March 1, 2022
Long Beach City Council
Civic Center Plaza
411 West Ocean Blvd.
Long Beach, CA 90802
RE: Support for Local Procurement Overhaul, March 1 City Council Agenda Item #11
Dear Mayor and Members of the Long Beach City Council,
Please accept this correspondence on behalf of the Downtown Long Beach Alliance (DLBA) Board of Directors and enter into the public record for the City Council meeting scheduled for Tuesday, March 1, 2022, our support for the request to i nclude a study of the Local Preference Or dinance in Financial Management Department’s Extreme Procurement Makeover Project.
The DLBA is a non -profit organization representing more than 1,600 businesses and 4,000 commercial and residential property owners within the two Business Improvement Districts (BIDs) in Downtown Long Beach. The Downtown area is home to dozens of independent vendors and contracting businesses, ranging from sole proprietors to multi-million-dollar engineering firms. Their projects further enhance the economic reputation of Long Beach and generate revenue that is, in turn, spent locally. DLBA advocates for economic policies that provide equitable growth for Downtown businesses, and we are encouraged to see that the City is undertaking more robust pathways towards local procurement.
The City’s planned procurement overhaul also aligns with the main strategies of its Everyone In Economic Inclusion Initiative , where providing greater access and opportunities for women- and minority-owned businesses emerg ed as one of the critical outcomes of the listening tour and roundtable discussions. DLBA has advocated for the Everyone In Initiative since its inception, in addition to outlining similar local economic equity goals in our 2022 Strategic Plan and Organizational Equity Commitment Statement.
Meaningful social change is inherently tied to expanded financial opportunities, including local contractors and vendors. We appreciate the opportunity to share our support for increased local procurement and look forward to completing the assessment and feasibility analysis.
Thank you for your consideration.
Sincerely,
Broc Coward, COO
cc:
DLBA Board of Directors
Tom Modica, City Manager, City of Long Beach