Chapter 5.35 Community Opportunities and Enhancements

It is the purpose of this Chapter and the Policy of the City of Portland to set aside and dedicate 1 percent of thetotal Hard Construction Costsof City of Portland Public Improvement Contracts for the Community Opportunities and Enhancements Program (COEP).

COEP funds will be dedicated to the support of greater equity in public contracting through the provision of Business Technical Assistance for Certified Firms and Firms Seeking Certification and the recruitment, training and retention of a diverse Workforce.

Use of Bureau of Environmental Services and Portland Water Bureau ratepayer funds for the COEP shall be reasonably related to the provision of water and sewer services in accordance with the City of Portland Charter.

A.  Business Technical Assistance: Those activities that provide business support and development services to increase the ability of the organization to bid on, perform and complete public services contracts.

B.  Certified Firms and Firms Seeking Certification: Companies that have been certified, or which are actively pursuing certification, by the State of Oregon Certification Office for Business Inclusion and Diversity (COBID), or its successor, as a minority-owned, woman-owned, emerging or a service-disabled veteran owned business. The City recognizes the following certifications: Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE), Minority-owned Business Enterprise (MBE), Women-owned Business Enterprise (WBE), Emerging Small Business Enterprise (ESB), and Service-Disabled-Veteran-owned Business Enterprise (SDVBE).

C.  Community Benefits Agreement (CBA): The CBA is applied to projects over $25 million that use an alternative contracting method and is an agreement between the City of Portland (City), the Project Contractor (on behalf of all contractors and subcontractors of all tiers), the signatory unions, and the signatory community-based organizations with a strong record of accomplishment of serving racial and ethnic minorities, women and low income people and state approved pre-apprenticeship programs (CBOs).

D.  Community Equity and Inclusion Plan (CEIP): A contractual document that is applied to all Public Improvement Contracts that utilize alternative contracting methods and have an estimated contract value between $10 million to $25 million. The CEIP addresses the historical disparities in contracting and provides a variety of strategies to increase opportunities for DBE/MBE/WBE/ESB/SDVBE firms and to increase opportunities and retention of a diverse Workforce.

E.  Community Equity and Inclusion Committee (CEIC): The independent body that reviews the performance of City projects subject to a CEIP, provides guidance and advice to contractors to increase utilization, and advises the City on the Contractor's and Subcontractors’ equity efforts to achieve the CEIP goals.  The CEIC also advises the City on developing funding priorities for use of the COEP funding.

F.  COEP Fee: The amount due, based upon 1 percent of the total Hard Construction Costs, as calculated using the methodology defined in Portland Policy Documents (PPD) Administrative Rule 1.25.

G.  Contractor: A company with whom the City executes a contract for a Public Improvement.

H.  Hard Construction Costs: The total original value of the Public Improvement Contract executed between the City of Portland and the Contractor.

I.  Labor-Management-Community Oversight Committee: The Labor-Management-Community Oversight Committee discusses and advises on issues and/or concerns related to the implementation of Community Benefits Agreement.

J.   Participating Bureau: A City of Portland Bureau that executes a Public Improvement Contract and which must contribute COEP Fees as required by this Chapter.

K.  Partners: Organizations that will receive funding to implement the goals of the COEP.

L.  Public Improvement: A project for construction, reconstruction or major renovation on real property by or for the City.  Public Improvements do not include:

1.  Projects for which no funds of the City are directly or indirectly used, except for participation that is incidental or related primarily to project design or inspection, or

2.  Emergency work, minor alterations, ordinary repair or maintenance necessary to preserve a Public Improvement.

M.  Public Improvement Contract: A contract for a Public Improvement.

N.  Workforce: The individuals in the construction trades, or who are seeking to join the construction trades, in trades that are typically utilized on Public Improvements.

A.  The City’s Chief Administrative Officer, in coordination with the City’s Director of the Office of Equity and Human Rights (OEHR) and one director from a Participating Bureau,  must establish and appoint the CEIC as an independent advisory committee to serve as a review body and a resource for the City, its Contractors and the broader community.

B.  The CEIC will be representative of the City’s diverse communities and include community organizations, Certified Firms and non-COBID certified construction firms, building and contracting trades (union and non-union), trade associations and training providers for the construction trades.

C.  The CEIC will review compliance and performance of City Public Improvement Contracts subject to a CEIP and provide guidance and advice to contractors’ and subcontractors’ regarding their equity efforts to achieve the CEIP goals.

D.  The CEIC will also review projected Public Improvements and make recommendations to the Office of Management & Finance (OMF) and OEHR regarding how to generally prioritize the expenditure of COEP Fees on eligible activities, such as Business Technical Assistance and Workforce assistance.

The COEP is effective beginning July 1, 2020 and shall apply to Public Improvement Contracts executed after July 1, 2020.

A.  Participating Bureaus are required to budget the full anticipated cost of the COEP Fees in the fiscal year in which it is anticipated those COEP Fees will be due.

B.  The Office of Management and Finance (OMF) is required to budget the full cost of the COEP Fees backed and balanced against the COEP Fees budgeted by Participating Bureaus.  OMF shall adopt administrative rules and procedures to implement this Section.

C.  Compliance with the payment requirements defined in the Administrative Rules is required for Public Improvement Contracts to proceed and for the costs of those projects to be capitalized at the end of the project.

OMF shall, after consultation with OEHR and Participating Bureaus, develop Administrative Rules to:

A.  Provide for annual reporting to City Council on outcomes of the COEP;

B.  Provide a method for the appointment of representatives to the CEIC;

C.  Provide for the transactional process that Participating Bureaus need to follow to remit COEP Fees to OMF; and

D.  Set forth any other matter appropriate for the administration of this Chapter.

OMF and OEHR shall be the responsible parties for administering the COEP on behalf of the City in close coordination with the City Attorney’s Office and Participating Bureaus.  Notwithstanding the above, the Chief Administrative Officer, in consultation with City Council, the Participating Bureaus and the Director of OEHR, has exclusive decision-making authority over the COEP.  OMF may, after consultation with City Council, Participating Bureaus, and OEHR, decide to partner with other organizations to implement the COEP.  Partnerships with other organizations for implementation of the COEP shall be bound by contract or intergovernmental agreement.

Nothing in this Chapter, or in any administrative rules adopted hereunder, shall limit the authority of the City Council to waive the requirements of this Chapter or related administrative rules.