Page 4 - Florida Sentinel 11-25-16 Online Edition

Local
Economic Inclusion Is Strictly Business
There are only two parties with the ultimate authority to determine how City of Tampa funds are spent.
One party is the City of Tampa, City Council that approves the Annual Budget, proposed by the Mayor of Tampa. If Council or the public has any concerns about the budget, those concerns must be addressed prior to the budget being ap- proved by Council.
The other party is the Mayor of Tampa who, once Council approves the budget, generally speaking has full control of how the approved bud- geted funds are spent.
Several months ago Joint Economic Develop- ment Committees from the Tampa Organization of Black Affairs (TOBA) and the Saturday Morn- ing Breakfast Group (SMBG) requested data from the City of Tampa,
Administration (through City Council) to review the total amount of dol- lars the City of Tampa spends on construction, construction related services, goods, profes- sional services, etc.
In addition the City of Tampa was asked to pro- vide a report showing the actual amount of those dollars that was spent with African American owned businesses over the past five years.
The information, pro- vided to the City Council by the City of Tampa Ad- ministration revealed the City of Tampa spent $288 million dollars over the referenced five years and that African American owned companies only received 2% of those funds during that period of time.
City Council members are on record requesting the City of Tampa Admin- istration and City Attor-
ney to find a legally de- fensible solution to sig- nificantly increase City of Tampa spending with African American owned businesses and other Mi- nority Business Enter- prises (MBEs).
Based upon the fig- ures provided, a logical and reasonable request was made by City Council for the City of Tampa Ad- ministration to increase its spending with MBEs, but their response has been to present volumi- nous obstacles, chal- lenges and difficulties with closing the spending gap.
This case study is sim- ply about equity, fairness and the economic inclu- sion of African Ameri- cans. TOBA and the SMBG have never disre- spected the Members of City Council, the Office of the Mayor, or the Mayor’s staff and Admin- istration. Our focus is to represent the special in- terest of African Ameri- cans. We will continue working with the City of Tampa on its MBE ordi- nance to create a clear path for the City of Tampa to spend more of its dollars with African American owned busi- nesses.
African American peo- ple vote and pay taxes. Our tax dollars con- tribute to revenue spent by the City of Tampa. The amount of dollars spent by the City of Tampa with African American owned businesses does not re- flect the equity, fairness or the economic inclu- sion desired by African Americans.
We appreciate the Hon. Frank Reddick, City Council Member and all City Council members for unanimously voting to support an enhanced MBE ordinance that re- quires MBE participation unless no MBE is avail- able at the time a con- tract is brought before City Council for approval.
We also believe that the City of Tampa Admin- istration can and should do more. This matter is beyond individuals ex- cept for those who have the authority (City Coun-
FYI
cil Members) to approve or not approve the City of Tampa budget and con- tracts and (the Mayor), who is responsible to ad- ministering how City of Tampa funds are how and with whom these funds will be spent.
TOBA and the SMBG will continue to pay at- tention and stay focused on working with the City of Tampa to make progress on behalf of the African American com- munity. We will keep you informed along the way and encourage you al- ways be ready to stand up.
JAMES RANSOM Board Member and Chairman of the Eco- nomic Development Committee Tampa Orga- nization of Black Affairs President/Convener Sat- urday Morning Breakfast
Group
Temple Terrace Offices To Close For Thanksgiving
Temple Terrace City Hall and other government offices will be closed Thursday, Nov. 24 and Friday, Nov. 25, 2016 in ob- servance of Thanksgiving. There will be no residential trash collection or curbside recycling on those days. Residents should put their trash out for collection on their next regularly sched- uled pickup day.
The Temple Terrace Public Library and Omar K. Lightfoot Recreation Center also will be closed on Thanksgiving and Fri- day.
The Family Recreation Complex will be closed on Thursday, Nov. 24, but will be open Friday, Nov. 25 from 8 a. m. to 5 p. m.
For more information about Parks and Recreation holiday hours, call (813) 506-6600.
PAGE 4-A FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN PUBLISHED EVERY TUESDAY AND FRIDAY FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 25, 2016