fbpx
  • About Us
  • Advertising
  • Legal Notices
Lagniappe Mobile
  • News
    • Cover Story
    • Latest
    • Serial Stories
    • Bay Briefs
    • Community News
    • Open Documents
    • e-Edition
  • Baldwin Edition
  • Commentary
    • Damn the Torpedoes
    • Hidden Agenda
    • Beltway Beat
    • The Real Deal
    • Weather Things
    • The Gadfly
    • Letters to the Editor
  • Cuisine
    • The Dish
    • Word of Mouth
    • Beer and Loathing
    • Cuisine Directory
  • Arts
    • Artifice
    • Art Gallery
    • The Reel World
    • Calendar
  • Music
    • Music Feature
    • Music Briefs
    • Music Listings
    • Submissions
  • Sports
    • The Score
    • The Starting Line-Up
    • From Behind The Mic
    • Upon Further Review
  • Style
    • Media Frenzy
    • Mobile Magnified
    • Horoscopes
    • Master Gardeners
    • Style Feature
  • Lagniappe HD

Select Page

Mayor’s office proposes new procurement chief position, supplier diversity program

Posted by Dale Liesch | Jan 15, 2015 | News | 1 |

Mayor Sandy Stimpson has plans to create a new executive-level position within his administration charged with overseeing the city’s procurement procedures.

Stimpson’s Chief of Staff Colby Cooper proposed the move Thursday, during a meeting of the City Council’s Administration Services Committee called to discuss the merits of a proposed ordinance requiring firms that contract with the city to provide information on the diversity of their workforces.

This new position, which would require the approval of a budget amendment by council, would be charged with streamlining the dozen or so procurement processes that exist throughout the city and would develop a supplier diversity program.

“Over the last year, the mayor has identified a clear need to address the issue of supplier diversity head on,” Cooper said.

In addition, the person appointed to this position would also focus on modernizing the city’s procurement process through internal and external technological means as well as develop a “robust stakeholder outreach program” that would include input from the City Council, the Chamber of Commerce, private businesses and non-profit organizations, Cooper said.

“With City Council support of this proposal, the mayor will move expeditiously to find the most talented person we can to be Mobile’s first chief procurement officer,” Cooper said.

A $30,000 study that collected data on the city’s procurement activities over a three year period played a role in this proposal, Cooper said. The study, presented to the council by Speeches, Etc. LLC, found that disparity existed in the number of contracts awarded by the city to minority-owned businesses.

That same study prompted Councilman Fred Richardson to sponsor the ordinance that would require companies to submit to questions about the ethnicity and gender of employees, during the bid process.

Committee Chairman Levon Manzie said he was in support of Richardson’s ordinance, but offered his own law that would put in place a citizen committee to review the issue of disparity among city contracts.

This proposed committee, which the full council could vote on Tuesday, would study how other cities, like New Orleans, Atlanta and Chicago, have addressed minority business opportunities and how those cities have leveled the playing field in terms of procurement, Manzie said.

“The committee will look at best practices and make a recommendation on how we can implement those,” he said.

Manzie said the committee would be given strict guidelines and a timetable of about three to six months to come back to the council with its recommendations.

During the meeting, Richardson recommended tabling his ordinance, in favor of the committee approach, and waiting on its recommendation.

This page is available to subscribers. Click here to sign in or get access. During the month of December, give (or get) a one year subscription with TWO months FREE.

Share:

Rate:

PreviousSatsuma High Robotics Team gets donation
NextMPD terminates 10-year veteran

About The Author

Dale Liesch

Dale Liesch

Dale Liesch has been a reporter at Lagniappe since February 2014. He covers all aspects of the city of Mobile, including the mayor, City Council, the Mobile Housing Board of Commissioners, GulfQuest National Maritime Museum of the Gulf of Mexico and others. He studied journalism at The University of Alabama and graduated in 2007. He came to Lagniappe, after several years in the newspaper industry. He achieved the position of news editor at The Alexander City Outlook before moving to Virginia and then subsequently moving back a few years later. He has a number of Alabama and Virginia Press association awards to his name. He grew up in the wilderness of Baldwin County, among several different varieties of animals including: dogs, cats, ducks, chickens, a horse and an angry goat. He now lives in the Oakleigh neighborhood of Mobile with his wife, Hillary, and daughter, Joan. The family currently has no goats, angry or otherwise, but is ruled by the whims of two very energetic dogs.

Related Posts

Ivey: Retail stores, beaches can reopen April 30 

Ivey: Retail stores, beaches can reopen April 30 

April 28, 2020

Council can’t decide on president

Council can’t decide on president

November 6, 2017

County considers $235,000 increase to Plaza roof repair

County considers $235,000 increase to Plaza roof repair

August 6, 2014

Before election, officials make one last plea for state parks

Before election, officials make one last plea for state parks

November 4, 2016

Recommended Stories

Celebrating ‘9 to 5’

By Stephen Centanni

Museum show opens after five-year wait

By Kevin Lee

Come for the tamales, stay for the fried chicken

By Andy MacDonald

To believe it or not?

By Rob Holbert

Enough is enough

By Ashley Trice


  • Advertising
  • About Us
  • Contacts
  • Jobs
  • Terms of Service
  • Privacy Policy
  • Give The Gift Of Local News

Search This Site

Browse the Archives

© Lagniappe Mobile 2021

[yop_poll id=”-1″]