City of Waco Disparity Study
Welcome
The City of Waco, Texas (“City of Waco”) has embarked on a Disparity Study, led by MGT Consulting Group. The Disparity Study will evaluate procurement and contracting by the City and will be conducted within the legal framework as established by court rulings, to determine the absence or presence of discrimination in contracting, and how that relates to implementing an affirmative action program in public contracting.
The Disparity Study will include the analysis of contract and purchasing data between July 1, 2017 (FY17) through June 30, 2021 (FY21). Analysis will include contracts for construction, construction-related professional services, general services, and goods and commodities contracts. This process involves examining dollars left in the relevant market area for each procurement category during each fiscal year of the study. The data collected will also include qualitative or anecdotal data provided by business owners, area trade associations, and business organizations.
When addressing discrimination in public contracting, governments are obligated to identify and examine evidence from their markets that may indicate discrimination is impacting the ability of firms to compete successfully in contracting opportunities. The most impactful influences regarding how governments should evaluate the need for, and implementation of, a Minority- and Women-Owned Business Enterprise (MWBE) or Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) program has been two cases: Croson and Adarand. The Croson decision required local government agencies’ race preference contracting programs to be able to withstand strict scrutiny review to avoid violating the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. Strict scrutiny must be met by:
- Demonstrating a “compelling interest” in the remedial purpose of the MWBE program; and,
- Ensuring that the program is “narrowly tailored” to meet the remedial goal.
The final report will include recommendations related to the procurement, contracting, and M/WBE program based on the results of the data collected and analyzed for the study, and it will also include establishing overall aspirational goals. We are encouraging all business owners, both MWBE (Minority and Women owned Business Enterprise) certified and non-MWBE certified, to provide information about their experiences doing business, or attempting to do business, with the City of Waco.
Business Owner Engagement
Trade Associations and Business Focus Groups
MGT Consulting Group is hosting five focus groups to gather feedback from the business community on experiences businesses face doing business or attempting to do business in the Waco marketplace. All businesses are invited, M/WBE and non-M/WBE firms. Register for the session that aligns with your business industry. All the meetings will be held at Cen-Tex Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, 915 LaSalle Ave, Waco, TX 76706. See session information below.
Interviews, Surveys, and Direct Input
Businesses in all procurement categories and ethnic classifications will be randomly selected and invited to participate in in-depth interviews and business surveys. The interviews are opportunities for businesses to have one-on-one discussions with the MGT team regarding their experiences doing business, or attempting to do business, with the City of Waco or primes contracted by the City of Waco. The business surveys gather information on business demographics, capacity, and experiences doing business with the City of Waco.
24/7 Voicemail
At any point during the study, business owners, both MWBE and non-MWBE, may submit their comments regarding their experiences doing business, or attempting to do business, with the City of Waco by:
- emailing: cityofwaco-txdisparitystudy@mgtconsulting.com
- leaving a message on the 24/7 voicemail line: 254-327-3399
- leaving comments at cityofwaco-txdisparitystudy.com
Input submitted via email, or the website is confidential and directed to the MGT consultant team only.
Focus Groups Sessions
Contact Us
ALL SUBMISSIONS ARE CONFIDENTIAL AND DIRECTED TO THE MGT CONSULTING TEAM ONLY.
You may use this form to submit written comments about your experiences with the City of Waco. Please provide details of your experiences doing business or attempting to do business with the City of Waco’s prime contractors/vendors. Please be specific in your comments regarding entities involved, as well as time and location for the experiences that you share.