BALTIMORE — To strengthen Baltimore-based businesses, City Council President Nick J. Mosby and Councilmembers Kristerfer Burnett and Antonio Glover introduced a legislative package at Monday’s meeting to give local companies a better chance at competing for city contracts.
The “Baltimore Business Inclusion and Empowerment Legislative Package” would:
Require contractors with projects valued at $100,000 or more to disclose annually where they are based, how many of their workers are Baltimore residents and how they performed on previous city contracts to show whether their work came in on time and at budget.
Establish penalties for contractors that fail to meet the disclosure requirements.
Ensure the city conducts market research before waiving requirements for minority- and women-owned business participation on city contracts.
Compel all waivers to come before the Board of Estimates for approval.
Establish a timeline and response process for companies to correct or withdraw a bid, including allowing small edits after a bid has been submitted to ensure small businesses do not inadvertently make a mistake that automatically disqualifies them from the process.
This is the second major legislative package since the Council’s December inauguration.
The Council’s legislative team is researching additional ways to improve the city’s contracting process to give minority- and women-owned businesses a competitive advantage. Additional bills will be introduced in the coming weeks.
