This item was continued from the Council Meeting of August 30, 2018.

On September 28, 2017, City Council approved the Savannah Business Opportunity (SBO) program in order to increase utilization of local and disadvantaged small businesses in all areas of City procurement. The Savannah Business Enterprise (SBE) component of the program allows Savannah-based businesses that meet required revenue and employee thresholds to participate in sheltered City contracts. The Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) portion of the program establishes a cumulative annual participation goal (18% for 2018) in order to increase subcontracting opportunities on City contracts for DBEs certified at the state and federal level.

The proposed amendments being requested now aim to increase participation in City procurement by Local Disadvantaged Business Enterprises (LDBEs). The amended program requires that, for eligible contracts, no less than 10% of the annually-established DBE goal be met through participation by certified disadvantaged businesses located within Chatham County. This will ensure more City dollars remain in our community.

Changes to the Good Faith Effort section of the program are also proposed to include additional and more modern outreach channels, including advertising using social media, e-alerts, radio, and television. This change aims to increase participation by local DBEs that may otherwise not know about available contracts.

The policy changes would go into effect 30 days after Council adoption.

Approval