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Home My WebLink AboutRES 07-114 RESOLUTION NO. 07-114 A RESOLUTION ADOPTING POLICIES IN CONNECTION WITH THE CITY OF BEAUMONT'S TEXAS COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT BLOCK GRANT AND TEXAS DEVELOPMENT OF HOUSING AND COMMUNITY AFFAIRS PROGRAMS. WHEREAS, Federal regulations require the adoption of various policies with regard to procuring goods and services and affirmative action plans; and, WHEREAS, Federal regulations require the adoption of various policies with regard to procuring goods and services and local opportunity plans; and, WHEREAS, Federal regulations require the adoption of various policies with regard to the status of internal affirmative action plans and the nondiscrimination of handicapped individuals; NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF BEAUMONT: THAT the following policies, substantially in the forms attached hereto as Exhibits"A,""B," "C," "D," and "E" and made a part hereof for all purposes, are hereby adopted for implementation in the Texas Community Development Block Grant and Community Affairs programs: 1. Code of Conduct. 2. Contracting with Small and Minority Firms and Women's Business Enterprise. 3. Affirmative Action Plan/Local Opportunity Plan. 4. Internal Affirmative Action Plan. 5. Policy of Nondiscrimination on the Basis of Handicapped Status. PASSED BY THE CITY COUNCIL of the City of Beaumont this the 24th day of April, 2007. �AIL A&I A J, - Mayor Pro a Nancy Beaulieu - CODE OF CONDUCT The following Code of Conduct shall govern the performance and administration of contracts supported by Federal funds. This Code shall be in addition to State law or any code, ordinance, rule, or regulation of the County on the subject and shall apply to only those contracts supported by Federal funds. In any event any part of this Code is found to be in conflict with State law, State law shall prevail and that part of this Code shall be repealed and shall not affect any other part of this Code. In any event, any part of this Code is found to be in conflict with any other part of any such City code, ordinance, rule or regulation, it shall be reconsidered and shall not affect any other parts of such City code, ordinance, rule or regulation. No employee, officer or agent of the City shall participate in selection, or in award or administration of a contract supported by Federal funds if a conflict of interest, real or apparent, would be involved. Such a conflict would arise when the employee, officer or agent, or any member of his or her immediate family, or his or her partner, or an organization which employs or is about to employ any of the above persons has a financial interest in the firm selected for award. No officer, employee, or agent shall either solicit or accept gratuities, favors or anything of monetary value from contractors, potential contractors or parties to subagreements. Also, no officer, employee or agent of the City shall have a financial interest, either direct or indirect in any contract with the City nor shall be financially interested directly or indirectly in the materials, supplies or service. The above provisions shall not apply where the financial interest is not substantial or the gift is an unsolicited item of nominal intrinsic value. Any violation of this section shall constitute malfeasance in office. Any violation of this section with the knowledge, expressed, or implied, of the person or corporation contracting with the City shall render the contract voidable by the City Council. EXHIBIT "A" CONTRACTING WITH SMALL AND MINORITY FIRMS AND WOMEN'S BUSINESS ENTERPRISE It is a national policy to award a fair share of contracts to small and minority business firms. It shall also be the City's policy, when economically feasible and determined to be in the best interest of the City, to develop procedures, methods and policies and to take affirmative steps to assure the small and minority business firms are utilized when possible as sources of supplies, equipment, construction and services and to avoid the purchase of unnecessary or unduplicative items. The following policies, procedures and methods shall apply to those contracting actions which are supported by Federal funds or assistance programs. The policies herein adopted shall be in addition to State law or any code, ordinance, rule or regulation of funds. In the event any part of these policies shall be found to be in conflict with State law, State law shall prevail and such part of these policies shall be repealed and shall not affect any other part of these policies. In the event any part of these policies shall be found to be in conflict with other parts of any City code, ordinance, rule or regulation then that part of the City code, ordinance, rule or regulation shall be reconsidered and shall not affect any other parts. Affirmative steps shall be taken to assure that small and minority businesses are utilized when possible as sources of supplies, equipment, construction and services. Affirmative steps shall include the following: 1. Including qualified small and minority businesses on solicitation lists. 2. Assuring that small minority businesses are solicited whenever they are potential sources. 3. When economically feasible, dividing total requirements into smaller tasks or quantities to permit small and minority business participation. 4. Using the services and assistance of the Small Business Administration, the Office of Minority Business Enterprise of the Department of Commerce and the Community Services Administration. 5. Requiring prime contractors to take the affirmative steps 1 through 4 in seeking services from subcontractors. The City shall take similar appropriate affirmative action in support of women's business enterprise. EXHIBIT "B" AFFIRMATIVE ACTION& LOCAL OPPORTUNITY PLAN Affirmative Action Plan for the City of Beaumont, Texas relating exclusively to projects funded by the Texas Community Development Program. I. Introduction A. Purpose: The purpose of this Affirmative Action Plan is to set forth policies and procedures that will be implemented by the City to assure the compliance of contractors and subcontractors using Community Development Block Grant funds with Section 3 of the Housing and Urban Development Act of 1968, 12 U.S.C. 1701u. B. Policy Statement: It will be established policy to provide employment and business opportunities for businesses within or owned in substantial parts by persons residing in the Section 3 covered project area and lower income residents of the same areas as promulgated in the Section 3 Clause. (see Attachment A, Employment Opportunities for Business and Lower Income Persons in Connection with Assisted Projects, A- E.) C. Project Boundaries: The Section 3 covered project area boundaries for the purpose of the Texas Community Development Program are the jurisdiction of the County government. D. Definitions: Business concerns located within the Section 3 covered project area - Those individuals or firms located within the relevent Section 3 covered project area and which qualify as small under the small business size standards of the Small Business Administration. Business concerns owned in substantial part by persons residing in the Section 3 covered project area - Those business concerns which are 51 percent or more owned by persons residing within the relevant Section 3 covered project area, owned by persons considered by the Small Business Administration as socially and economically disadvantaged, and which qualify as small under the small business size standards of the Small Business Administration. Lower income resident - A person who resides within the jurisdiction of the City and whose personal income does not exceed the Section 8 Existing Housing Program Income limit for Liberty County. EXHIBIT "C" II. Affirmative Action Plan Utilization of lower income, Section 3 covered project area residents as: Apprentices/Trainees - The City will require that all contractors and subcontractors subject to Section 3 regulations will provide, prior to signing a contract, a preliminary statement of work force needs to include trade and job classifications. A standardized form will be provided by the City to record this information. In addition, the contractors and subcontractors will be required to use the criteria set forth in 135.40, 135.45 and 135.50 of the Section 3 regulations regarding recruiting and hiring requirements. Employees - The City will require that all contractors and subcontractors subject to Section 3 regulations will provide, prior to signing a contract, a preliminary statement of work force needs to include job and trade classifications, on a standardized form to be provided by the City. In addition, the contractors and subcontractors will be required to use the criteria set forth in 135.55 and 135.60 of the Section 3 regulations regarding recruiting and hiring requirements. Where the nature of a project limits the number of potential contractors to one party, the City will not pursue the advertising of such a project as outlined in this Plan but will merely contract with the party in question. III. Notification to Section 3 Businesses The City will publish in a newspaper of general circulation, two separate legal notices describing the pending contractual opportunity in accordance with the Constitution and Laws of the State of Texas. IV. Achievement of Section 3 Goals The Section 3 Clause will be included in the bid documents as well as the contract documents. Contractors and subcontractors will be notified of their obligations to utilize lower income Section 3 project area residents as trainees and employees to the greatest extent feasible. Contractors and subcontractors will be apprised of the need to utilize to the greatest extent feasible business concerns owned in substantial part by individuals living in the Section 3 project area. The City will require that all contractors and subcontractors subject to Section 3 regulations will provide a preliminary statement of work force needs to include trade and job classifications. Contractors and subcontractors will be required to submit a Section 3 Affirmative Action Plan The City will pursue in good faith its obligations as set forth in 135.00 of the Section 3 Regulations. CITY OF BEAUMONT INTERNAL AFFIRMATIVE ACTION PLAN WHEREAS: The City of Beaumont, Texas has approximately: Black, White, %Hispanic, and % Women in the general population. THEREFORE: The City will endeavor to fill all vacancies and all new positions with qualified minorities, so that by 2009 the City will have approximately _% Black, _%Hispanic, and % Women employed within the City government. EXHIBIT "D" POLICY OF NONDISCRIMINATION ON THE BASIS OF HANDICAPPED STATUS It is a national policy to provide equal access and opportunities for handicapped individuals as required by Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. It shall also be the City's policy, when economically feasible and determined to be in the best interest of the City, to develop procedures, methods and policies and to take affirmative steps to assure handicapped individuals are given equal consideration when possible as sources of supplies, equipment, construction and services and to avoid the purchase of unnecessary or un-duplicative items. The following policies, procedures and methods shall apply to those contracting actions which are supported by Federal funds or assistance programs. The policies herein adopted shall be in addition to State law or any code, ordinance, rule or regulation of funds. In the event any part of these policies shall be found to be in conflict with State law, State law shall prevail and such part of these policies shall be repealed and shall not affect any other part of these policies. In the event any part of these policies shall be found to be in conflict with other parts of any City code, ordinance, rule or regulation then that part of the City code, ordinance, rule or regulation shall be reconsidered and shall not affect any other parts. Affirmative steps shall be taken to assure that handicapped individuals are provided equal consideration when possible as sources of supplies, equipment, construction and services. Affirmative steps shall include the following: 1. Assuring that no otherwise qualified individual with handicaps shall, solely by reason of his or her handicap, be excluded from the participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any program or activity that receives federal financial assistance. 2. Furnish appropriate auxiliary aids where necessary to allow an individual with handicaps an equal opportunity to participate in all programs or activity that receives federal financial assistance. 3. Eliminate any practices that unreasonably limit employment for individuals with handicaps. 4. Assuring that any recruitment or informational material published by a recipient contain the City's pledge not to discriminate on the basis of handicap. 5. Directing the City Manager to act in all matters in connection with grievances or other requirements of Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 as amended. EXHIBIT"E" i