Drafter
Clerk 09/10/2025
Title
AN ORDINANCE related to the contracting opportunities program and small contractor and supplier certification and criteria for participation; allowing for automatically qualifying firms certified by the Washington state Office of Minority and Women's Business Enterprises; allowing for removing minimum business-related training requirements to maintain certification; and amending Ordinance 13983, Section 4, as amended, and K.C.C. 2.97.050.
Body
STATEMENT OF FACTS:
1. The contracting opportunities program is an essential part of the county’s work to implement Executive Order, CON-7-28-EO, supporting pro equity contracting.
2. The county's finance and business operations division administers fast-track certification, which allows businesses certified with Washington state Office of Minority and Women's Business Enterprises to automatically participate in the county's small supplier and contractor certification program.
3. In 2024, the county's fast-track certification program added 1126 minority- and women-owned businesses to its online directory of certified small contractors and suppliers, resulting in a total of 3,644 fast-track firms at the year, and accounting for 88.8 percent of all King County firms certified as small contractors and suppliers. The addition of those certified firms has contributed to the increase in contract dollars awarded to minority- and women-owned businesses. In 2024, $107.1 million was awarded to firms certified as small contractors and suppliers, with 55 percent going to minority- and women-owned businesses.
4. The 2024 King County Disparity Study by Colette Holt & Associations on construction and construction-related services, and architecture, engineering and other professional services ("A&E/P") contracting for the contracting opportunities program found that the disparity results, both for all industries and the broad industry groupings of construction and A&E/P, demonstrate that minority- and woman-owned businesses are at or very close to parity with businesses that are not minority- and woman-owned businesses in the award of county contracted dollars. The ratios are over 80 percent and are mostly statistically significant.
5. The 2024 King County Disparity Study by Colette Holt & Associations recommended dropping the requirements for additional training as criteria for continued certification as a small contractor and supplier for the county. The study found that most of the certified small contractors and suppliers interviewed were relatively experienced businesspeople who asked for specific information about doing business with the county, not overall business training.
BE IT ORDAINED BY THE COUNCIL OF KING COUNTY:
SECTION 1. Ordinance 13983, Section 4, as amended, and K.C.C. 2.97.050 are hereby amended to read as follows:
To be certified for the program, a business must:
A.1. ((b))Be either a small contractor or supplier((,)); or
2. Be certified by the Washington state Office of Minority and Women's Business Enterprises;
B. ((h))Have a valid business license; and ((must))
C. ((s))Serve a commercially useful function. ((To maintain its certification, within one year of its certification a small contractor or supplier must have the person or persons who own and control the business complete at least fifteen hours of business-related training in a program approved by the manager. Based on the manager's assessment of the small contractor or supplier's need for additional training, the manager may require a small contractor or supplier to complete up to fifteen additional hours annually of business-related training. The manager shall evaluate and approve training programs based on one or more of the following indicators of the training program’s value: the industry's historical use of the training program; the training program's
affiliation with established schools, if any; and accreditation by an established association.))