Charles Office to Aid Minority-Owned Businesses

Program Aims to Simplify Process of Applying for County Contracts

Charles County commissioners have decided to create an Office of Small, Disadvantaged and Minority Business, but it stops short of what other jurisdictions in the Washington region have done to assist minority-owned firms.

The office, which was approved last week by the Board of Commissioners, is designed to help disseminate information about how to apply for county contracts. It will operate within the county's Department of Economic Development but will not have a separate staff or significant budget.

Once the office gets underway, the department will encourage other local governments, nonprofit organizations and for-profit businesses to award contracts to minority businesses, according to a preliminary plan.

Local advocates have pushed for a minority business office in Charles for years, citing large and successful programs in Prince George's and Montgomery counties. Minority business owners say they have had trouble competing for government contracts in the region, even as the county's black population has grown.

Such complaints led residents to create a private Minority Business Advocacy Council, which last year proposed creating a government office. The group's proposal, written by Gaylord Hogue, a member of the council, asked county commissioners to "establish and implement a strong Minority Business Enterprise program that ensures contract opportunities and awards are available to the minority business community in Charles County."

Neither Hogue nor others who had pushed for the program could be reached for comment.

In 2005, the county established a goal of awarding 15 percent of county contract money to minority-owned businesses within five years and 25 percent in 10 years.

Hogue and others have said they want the office to provide concrete advantages to small and minority-owned businesses seeking county work, much the way such programs do in Prince George's and Montgomery.

In Prince George's, a Minority Business Development Division study concluded years ago that minority businesses were often not selected to receive government contracts, even when they were the lowest bidders. The study provided legal groundwork for the county to begin preferential treatment of minority-owned businesses.

But Charles officials said a more ambitious minority business office was impossible for the county, which is significantly smaller and faces a tight budget. County Fiscal Director Deborah Hudson said that a disparity study could cost as much as $400,000 and require a full-time staff.

Instead, Hudson said, the county decided to adopt measures to make information about government contracts more accessible. A center in the county's economic development office, which will be staffed part time by an existing employee, will simplify application processes and aid business owners, according to the draft plan.

The plan also calls for the office to create a loan program to help companies buy equipment necessary to compete for county contracts.