I failed to note that Councilman DiCicco is also present. Are there any more questions for this witness? (No response.)
Our next 92 12/12/07 - COMMERCE - RES. 040977 & 070741 witness is Beverly Harper.
Good morning. How are you? Please state your name for the record and proceed.
Good morning, Chairman, Councilpeople. Thank you for the opportunity to present testimony on my history and experiences as a minority business based in Philadelphia for 38 years, my knowledge of the history of the MBEC and recent insult and disrespect inflicted upon me by the current Minority Business Enterprise Council staff, and, finally, some recommendations about how this government can truly assist minority firms. , a 93 12/12/07 - COMMERCE - RES. 040977 & 070741 marketing services and communications consulting firm I founded in 1969. We have continuously operated in Philadelphia, paying hundreds of thousands of dollars in wages and taxes to hundreds of employees. We have had hundreds of prime and subcontracts working for eight federal agencies, six state departments and over the years several City departments and quasi-public agencies. We have developed and implemented social marketing campaigns, customized training programs, large multi-year community relations projects, and many focus groups and research assignments. In the early '80s I helped to found and became the first and only President of a minority business action group called the Brain Trust. Our goal was to get the City of Philadelphia to pass what was called at that time set-aside legislation that would guarantee minorities and women a share of 94 12/12/07 - COMMERCE - RES. 040977 & 070741 City contracts. Working with the late Lucien Blackwell and John Anderson, among others, we were successful, not only in getting the legislation passed but also helping to organize the unanimous vote to override Mayor Bill Green's veto. This occurrence was a glorious day in City Council. Chapter 17-500 of The Philadelphia Code became law, creating the Minority Business Enterprise Council. I became one of the first businesses certified. I believe in a certification process. , has been and is currently certified in numerous jurisdictions, many of them for years. In February of this year, both my Unified and City certifications expired. Prior to February, late last year, I received and responded to a letter from the MBEC asking for information. I had an Affidavit of No 25 Change notarized and sent to the City. 95 12/12/07 - COMMERCE - RES. 040977 & 070741 In January I received another letter saying that my certifications were in jeopardy. I called and asked what else was required and was told that I would receive a call back. None came. A bit of information: The Unified Certification Program is an agreement that took at least four years to be finalized. Its purpose was to reduce the paperwork required from minority firms. The agencies involved are PennDOT, SEPTA, Allegheny County, the Port Authority of Allegheny County and the City of Philadelphia. Philadelphia is the only one of these that also requires an additional certification, both requiring the exact same level of information and documentation. What a shameful waste of resources. It is a mystery to me why the City needs two certifications. By February of this year, I was worried about my Unified Certification and after speaking to PennDOT and SEPTA, 96 12/12/07 - COMMERCE - RES. 040977 & 070741 I requested that my files be transferred from the MBEC to SEPTA, where I was sure I would get a response. A request was made by SEPTA for my files. In an unusual occurrence, the files were not transferred. I was asked by SEPTA to submit my complete recertification package, which I did. SEPTA recertified my firm within three weeks, including conducting a site visit. I still had to submit a complete recertification application to the City, which I did on July the 11th, after months of frustrating dealings with the MBEC. In August I was asked to bid with two teams on different projects, one with the City Planning Commission and one with PIDC. I called the MBEC in late August and informed them of these two projects. I was told that my paperwork had passed the first level of review and was on a supervisor's desk.
I called the supervisor and was told that the MBEC 97 12/12/07 - COMMERCE - RES. 040977 & 070741 could take three months to complete the certification and that there was nothing that could be done to expedite the process. Shortly after that, I received a call from one of the prime contractors I had bid with, saying that they had received a call from the MBEC saying that I did not have a current certification and they would have to find a substitution for my firm. MBEC never informed the prime that my application was in process, that I had been certified for years and that nothing about my firm's ownership or management had changed. I was outraged, hurt and incredulous. During this time, I held a current Pennsylvania Unified Certification, certifications from the Maryland Department of Transportation and New Jersey Transit. I again called MBEC and asked if I could send copies of these other certifications. I was told that if 98 12/12/07 - COMMERCE - RES. 040977 & 070741 I submitted these documents, the process would start all over again and the wait would be longer. I could not believe what was happening. If the MBEC could do this to me, how many other legitimate firms have been so devastated by this incompetence that they went elsewhere, to Philadelphia's great loss? I wrote a letter to Carolyn Nichols, Director of the MBEC, and received no response, and in a rare move, I sent copies of the letter to several elected officials. None could believe what was happening. All responded by calling me and the MBEC. The MBEC provided inaccurate and misleading information to the elected officials, telling one that they were waiting for additional information from me. They never asked for anything additional. They continually told different elected officials that the certification letter would be mailed in two weeks. After that time expired, they said next week, and 99 12/12/07 - COMMERCE - RES. 040977 & 070741 then that time expired. Finally, on October 1, 2007, I received my certification. I must say that I'm puzzled by the actions of the MBEC, as they are an entity whose mission is assisting minority enterprises and they have recertified me numerous times. We have bid on hundreds of projects with dozens of engineering and planning firms, multiple times with most. In my 38 years of business and more than years of 14 being certified by dozens of state, 15 county and city agencies, including the 16 MBEC, I have never experienced anything 17 like this. In the past when an agency 18 has been slow to process a 19 recertification application, they have at 20 least confirmed to the prime that it was in process. Ironically, we were on a team that was awarded a contract from another City department at this same time. Since this particular department knew of my 100 12/12/07 - COMMERCE - RES. 040977 & 070741 firm and knew of many problems with the MBEC, they believed me when I said my certification was imminent. I was able to stay on this team. The bottom line for me is that I lost a $250,000 opportunity. Because of the MBEC, the relationship I had worked for years to establish with this engineering firm is irrevocably damaged. They think that they did not get the project because they had to submit a less qualified firm for Portfolio Associates. What can be done? One, take all responsibility away from the MBEC, create a program that works and place it in the Mayor's Office. Two, develop a minority business strategy for the City that will increase the number and size of minority businesses. Three, work with the new Administration to develop real accountability for making sure that minority firms have real opportunities to 101 12/12/07 - COMMERCE - RES. 040977 & 070741 do business with the public and private sectors in this City. Four, require annual reports on progress that can be documented from all City departments and agencies, authorities, quasi-agencies and all who do business with the City.
Five, solicit periodic reports from minority businesses about how the City is doing in providing opportunities and business. Six, find a way to show public recognition of small businesses such as Portfolio Associates. We have hired more people and paid more taxes than many of the newcomers who get tax breaks and recognition far beyond their staying power. Seven, pay attention. Small businesses are the new engine of this economy. I stay in business in this city because I love what I do and I love the City. It might have been easier to do 102 12/12/07 - COMMERCE - RES. 040977 & 070741 business somewhere else, but I have made a difference here, professionally and personally. I am President of the Board of Directors of Philadanco. I chair the Board of the Painted Bride Art Center. I am a former Chair of the Board of the Enterprise Center. I co-chair an organization called PenTrans, Pennsylvanians for Transportation Solutions. I am President of the Board of Governors of the Philly Ad Club and I am on the Board of the Philadelphia Orchestra Association. I believe in giving back. Thank you for this opportunity. I look forward to answering any questions you may have.
Thank you for your testimony, Ms. Harper. Councilwoman Tasco.
Thank you so much, Ms. Harper, for coming in to testify. We worked to share and shared your story and your trials and 103 12/12/07 - COMMERCE - RES. 040977 & 070741 tribulations with MBEC, and I have to say that I know that you're angry, because otherwise you might not be here, but you care and you just have been done an injustice, and I have to apologize for that.
It is my understanding that you conduct business in other cities. Can you describe your experience in other cities as compared to Philadelphia?
Yes. We are certified in other cities and other states. When my recertification is coming up for New Jersey Transit, about two months before the certification is up, I get a phone call asking me whether anything has changed and telling me whether or not they have changed any of their policies or procedures, and they ask me also if I am going to submit for 104 12/12/07 - COMMERCE - RES. 040977 & 070741 recertification. They note in their file 3 that they had that conversation with me. The same thing happens at PennDOT when I talked to their MBEC -- when I talked to their DBE office. They note in the file every time I call them and so that there is a record that I have reached out. We recently did a project in Maryland, and that was through the Maryland Department of Transportation. Our recertification was in process when we were asked to bid on a project as a subcontractor. Their office informed the prime that my certification was in process and that they did not anticipate any problems at all because I had been certified with them for a long period of time. So, yes, I get treated with a lot greater respect in other jurisdictions than I do here in Philadelphia.
When you 105 12/12/07 - COMMERCE - RES. 040977 & 070741 are seeking recertification, I know -- I don't know, but I understand that a lot of information is required when you're getting your initial certification and a lot of businesses don't want to go through that process, and we've been told that dealing with the MBEC office, they're not really confident that their information will be held in confidentiality.
I am very worried about that and for several reasons. One, over the years, several times they have told me that they have lost my package and I had to resubmit it again. Now, the same stock certificates that I submitted to them back in the '80s are the same ones that they still require when I get recertification today. So the amount of paperwork that has been submitted to the MBEC over and over and over again is, as I said, a shameful waste of resources.
Did they find your package? 106 12/12/07 - COMMERCE - RES. 040977 & 070741
No. I mean, then we were doing a project for the Streets Department where we were looking at the recycling that various City offices and buildings do and I have photographs where out of one of the offices there were boxes put out on the sidewalk of people's files. So, of course, my great fear is that somebody goes through and, you know, cleans out a file and all of my corporate records are sitting out on the sidewalk someplace. So, no, I don't have any confidence that those records are confidential.
Okay. What steps do you -- well, you gave us some ideas for change for the MBEC office. And I do want to cite for the record that we had another contractor with the City call us because their 107 12/12/07 - COMMERCE - RES. 040977 & 070741 certification was being held up, and it just seemed to be very odd that we were getting these phone calls at the time about -- and I know both of you very well. I remember when you went into business. And this other gentleman has been in business and has been known -- if you work and live in Philadelphia, you know your minority-owned businesses. Do you know what the purpose of the recertification is?
Well, I think that when you submit -- there are a couple of things that you do. I think annually you have to submit an Affidavit of No Change that you get notarized, and then when your certification actually expires, you have to submit a new package. It seems to me that if you have submitted an Affidavit of No Change, which is essentially a one- or two-page document that you get notarized, I don't understand why you have to submit -- if you're saying that nothing has changed, 108 12/12/07 - COMMERCE - RES. 040977 & 070741 then why do you have to give them two inches of paper again and again and again?
Yes. They're certifying that the ownership and management of the company has not changed. They're certifying that you do not exceed the income limits. And all of that can be a part of the Affidavit of No 17 Change. You're saying that nothing has changed. So to me, it's a waste of staff resources for them to have to plow through all of that paperwork again when it's -- I mean, I have a whole file of just the papers that we give them over and over and over again, and then I also keep a copy of exactly what I send them each time. And I understand that most of 109 12/12/07 - COMMERCE - RES. 040977 & 070741 the times when certifications are slow, it's because some of the paperwork isn't there, but as many times as I've been certified in so many jurisdictions, I know exactly all of the paperwork that needs to be there, and it's always there.
You have dealt with the MBEC office for many years. Is this the first time you've had this problem in the last year to this extent?
Previously certifications have been slow, but when they were slow, I could get MBEC to send a letter to the prime or MBEC would tell me to put their person's name, whether it was Jim Roundtree or Marlon Hamilton, put their name at the bottom of my certification letter and their telephone number and saying that my certification was in process, and that was helpful. If it was slow, that was fine, it didn't hurt me. What MBEC did this year hurt me. I mean, it hurt my business, to say 110 12/12/07 - COMMERCE - RES. 040977 & 070741 nothing of how I feel personally, but I lost a $250,000 opportunity and I lost a great relationship with a firm who thinks that I was responsible for them not getting a contract.
Well, again, thank you for coming in to testify. As we move forward, we take some of the recommendations from the Controller's Office and from DC and hopefully that the new Administration will try and come up with a better program.
Thank you. The only comment I would add is, the record should reflect that you were one of the authors of the initial legislation of the bill that ultimately created that office, and for now, a couple decades later, to be in a 111 12/12/07 - COMMERCE - RES. 040977 & 070741 circumstance where the office and, therefore, the Administration haven't figured out how to treat longstanding certified MBEs differently from those who are just showing up at the door in many ways is a disgrace. Thank you for your testimony.
Yes. Good morning. My name is Judith Robinson. I'm here today to testify on Bill No. 18 040977 and really 070741. I want to say thank you to Mr. Butkovitz and his office for a very comprehensive report, but I feel like deja vu. I am a business owner, a very small business owner, and I've never taken the time to get certified. I thought it was disrespectful to my 112 12/12/07 - COMMERCE - RES. 040977 & 070741 ancestors to certify myself sort of like in a ghetto of business. This is required, I know, to get the big contracts, but after hearing some of the stories that you just heard, I knew it was really not worth my time for a business in real estate where you can go out to the people and get business and you don't have to go through these governmental processes to do business. This has been going on with MBEC for over 30 years, as MBEC has been a patronage haven of a lot of African-American folks that have sat around for over 30 years while business people that did not have -- that have to earn a paycheck or make the money have not gotten contracts. So I did not waste my time with that. But I say it's like deja vu in that last time we were here there was an illusion of inclusion. There have been many studies and reports completed and they always tell us the same thing that 113 12/12/07 - COMMERCE - RES. 040977 & 070741 this great report has told us presently, that we're not getting business from City contracts. Minority representation in the City is 55 percent and we're getting less than percent. Now, that's 7 minorities, which includes 8 African-Americans and all others, while 9 we vote for our elected officials, put 10 them in office and we continue with the 11 same. 12 So I want to talk about enforcement, leverage and political will. I heard here today that non-profits get a substantial amount of City contracts. That's an area where our City Council has much leverage, and I'm requesting that you use some of your leverage. Housing agencies, non-profits come before this organization and they request funding for various projects. There is no 22 responsibility for them to be inclusive. We can deal with that very quickly as you negotiate to give them funding for various projects. 114 12/12/07 - COMMERCE - RES. 040977 & 070741 Recently, this body of City Council voted to regarding an issue where the Boy Scouts, the cradle of liberty, are using a building on the Parkway. You all use your leverage, without having any public hearings, without any opportunity for public input. You use your leverage to force this agency that you all are claiming is discriminating against folks. Well, all of these issues that we're talking about are about discrimination. I would like to know how you did that process with the Boy Scouts and that whole agenda that's being pushed. I would like you to use the same power, the leverage, enforcement. And I know it's a smaller issue, but you did it. I don't know how it was done, but you did it. You have the same kind of clawback powers as it relates to these contracts. So I'm just here today to ask that you use the same kind of political will that you used in that particular 115 12/12/07 - COMMERCE - RES. 040977 & 070741 case. I'm asking that you use your negotiating skills prior to demolition, prior to projects moving forward, such as the Convention Center. I'm asking that you use your political will to move us out of this mucky mire, this nonsense that we go through over and over again. I have only been coming to City Council for about ten years now, and each year almost around about this time we have these hearings. I'm asking you all to read the reports, see where your leverage is as it relates to this process and have the guts to stand up and do what is necessary to move us forward. Now, we're coming with a new Administration, and I'm very optimistic that we can do this, but I know it's going to take political will.
I am a voter, a business owner, taxpayer, homeowner, all that. I will support you all in any way that I can so that you can have the political will, the guts to move us in the 21st century with dignity and 116 12/12/07 - COMMERCE - RES. 040977 & 070741 respect. Our ancestors are calling us to do that. Thank you very much.
Thank you for your testimony. Is there anyone else to testify on any of these resolutions? (No response.)
Seeing none, the hearing of these resolutions is concluded. Thank you. (Committee on Commerce and Economic Development adjourned at 12:15 p.m.) - - - 117 CERTIFICATE I HEREBY CERTIFY that the proceedings, evidence and objections are contained fully and accurately in the stenographic notes taken by me upon the foregoing matter on December 12, 2007, and that this is a true and correct transcript of same. ______________________________ MICHELE L. MURPHY RPR-Notary Public (The foregoing certification of this transcript does not apply to any reproduction of the same by any means, unless under the direct control and/or supervision of the certifying reporter.)