
as
well,
including
in
Chinatown,
in
the
South
End
in
in
South
Boston.
But
here's
my
question
see:
are
we
providing
training
for
city
of
Boston
employees
to
make
sure
that
they
know
exactly
what
they
should
be
doing?
What
they
shouldn't
do,
there's
a
lot
of
legal
related
issues.
I
want
to
make
sure
everybody
knows
what
the
rules
are
and
that
everyone
is
exactly
following.
A
Well,
thank
you
for
the
question.
Counselor
Mr,
President
I
should
say
so.
I
know
that
the
members
of
the
supply
diversity
team
are
well
aware
of
the
rules
and
regulations
associated
with
procurement
law
and
I'm
sure
if
Chief
grafenberger
were
here
would
Express
that
her
team,
particularly
the
two
that
are
represented
here
today,
are
fully
aware
of
of
procurement
law
and
what
we
can
and
cannot
do.
E
I
before
you
move
on
because
I
think
councilor,
president
Flynn
has
a
really
good
question
in
terms
of
just
even
those
who
are
tuning
in
if
you,
if
anyone
here
could
just
kind
of
President
Flynn,
if
there
are
any
specific
laws
or
anything
that
you
want
to
share,
or
you
want
to
highlight
or
want
to
see
this
moment
to
help
educate
those
who
are
tuning
in
so
that
they
have
a
better
understanding
of
what
those
laws
are
or
if
there's
any
particular
law
or
Chief
irigo.
Anything
that
you
want
to
highlight.
E
Just
because
I
think
you
know,
we
want
to
make
sure
that
we're
setting
up
our
constituents
up
for
success
as
they
navigate
trying
to
secure
a
contract
in
the
city
of
Boston.
Like
I,
always
say
it's
like
trying
to
crack
The
Da,
Vinci
Code
you
go
to
this
person,
then
you
tell
them
to
go
to
that
person,
and
sometimes
you
don't
even
know
who
you're
going
to
talk
to
about
what.
E
F
Anyone,
yes,
that
thank
you.
Thank
you.
Council
me
here,
I
think
I
think
you're
exactly
right.
The
program
is
so
important
and
so
critical,
but
we
want
to
make
sure
in
the
interest
of
making
sure
the
program
continues
to
be
effective
and
with
starting
out
on
a
on
on
a
program
that
needs
our
support,
but
we
want
to
make
sure
that
it
is,
it
is
run
appropriately
and
and
that's
my
top
goal
is
to
make
sure
that
this
effective
program
is
run
appropriately
and
that's
that's.
That's
my
number
one
priority.
F
A
A
So
we
certainly
and
actually
I,
was
going
to
say
at
the
top.
In
my
comments
and
neglected
to
you,
because
I
knew
you
were
going
to
ask
a
question
about
veterinos
businesses
and
so
neglected
to
share
all
that
previously,
but
certainly
better
known,
businesses
are
a
top
priority.
Like
the
other
categories
that
were
talked
about
today,.
F
F
E
N
Floor.
Thank
you,
madam
chair
apologies.
I.
Don't
think
you
guys
could
hear
me
the
first
time.
Thank
you
Chief
mineral
and
Andrea
for
sorry,
Jen
Michael,
everyone
for
the
presentation.
I
I
really
appreciate
the
process
Improvement
in
terms
of
standardizing
or
simplifying
the
processes.
You
said
for
RFP
applicants
I,
wonder
if
you
consider
to
a
consultant
or
do
you
are
you
currently
working
with
a
consultant
third
party
consultant
to
help
you
with
this?
N
P
H
I
also
want
to
add
that
we
have
a
process
strategist
with
us
for
the
last
nine
months
who
was
looking
at
the
end,
she
started
off
initially
just
looking
at
the
advertising
process
and
then
expanded
to
our
entire
procurement
process
and
then,
most
recently,
just
wrapped
up
some
work
on
the
supplier
portal
process.
So
we
part
of
that
conversation
is
also
looking
at
like
not
what
are
we
not
just?
What
are
we
doing?
What
all?
What
could
we
be
doing
and
then
also
like?
H
N
N
P
Yes,
we
did
go
through
the
quarter.
Recorder,
spend
and
I'd
be
happy
to
spend
some
time
walking
you
through
a
little
bit
of
it
offline
or
but
the
short
answer
is
we
are
getting
some
slight
uptick,
but
it's
it's
progress
but
of
course,
there's
a
lot,
there's
always
room
and
we
want
to
do
more.
So
it's
a
question
of
starting
to
take
the
interventions
that
we've
had
so
far
that
are
having
an
impact
and
starting
to
scale
those
sorry.
N
A
E
N
I
like
this,
so
I
didn't,
say
my
question,
though
other
than
standardizing
processing,
two
two
things
so
one
sorry,
if
I
missed
this
again,
we
have
efforts
to
increasing
by
Park
potential
candidates
or
contractors
and
don't
know
if
we
still
use
that
term
by
box.
My
apologies
but
I
know
some
people
don't
appreciate
that.
But
the
other
thing
is
also
do
we
have
a
database
of
sort
of
keeping
track
of
inventory
of
current
available
contractors
that
are
applying
and
are
not
getting
the
contracts.
O
Over
the
past
year,
since
we
lost
launched
the
pilot
program,
we
also
recently
passed
a
home
rule
petition
that
allows
us
or
allows
City
buyers
to
do
a
written
quote,
contract
for
purchases
up
to
250
000,
which
is
a
going
up
from
the
the
normal
50.
if
they're
soliciting
quotes
only
from
mbes
and
wbes.
So
we've
set
up
a
lot
of
programming
that
both
you
know
both,
on
the
one
hand,
actually
sets
aside
contracts
for
MB
and
wbe
bidders.
O
It's
still
a
competitive
process,
but
only
mbes
and
WBS
can
compete
and
then
also
we've
sort
of
incentivized
it
incentivized
using
mbes
and
wbes
through
this
written
quote,
contract
or
and
all
certified
businesses
which
includes
veteran-owned
businesses
and
small
and
small
local
businesses.
Through
this
new
written
quote,
contract
threshold
increase.
So,
yes,
we've
spent
quite
a
bit
of
time
and
effort
this
past
year,
building
an
infrastructure
that
really
promotes
the
participation
of
MBS
and
WBS
in
City
Contracting.
A
A
The
community
panelists
raised
this
question,
as
we
are
again,
as
Jen
mentioned
like
we
all
agree
that
this,
the
current
iteration
of
the
supplier
portal
is
pretty
basic
and
we
need
to
make
huge
updates
to
that,
and
so
that
is
a
recommendation
that
we're
going
to
be,
including
in
our
push
for
a
new
version
of
the
portal,
to
help
us
track.
That
I
think
it
was
mentioned
earlier
that,
like
there
are
X
number
of
departments
that
do
their
own
thing,
and
so
as
much
as
we
are
this
team
on.
A
E
Yeah
no
I
just
wanted
to
let
you
know
that
I've
set
the
timer
twice
and
I
just
want
to
be
mindful.
I
know:
you're
the
sponsor
and
I'm,
giving
you
a
little
extra
leeway,
but
I
want
to
be
mindful
that
we
have
a
few
more
colleagues
that
are
also
lined
up
for
some
questions.
And
if
you
don't
mind,
we
could
do
a
sec
around
or
if
you
know
just
wanted
to
be
mindful
of
the
time.
N
Is
that
I
just
wanted
to
clarify
the
last
statement?
Okay,
please
thank
you,
Council
Braden
and
Council
well
for
your
grace,
I
wonder
if
in
the
database,
then
we're
sub
we're
actually
identifying,
for
example
like
if
I
in
in
district
7
I
would
identify
all
artists,
but
then
I
would
say
you're
in
Phase
One
You're,
an
artist
who
can
ready
to
go,
you
can
apply
for
a
contract.
You
are
a
vendor.
You
are
professional.
You
know
how
to
be
an
entrepreneur.
N
You
know
classes
or
certifications
or
whatever,
and
so
maybe
that's
something
that
the
council
can
take
on,
but
I
would
love
to
work
with
you
guys
I
have
to
just
say
in
closing,
this
is
the
one
not
the
only
one
before
I
get
in
trouble,
but
one
of
the
Departments
that
I
certainly
feel
works
really
hard
and
arduously
in
making
progress.
So
I
appreciate
you
all
for
thinking
equitably
and
continuing
to
pursue
progress
in
this.
N
A
E
So
again,
I
just
want
to
underscore
that
we
well
at
least
me
I
host
hearings,
because
I
think
it's
an
opportunity
for
us
to
listen
and
learn
from
each
other
and
then
for
us,
as
you
know.
Well,
at
least
for
me
in
my
office-
is
to
really
take
what
we
hear
in
this
space
and
identify
ways
that
we
can
help
support
the
various
departments.
And
that
means
that
you
know
it's
not
just
being
a
loud
mouth
for
the
sake
of
being
a
loud
mouth
right.
But
it's
really
listening
and
figuring
out.
E
What
are
the
things
that
we
need
to
be
advocating
for
so
that
the
city's
set
up
for
Success?
Because
if
you
guys
are
successful,
so
are
the
constituents
that
we
all
serve
right.
So
I
think
that
it
has
to
be
a
triple
bottom
line
here.
Everybody
needs
to
win
and
I
really
do
appreciate
councilor
Anderson's
line
of
questioning,
but
also
just
the
recommendations
that
she's
making
in
this
space,
because
I
really
do
believe.
There's
some.
E
There
are
a
lot
of
really
rich
ideas
here
to
lean
into
I'm,
going
to
move
now
to
counselor
reading,
followed
by
councilada.
If
she's
still
with
us,
then
followed
by
Council,
Burrell
and
then
I
have
a
few
questions
myself,
so
counselor
breeding,
you
know
I
have
the
floor
and
thank
you
for
your
patience.
Thank.
G
You
councilman
here
Madam
chair,
I
I'm,
just
looking
at
the
City
Records
paper
copy
volume,
115
issue,
number
13
of
the
city
record
just
come
out
today
as
the
official
Chronicle
of
Municipal
Affairs
from
the
city
of
Boston.
You
know
this
is
where
all
the
ads
are
for
the
procurement
requests.
You
know
all
the
requests
for
proposals
set
up
jobs
for
all
and
I'm,
just
wondering
you
know
this.
This
you
can
sign
off
to
get
a
paper
copied.
G
G
It's
just
curious:
is
this
the
only
vehicle
that
we
have
to
educate
people
about
potential
contracts,
and
then
you
know
just
even
having
an
understanding
of
we're
we're
trying
to
increase
the
number
of
minority-owned
and
women-owned
businesses
who
I
who
get
contracts
from
the
city?
I'm
just
curious.
Just
thinking
about
the
the
report
from
2021
procurement
reform
analysis
with
city
of
Boston.
G
You
know
it
says
on
this
that
there
were
more
than
600
City
staff
involved
in
procurement
and
contract
management
across
50
plus
City
departments
and
the
the
city
uses
an
oracle
PeopleSoft
bias
bais
as
a
primary
financial
management
system
and
it
it
seems
to
be
sort
of
antiquated
and
not
the
tool
for
you.
It's
used
for
issuing
an
awarding
procurement
contracts,
and
you
know
how
how
many,
how
many?
How
old
is
that
system
and
what?
A
But
these
templates
are
meant
to
help
us
across
various
languages,
but
just
be
able
to
input
the
most
important
information,
which
is
you
know
what
department
when's
the
due
date?
How
much
is
this
we're
worth
so
that
then
we
can
generate
some
some
inquiries
because
I
think
again,
all
of
us
would
agree.
A
So
I'll
kick
to
Mike
and
Jen
if
they
have
any
answers
on
the,
how
many
folks
are
are
subscribed,
although
I
I
believe
this
might
be
another
member
of
their
team,
that
has
that
information,
but
definitely
they
can
talk
to
you
about
the
base
and
Oracle
piece
and
then
we'll
invite
Andre
to
answer
these
questions
as
well.
Thank
you.
Counselor.
P
Let
me
again
thank
you,
Chief,
so
the
let's
sort
of
clarify
something
as
much
as
it's
sort
of
a
newspaper.
This
really
is
just
a
vehicle
primarily
for
the
release
for
us
to
advertise
the
bids
that
we're
putting
out
that's
his
primary
thing.
So
it's
not
so
much
businesses
putting
advertisements
in
it
as
we
are
notifying
people
on
doing
that.
So
that's
that's
one
in
terms
of
the
distribution.
P
P
The
city
record
is
then
also
published
online
as
a
as
a
downloadable
PDF
in
some
other
areas,
so
we're
doing
a
lot
to
make
it
out
there,
but
I
agree
it's
in
terms
of
advertising
as
well
as
I
would
say,
they're
also
for
certain
types
of
things,
whether
it's
larger
goods
and
services
contracts
or
construction
contracts.
They
also
have
state
Publications
that
they
have
to
go
into.
P
That
said,
these
are
also
things
that
people
who
are
typically
already
vendors
know
to
look
for,
and
so
one
of
the
things
that,
as
the
chief
mentioned
is
we
really
are
always
looking
for
new
ways
that
we
can
get
more
people
to
pay
attention
to
this
and
see
what's
going
on.
The
buying
plan
is
one
ahead
of
time,
but
then,
as
things
start
to
go
out,
but
Jen,
do
you
want
to
do
bass
a
little
bit.
H
My
understanding
is
that
we
have
had
this
Oracle
platform
since
1999
and
we
have
since
upgraded
twice
to
a
more
more
current
version.
The
last
was
last
year.
It
was
a
stabilization
effort.
Essentially
there
were
there's
more
technical
things
that
happened
that
were
outside
that
beyond
my
expertise,
but
it
was
basically
to
get
us
to
a
state
where
we
were
supported
by
Oracle.
H
That
does
not
mean
that
we
have
a
user-friendly
system.
It
just
means
that
we
are
less
at
risk.
Part
of
the
work
of
that
upgrade
was
to
then
transition
into
a
a
like
I'm.
Trying
to
think
of
the
word.
Reimagining,
basically,
is
what
it
was
part
two
was
figuring
out.
Okay.
Now
we
have
this
stabilized
system.
What
do
we
need
it
to
do?
H
What
are
some
things
that
we
can
do
with
the
team
on
site
like
our
developers
and
our
business
analysts
and
our
various
business
owners,
and
then
what
can
we
not
do
and
what
we
might
have
to
procure
something
new
at
some
point
to
meet
our
needs?
So
some
of
the
work
that
we've
been
doing
right
now
is
is
establishing
what
our
needs
are
to
do
our
to
to
serve
the
functions
that
we
support
and
then
kind
of
making
some
decisions
around
the
technology.
G
The
other
thing
you
know
when
you
get
one
week
if
you
get
one
week
and
then
you
can
look
back
one
week,
but
you
can't
review
the
whole
Year's
copy
of
previous
iterations
of
over
a
whole
year.
So
you
know
in
terms
of
orienting
yourself
as
a
business
coming
in
to
get
into
this
space.
It's
all
I
think
it's
helpful
to
be
able
to
review
what
sort
of
what
sort
of
procurement
requests
are
were
happening
in
the
past
to
get
so
where
you
might
fit
into
this
into
this
ecosystem
and
figure
out.
G
Oh
there's
a
niche
that
I
could
I.
Could
my
business
would
work
in
and
so
I
think
you
know
being
able
to
have
an
archive
of
of
the
years
City
record
be
able
to
get
into
it
and
and
be
able
to
search
it
just
to
figure
out.
You
know
who
else
is
in
this
space
and
what
what
sort
of
what
sort
of
procurement
requests
and
does
the
city
have
that
I
might
be
able
to
apply,
for
it
would
be
very
helpful.
O
G
Thank
you
and
Madam
chair
I
want
just
one
quick
more
and
then
we
I
just
put
it
on
the
record.
You
know
just
in
terms
of
the
procurement
reform
analysis,
the
report
that
was
written
indicated
they
shift
towards
the
central
office
for
Contract
Services
model
with
sort
of
a
hub
and
spoke
model.
Are
we
moving
towards
that
or
are
we
acting
on
those
recommendations
from
that
report?.
E
Have
counselor
being
incredibly
generous,
I
appreciate
your
generosity,
I
think
you
know,
you
asked
some
really
great
questions,
and
this
is
what
why
we
are
here
right,
and
so
thank
you
for
your
time
and
and
for
your
important
questions.
I'm
going
to
move
on
to
I,
don't
see
councilada
with
us
here
anymore,
so
I'm,
gonna,
move
on
with
to
counselor
rural
who
also
happens
to
be
the
chair
of
small
business.
So
I
know
this
is
something
that's
near
and
dear
to
him
and
who
has
worked
a
lot
in
the
space.
I
Thank
you
chair
and
thank
you
to
the
administration
for
all
your
work
on
this
and
being
great
partners
and
coming
up
with
Innovative
and
creative
ways
on
how
to
increase
equity
in
City,
Contracting
and
Outreach
as
well.
We
see
you
guys
on
the
on
the
ground
level
on
the
ground
floor
inside
of
the
business
districts
a
lot
more.
A
lot
more
and
I
do
greatly
appreciate
that.
I
But
to
that
point,
I
think
having
you
guys
out
there
on
foot,
making
those
connections
but
I
I
do
think
there
will
be
a
it
would
be
an
asset
to
have
like
a
dedicated
or
activated.
Maybe
no,
maybe
it's
the
like,
like
something
like
a
Main
Street
sport
like
having
our
small
business
partners
or
just
people
who
are
coming
from
the
city
hall
working
so
small
business
I
mean
those
Main
Street
areas.
I
The
other
thing
that
I
I
think
I've
said
the
last
time
last
year,
when
we
had
this
hearing
is
when
I
used
to
do
real
estate.
Everyone
knew
National
national
move
out
day,
September
September
first
right,
National,
move
out
day
here
in
the
city
of
Boston,
but
I
think
if
we
create
some
predictability
around
City
contracts
on
saying,
like
every
quarter
every
month
or
whatever
it
is
creating
more
predictability
that
I
think
it
becomes
I,
guess
a
little
tedious.
I
You
know
having
to
constantly
check
our
every
week
every
month
on
RFP,
so
checking
your
emails
and
we
all
get
spammed
in
evenings
right.
We
all
get
hundreds
of
emails,
I
think
that
we
sign
up
for
so
I
guess
like
creating
more
predictability
around.
That
will
be
very
helpful,
at
least
to
me
for
the
small
businesses
to
say
all
right.
This
is
the
time
that
we
need
to
start
all
checking
in
our
city
contracts
being
released,
and
then
the
other
thing
I
want
to
I.
I
Wasn't
here
for
your
presentation,
so
I
apologize
I
had
to
step
up
for
another
meeting
is:
are
we
able
in
a
presentation
to
break
out
by
race,
gender
and
also
income
like
household
income,
because
I
also
want
to
make
sure
that,
when
we're
I
guess
I've
heard
that
sub
I
just
want
to
make
sure
that
we're
targeting
black
and
brown
business
or
businesses
that
can
use
the
Boost
right?
That
can
use
the
booth
that
are
coming
from?
I
A
Thank
you,
counselor
I'm,
gonna,
again
open
this
up
to
the
team
to
address
some
of
these
questions.
I
will
start
off
by
saying
I
guess:
I'll
move
backwards
so
on
the
household
income
that
that
would
be
an
interesting
one
to
look
into
on
our
end.
I
know
what
might
be
a
better
metric
is
looking
at
the
revenue
of
the
business.
A
A
They
got
a
17
million
dollar
contract-
that's
great,
you
know
for
for,
and
so
he
doesn't
fit
in
the
category
of
small
business,
but
we
for
sure
want
to
help
create
a
stronger,
healthier
minority
and
women-owned
businesses,
because
they
hire
lots
of
folks
pay,
better
benefits,
Etc
and
then
the
goal
is
to
grow
small
businesses
to
that
level
as
well.
So
our
goal
is
to
just
have
a
more
robust.
A
You
know
number
of
women
and
minority
businesses
that
have
capacity
to
take
on
any
contract.
The
city
puts
out
but
happy
to
talk
with
you
about
what
metric
makes
the
most
sense
for
whether
it's
household
income
or
revenue
of
the
business
in
terms
of
there's
another
question
around
the
timing,
so
I
know
that
I
I
think
you
asked
this
question
the
the
last
time
we
had
this
conversation
and
I
know
that
there's
been
some
noodling
on
this
in
in
the
year
in
between
so
I'll.
A
A
A
I
will
say
that
one
of
the
other
interventions
that
we
we
did
not
mention
yet
is
the
fact
that,
when
a
a
department
is
going
out
to
to
put
an
RFP
out,
my
office
is
now
included
in
this,
and
I
have
to
give
major
props
to
chief
grafenberger
who's,
our
CFO
for
being
open
and
amenable
to
this
addition
to
the
process,
because
a
lot
of
times
these
things,
this
adds
more
time
to
a
process
that
we're
already
trying
to
streamline.
But
essentially
what
happens?
A
Is
any
contract
going
out
worth
more
than
250
000?
The
CFO
already
signs
off
on
these
things
and
just
makes
sure
that
you
know
everything
is,
is
legal
is
what
councilor
full
was
talking
about,
but
we
then
get
brought
into
this
process
for
anything
over
250
so
that
our
supply
and
diversity
team
is
able
to
make
sure
this
is
written
properly.
A
O
Free
I
can
jump
in
and
I'll
just
preface
this
I
apologize
to
the
count
to
the
council.
I
need
to
depart
after
I.
Make
these
comments
to
take
my
partner
to
an
appointment,
but
I
will
say:
counselor
Worrell.
You
mentioned
that
it
would
potentially
be
productive
to
have
some
of
the
information
technical
assistance,
General
programming
that
we
have
for
businesses
available
in
the
community
located
closer
to
main
streets.
O
P
I
think
one
of
the
other
questions
was
focused
around
making
it
predictable
or
coming
up
with
certain
times
of
year,
when
we
would
start
to
release
things
and,
as
Chief
edu
said,
putting
together
one
of
these
rfps.
Sometimes
it's
around
the
needs.
Sometimes
it's
around
the
money,
but
it
is
also
a
substantial
amount
of
work
and,
as
the
person
who
unfortunately
gets
called
at
present
to
help
people
write
these
things.
There's
it's
difficult,
and
so
in
terms
of
one
of
the
questions
would
be.
P
Who
are
the
staff
that
are
writing
it
and
we
have
to
balance
it
in
terms
of
predictability
versus
also
saying
if
we
compress
them
to
this
time
period,
are
people
going
to
have
to
start
cutting
corners
or
not
like,
because
that's
a
bad
way?
But
it's
are
people
going
to
have
to
start
like
thinking
about
just
how
to
get
this
done
in
terms
of
compliance,
or
will
they
be
able
to
have
enough
space
to
think
about?
P
How
do
we
craft
this
in
a
way
that
is
actually
likely
to
get
a
diverse
business
or
likely
to
get
good
service
delivery
and
at
a
quality
price
and
so
I
think
it's
an
excellent
idea
and
there
might
be
some
things
we
could
try
and
work
out.
I
think
I'd
love
to
spend
some
time
talking,
trying
to
figure
out
like
what
makes
sense
of
like
what
is
a
part.
D
I
I
There
were
different
demographics
that
got
even
less
than
other
demographics
right.
So
how
are
we
being
I
mean
if
we
grow
and
continue
to
allocate
based
on
this
current
breakdown,
we're
still
going
to
have
mwbes
that
are
at
the
bottom
of
this
low
awarding
group
already?
How
are
we
being
intentional
to
bring
in
those
other
demographics
up
to
I,
guess
better
levels
right,
bringing
them
all
up
to
par.
A
I
Thank
you.
No
thank
you.
Chief
video
yeah,
it
wasn't
about
you
know
pitting
groups
against
groups,
but
making
sure
that
we
are
being
intentional,
awarding
you
know
mwbes,
but
also
making
sure
that
we're
putting
support
and
being
intentional
and
supporting
you
know
those
groups
that
we
see
at
the
bottom
of
those
disparity
statutes
as
well.
Absolutely
thank.
E
You
thank
you
councilman
I,
just
I
just
want
to
thank
the
administration,
and
so
far
you
know
we're
almost
that
time
and
I
just
want
to
make
sure
that
you
know
in
the
interest
of
honoring
your
time
and
also
celebrating
my
patience
here.
I
want
to
make
sure
that
you
all
know
you're
not
leaving
here
until
you
answer
all
my
questions.
E
Now:
okay,
yeah
y'all,
ready,
no
I'm,
just
joking
okay,
so
so
I
I
think
you
know
what
I
don't
want
to
get
into
the
habit
of,
and
I
really
want
us
to.
The
city
as
a
whole.
To
really
understand
is
that
there
are
13
City
councilors.
We
represent
the
entire
city
when
we
make
decisions
when
we
take
votes
and
when
we
do
all
of
this
and
I
totally
understand
that
you
know
we
all
serve
different
constituency
groups.
I
think
it's
really
important
for
us
to,
as
we
continue
to
navigate
this
conversation.
E
One
of
the
things
that
came
up
during
our
our
community
panel
was
around
feedback
and
I'm
just
curious.
You
know,
if
that,
if
there
are
any
businesses,
if,
if
they're
not
giving
any
feedback,
what
what
type
of
you
know
is
it
an
email?
Sorry,
you
were
not
approved.
You
know,
here's
five
things
that
you
could
do
differently.
You
know
I
just
want
to
like
really
just
lean
in
a
little
bit
more
on
that
and,
like
you
know
how
important
it
is
to
underscore
the
performance
history
of
a
business.
E
You
know
if
a
business
is
in
good
standing.
How
do
we
promote
them
based
on
their
work
in
Merit?
Like
you
know,
if
we
focus
on
price,
then
we
may
only
be
contracting
with
businesses
that
are
not
doing
a
good
job
so
kind
of
like.
Can
we
just
unpack
that
a
little
bit
before
I
dive
in
deeper
into
some
of
my
other
questions
is
just
to
really
respond
to
some
of
the
things
that
we
heard
from
our
community
panel,
specifically
around
the
Supplier
Diversity
office,.
A
E
Well,
I'm
just
going
to
really
just
quickly
just
on
that
moment.
On
that
point,
there
is
that
the
fact
is
is
that
we
don't
we
don't
have
the
type
of
environment
set
up
where
people
actually
trust
government
right,
you
don't,
and
we
don't
want
to
waste
our
time,
because
we
have
seen
time
and
time
again
that
we
have
applied
applied
multiple
times
and
I
say
we,
because
I'm
speaking
for
the
folks
who
have
you
know
brought
this
to
my
attention
is
that
they
go
through
this
whole
entire
process
right
and
they
don't
succeed.
E
A
However,
I
think
it
was
Mr
Guzman
that
brought
up
or
no
I
can't
remember
who
brought
this
up,
but
certainly
you
know
at
back
when
we
were
talking
about
this.
All
the
time
of
a
lot
of
folks
of
color
can't
provide
lowest,
because
then
it
will
destroy
their
business
right.
They
don't
have
the
capacity.
A
This
is
actually
one
reason
we
pushed
through
the
the
ordinance
or
the
home
repetition
piece
of
lifting
up
contract
amounts
of
250,
because
then
we're
able
to
work
with
that.
But
it's
also
why
we
are,
in
a
few
weeks,
going
to
be
launching
an
initiative
to
increase
the
capacity
of
women
and
bypoc
owned
businesses,
because
we
also
don't
want
that
to
be
the
excuse
that
we
don't
get
contracts
right.
A
E
So,
can
you
talk
to
us
a
little
bit
about
the
the
the
timeline?
I
know
it's
60
days.
Sometimes
people
are
talking
about.
You
know
when
they
get
payment.
Can
you
just
you
know,
help
me
understand
the
the
what
what
is
happening
between
that
time
from
when
they
sign
on
to
when
they're
able
to
receive
payment?
What
what's?
What
what
is
causing
the
delay?
Well,.
E
Well,
that's:
okay,
I'm
glad
that
there's
a
viable
solution
there.
So
you
know
that
is
more
for
me
what
I
find
to
be
exciting
and
interesting.
So
let
me
just
move
on
because
I'm
happy
to
hear
that,
so
can
you
just
talk
to
us?
Has
there
ever
been
an
analysis
of
the
percentage
of
business
and
that
are
certified
business
in
the
certified
business
directory
in
comparison
to
those
that
exist
in
the
city?
E
For
for
some
reason,
it
seems
like
only
the
city
of
Boston
has
access
to
this.
The
certified
business
directory
I'm,
not
sure,
if
that's
the
case
or
not,
but
I'd
love
to
hear
what
are
we
doing
to
make
it
accessible
to
All
City
residents
and
then
I'm
just
curious.
What
kind
of
culturally
sensitive
advertising
Outreach
efforts
and
technical
assistance
supports?
Work
have
you
done
thus
far
and
then
how
many
city
of
Boston
employees
were
trained
to
proactive
marketing
and
Outreach
strategies.
A
All
right,
Madam,
chair,
you're
gonna,
have
to
forgive
me
if
I
miss
a
couple
of
the
questions
but
I'm
going
to
answer
as
many
as
I
was
able
to
write
down
and
then
whatever
is
not
answered,
happy
to
make
sure
we
get
to
them
and
by
the
way,
I
am
happy
to
stay
here.
Past
six
I,
don't
know
about
the
other
two
but
I'm
happy
to
be
here
past
six,
because
I
think
this.
These
are
important
questions
all
right,
so
I
was,
as
I
was
jotting
some
of
these
down.
A
You
asked
about
one
of
the
questions
about
and
how
other
departments
are
involved.
So
if
well
and
Mike
and
Jen
can
talk
about
this
too.
But
if
Andre
were
here,
he
would
talk
about
the
work
that
his
team
is
doing
on
the
Equitable
procurement
plan.
So
right
now,
anytime,
a
well
every
budget
season.
Every
department
has
to
submit
their
budget
to
our
finance
team
in
the
process
of
doing
that.
A
They
also
have
to
go
through
here's
all
the
contracts
we
want
to
give
out
and
they
have
they
have
to
go
to
our
certified
directory
and
identify
whether
or
not
certified
vendors
could
bid
on
those
contracts,
and
then
therefore
it
is
that
information
that
informs
the
buying
plan,
which
shows
you
know
what
contracts
are
out
there,
that
diverse
businesses
could
bid
on.
So
every
department
is
engaged.
A
I
know
that,
because
I
am
copied
on
every
email
that
goes
out
to
these
departments
and
my
inbox
is
flooded
every
time
budget
season
comes
around,
so
that's
what
Supply
diversity
is
doing
to
engage
there.
You
talked
about
the
certified
business
directory.
It
is
publicly
available
on
the
website
I'm
happy
to
make
sure
that
it
is
more
prominently
featured
on
eoi
web
pages,
so
that
people
can
access
it,
but
it
is
accessible
publicly.
A
You
mentioned
about
advertisements,
we
have
not
done
a
good
job
with
this
in
terms
of
making
sure
it's
culturally
accessible
or
relevant
or
in
diverse
languages,
and
this
is
precisely
why
the
the
contract
I
mentioned
earlier
is
out
there
to
help
us
in
that
effort
and
to
make
sure
that
for
for
the
contracts
that
we
can
get
out
there,
that
you
know
that
they're
translated
and
that
it's
getting
to
people
through
other
media.
Besides
the
city
record,
as
councilor
Braden
brought
up.
E
You
know
our
colleagues
went
a
little
bit
extra
with
their
questions
and
so
I'm
reserving
the
right
as
a
chair
to
do
the
same
thing
just
so
you
know,
but
I
I
I'm
just
really
concerned
and
really
want
to
be
able
to
figure
out
how
we
can
support
your
your
Department
chief
and
everyone
else
here
with
some
of
the
non-english
speaking
businesses
right.
There
are
a
lot
of
folks
who
come
here
with
a
lot
of
skills
and
aspirations
and
know-how,
but
what
they
don't
have
is
the
language
skills.
E
They
don't
have
the
understanding
that
they
can
be
a
vendor
for
the
city
of
Boston
cleaning
offices.
They
could
be
a
vendor.
You
know,
for
someone
recently
asked
me
about
how
do
they
become
a
vendor
to
help
support
some
of
the
Meals
on
Wheels
programs
right,
like
there's
so
many
opportunities
for
us
to
help
support
culturally
appropriate
food
distribution
in
certain
neighborhoods
right
like
we?
We
did
it
through
covet,
there's
an
opportunity
in
age
strong.
E
A
E
E
A
So
a
couple
of
things,
so
you
know
and
I
bring
it
up,
because
this
is
a
conversation,
Andre
and
I
and
the
rest
of
his
team
just
had
about
how
we
invite
undocumented
peoples
into
this
conversation
and
make
sure
that
we
are
spending
our
money
where,
where
it
ought
to
be
where
not
to
go.
So
you
know
talking
to
law
again
on
this
issue,
but
also
talking
to
our
state
Partners
on
this
as
well.
A
But
we
are
moving
in
a
direction
of
you
know,
hopefully
allowing
us
to
be
able
to
do
something
like
that
to
invite
undocumented
immigrants
into
into
this
conversation
in
terms
of
not
certifying,
first
of
all
that
they
we
can
do
business
with
them
and
then
awarding
contracts
that
that
are
won
in
terms,
though
of
you
know
other
languages.
So
one
thing
I
will
say
is
you
know,
I
know
for
these
conversations.
There's
you
know
we.
A
We
talk
a
lot
about
what
the
city
can
or
cannot
do
what
our
teams
can
or
cannot
do,
and
it's
always
been
important
to
me
since
I
came
into
this
role
that
I
continue
what
I
was
doing
at
beckma,
which
was
to
build
and
sustain
Partnerships,
and
so
there
are
so
many
organizations
like
I
would
much
rather
have
agreements
with
organizations
that
are
on
the
ground
every
single
day.
Have
the
relationships
then
hire
two
hundred
more
people
that
are
gonna.
A
A
There's
a
lot
of
work
happening
at
groups
like
beckma
or
Laura's,
civil
rights,
Or,
List,
Etc
and
people
who
are
ready
and
willing
to
step
up
and
and
be
supportive.
So
at
the
same
time
we're
talking
about
how
we're
increasing
the
number
of
certified
vendors
or
helping
people
understand
the
process.
There's
the
work
that
can
be
done
with
the
staff
that
we
have
at
the
moment,
but
lots
more.
A
We
can
do
with
the
partnership
of
these
organizations,
who
can
also
do
one-on-one
support
or
hold
seminars
that
they
include
city
workers
to
share
this
information.
So
the
short
version
of
this
is
lots
that
we
want
to
do
and
lots
that
we
can
do.
But
we
are
looking
at
how
we
are
doing
this
jointly
with
folks
outside
of
City
Hall,
in
addition
to
the
resources
that
we
have
here
well,.
E
No
I
I
appreciate
that
and
then,
as
we're
thinking
about
you
know
what
I
I
do
appreciate
the
250
000
RFP,
that's
out
there.
You
know.
I
would
also
encourage
you
to
really
think
about,
and
I
haven't
seen
the
scope
of
it.
But
I
would
love
it
to
to
have
a
community-led
approach
to
whatever
outcomes
and
the
work
that
they're
going
to
be
doing,
because
if
it's
not
centered
with
those
who
are
living
the
realities,
then
it's
just
going
to
be
some
other
outside
entity.
E
Creating
templates
to
engage
a
community
that
they
potentially
may
be
disconnected
from.
So
I
would
highly
recommend
that
you
know
that
there
is
an
advisory
committee
or
some
sort
of
group
that
helps
inform,
who
you're,
who
you'll
pick
not
to
say
that
what
you
need
to
add
any
more
processes
in
place,
but
I
just
think
that
having
community
input
in
your
processes
could
probably
help
agreed.
A
E
But
there
are
a
lot
of
successful
businesses
that
don't
speak
a
link
of
English
and
they
are
making
millions
of
dollars
circulating
dollars
or
not
Millions,
I'm
exaggerating
but
they're
they're
able
to
survive
in
in
their
perspective,
whatever
Niche
that
they
are
working
in,
but
so
I'm
just
curious.
How
is
the
city
set
up
to
help
support
non-english
speaking
businesses
set.
D
A
If
you
don't,
if
English
is
not
your
first
language
and
you
know
you
have
a
preference
for
your
native
tongue,
just
being
able
to
read
something
in
a
different
in
your
native
tongue
is
not
the
only
thing
we
should
be
doing.
There
should
be
someone
holding
your
hand
through
the
process
who
can
communicate
with
you
and
the
city
is
not
set
up
for
that.
A
But
that's
why
I
stress
Partnerships,
because
there
are
organizations
that
represent
the
diverse
Community
we
have
in
the
city
who
do
have
members
of
their
team
on
hand
that
could
provide
this
type
of
benefit
and
so
we're
looking
at.
Do
we
put
out
contracts
for
this,
or
do
we
have
agreements
with
organizations
to
to
work
with
us
on
this,
as
we're
focused
on
just
a
Reformation
of
the
entire
process
that
we've
talked
about
today?
A
A
So
if
we're
comparing
the
certified
the
list
of
certified
vendors
to
what's
out
there
and
I
will
say
that
thanks
to
your
investment
in
last
year's
budget
with
the
3
150,
a
piece
of
that
plus
some
other
funding
from
small
business
is
helping
us
do
another
assessment
of
small
businesses
in
general
that
are
out
there
in
the
city
of
Boston.
Behind
me.
A
I
actually
did
not
plan
it
this
way,
but
there
is
a
a
poster
board
board
from
2017
after
the
city's
last
Small
Business
Report
that
was
conducted
in
2016
that
shows
40
000
businesses
generating
15
billion
dollars
and
employing
170
000
people.
Now
that
was
true
in
2017,
but
after
covid
had
so
many
businesses
closed.
So
we
have
no
idea
if
that
40
000
number
is
true.
If
that
170
is
true.
A
Of
that,
15
billion
is
true,
and
so
we're
doing
this
update,
which
will
then
allow
us
to
do
exactly
what
you
just
said
to
compare
all
right.
If
we've
got
this
many
businesses,
but
only
700,
are
certified.
We
gotta
ramp
up
right
and
it's
going
to
help
us
it's.
You
know
going
to
break
it
down
by
ethnicity
as
well,
so
we
know
exactly
which
communities
we
have
to
Target.
Thank.
E
You
and
you
know
the
letter
of
intent
that
the
supply
and
diversity
sends
out
it's
a
document
that
it's
used
by
contractors,
I'm
not
sure
if
you're
familiarated,
but
it
apparently
has
no
power
and
I'm
just
curious.
If
the
letter
of
intent
is
a
legal
document
like
if
there's
a
letter
that
gets
sent
out
or
is
that
a
different
division
or
a
different
department,
or
we
don't
do
that
here,.
E
N
E
Thank
you,
counselor
Anderson
and
then
so.
Just
in
terms
of
my
closing
remarks.
I
just
want
to
thank
the
administration
and
just
how
thorough
and
how
prepared
you
walk
them
to
the
space.
It
really
goes
to
show
how
deeply
committed
you
are
to
making
sure
that
we
get
this
right
for
our
residents
and
so
I
really
do
appreciate.
E
That
will
make
sure
that
we'll
follow
up
just
to
you
know
see
some
questions
that
we
potentially
have
that
we
can
weren't
able
to
unpack
here,
but
at
the
end
of
the
day
and
I
also
want
to
uplift
the
community
panel,
because
they
really
help
put
a
lot
of
things
in
perspective
through
their
own
lived
experience,
and
only
by
listening
and
hearing
from
those
who
are
living
the
realities.
Can
we
really
figure
out
how
we
can
help
support?
E
What
can
we
be
fighting
for
and
how
to
support
those
that
we
serve
so
I?
Look
forward
to
that
partnership.
I,
look
forward
to
having
more
thoughtful
conversations
like
this
and
I
hope,
as
you
continue
to
navigate
this
process
with
us
that
you
know
that
you
know
I
I
think
that
Community
is
always
screaming.
One
thing
the
administration
is
screaming
the
other
and
the
council
is
screaming
the
other
and
I
feel
like.
E
If
we
can
all
just
stop
screaming,
we
can
listen
to
each
other
and
we
could
hear
what
needs
to
happen
so
that
we
can
all
move
forward.
So
I
just
want
to
thank
everyone
for
bringing
that
Spirit
into
the
space,
and-
and
thank
you
for
your
time
and
I
am
going
to
keep
this
in
committee
and
this
hearing
is
adjourned.
Thank
you.