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It was a lovefest in Portland City Council‘s chambers Wednesday morning as minority business organizations and city leaders celebrated the passage of a resolution requiring the inclusion of at least one minority evaluator on all panels that review and award non-low-bid city contracts.

But Alliance of Minority Chambers of Commerce President Roy Jay knows that the work is just beginning for his organization, which next year will begin a vetting process to choose qualified members of the business community to serve as panelists on the contract review boards.

“This is going to be a long process,” Jay said. “I don’t expect this to go into effect until mid-April to late May. But I already had half a dozen people today tell me they are willing and ready to serve. This is a win for the entire city.”

However, some members of the minority business community feel the resolution doesn’t go far enough to include underrepresented groups in city procurement contracts. Tony Jones, executive director of the Metropolitan Contractor Improvement Partnership, said the city’s new resolution is just another ‘Band-Aid’ and won’t solve the problem.

“I think the policy is weak,” Jones said. “Even if you get minority representatives on these committees, without a strong policy that sets aspirational targets for including historically underutilized businesses, those minorities will be hamstrung on those committees.”

Jones’ organization was formed about 18 months ago and works with its parent organization, the National Association of Minority Contractors of Oregon, to provide training to minority construction businesses and to connect them with work opportunities. His ideal policy for the city would be fixed percentage goals for inclusion of businesses that historically have received few city contracts.

“Most folks think (my idea) is ridiculous,” Jones said. “But there needs to be goals. Whether it’s 10 percent of city contracts going to minorities or 10 percent going to women-owned or emerging small businesses, it doesn’t matter. Just be clear about it.”

But the city says it already has such a program, according to Ty Kovatch, Commissioner Randy Leonard‘s chief of staff. The Sheltered Market Program allows minority, women and emerging small businesses that have been in business for two or more years to become SMP-certified and compete against one another for city contracts ranging from $5,000 to $200,000.

“In concept, SMP is good,” Jones said. “But those small projects are not enough when you think about the millions of dollars the city buys in contracts each year. Contractors want larger projects so they can grow. While the program has good components, it’s limited.”

Jay was adamant that the resolution is not a one-size-fits-all solution to the problem, but a stepping-stone to greater inclusion in the future.

“I am in agreement with NAMCO that this resolution does not address minority contracting goals,” Jay said. “But you have to have people at the table to make decisions that will affect contracts in the future. These are baby steps. Getting more contracts for minority contractors – that’s another day and a different table.”

The next step will be to create a memorandum of understanding between the alliance and the city’s chief procurement officer, Christine Moody, on what the city expects from the alliance in terms of creating a list of potential panelists, according to Kovatch. The alliance has hired Steve Watkins and Associates to create an online database so that people interested in being on the panel can submit their qualifications. The city will later consider those qualifications when it chooses panelists.

Mayor Sam Adams added an amendment to the resolution calling for the alliance to provide regular updates to the council on its meetings and selection process. A coordinator has been selected to act as a liaison and to keep the city informed of the alliance’s efforts, as well as provide panelists with RFP and RFQ training.

“The idea here is to get more people involved in the procurement processes,” Kovatch said. “The more notoriety and transparency there is to this process, the better it will work.”

His criticism of the city’s good-faith efforts notwithstanding, Jones hopes that Portland minority groups will continue to work together toward inclusion because at the end of the day, everyone is trying to reach the same goal.

Jay agreed.

“Even people who were marginalized on this resolution came out to support it,” he said. “We’re all here for the good of this city, and there’s room for everyone to be included.”