Westchester County Executive George Latimer is encouraging Minority and Women Owned Businesses (MWBEs) to participate in the County’s latest Catalyst for Diversity event, hosted by the Office of Economic Development. The three-hour informative session will give business owners the opportunity to meet with County departments, Westchester Community College and the New York Power Authority to learn how to obtain contracts. This event will focus on MWBEs that provide goods and services such as accounting, graphic design, cleaning services, office supplies and more. Register for the informative in-person panel on July 14.
Thursday, July 14
9 a.m. to noon
New York Power Authority
123 Main Street
White Plains, New York 10601
Latimer said: “We want to give MWBEs the accessibility to these contracts so business owners can learn more about what is available to them here in Westchester County. Our goal is to create enhanced economic opportunity and support. By helping these businesses flourish allows us to diversify our pipeline of businesses that we call on for services while providing a staunch network within the County.”
Director of the Westchester County Office of Economic Development Bridget Gibbons said: “The economy is still in the process of rebounding from the pandemic and we want to energize the MWBE community by empowering them to learn about how they can obtain contracts with the County. Creating this network through an event like this can open the door to other opportunities in the region.”
Director of Minority and Women-Owned Business Development Martha Lopez said: “We want the County to be seen as a bridge to help connect MWBEs by promoting a diverse economic atmosphere. We have a database of more than 2500 registered MWBEs and we want them to be knowledgeable about the resources available here in Westchester.”
Westchester County Purchasing Agent Martin Connolly said: “We have been working to put together initiatives like examining our supply chain and establishing agreements with MWBEs. It not only makes a significant impact to the Westchester economy, it becomes a salient benefit to our region by giving us greater resiliency in times of need.”
Latimer set specific guidelines MWBEs which is handled by the Bureau of Purchasing and Supplies (BPS), a division of the Finance Department. The current goal for MWBEs set by the administration for the purchase of commodities is ten percent. In 2021, BPS awarded 815 contracts to MWBEs totaling $5,816,111.00, representing 12.05% of total awards, surpassing the initial goal. Through May of this year, 523 contracts have been issued, totaling $4.2 million, representing 16.26% of total awards.
Contracting services are handled by individual departments. The current goal for MWBEs in the professional and non-professional services sector set by the Latimer Administration is twenty percent. In 2021, departmental services awarded $42,090,597.00 to MWBEs.