The Search is Underway for Underrepresented Businesses to Support Infrastructure Projects in Austin

A Call for Inclusion in Multibillion-dollar Infrastructure Projects

With a pressing demand for thousands of workers over the next decade to complete an array of multibillion-dollar infrastructure projects, local leaders in Austin are also eyeing a substantial pool of contractors and consultants to offer auxiliary services. This search has recently begun, with a forum conducted earlier this week aimed at providing small minority-owned businesses opportunities to be involved in tasks related to the Project Connect mass transit effort.

Opportunity for Underrepresented Businesses

The forum, organized by the Austin Transit Partnership, gave insights on how small businesses can receive certification as a disadvantaged business enterprise (DBE) to be eligible for a wide array of contracting prospects available to underrepresented groups. Apart from this, the forum also examined the accounting procedures required for contractors to be compliant with local, state, and federal contracting work, alongside the complexities involved in obtaining and retaining DBE certification.

A Welcome Initiative

Tina Cannon, president and CEO of the Austin LGBT Chamber, expressed that companies from her chamber and others should utilize the work essential for completing projects such as Project Connect, the Interstate 35 reconstruction, the expansion of Austin-Bergstrom International Airport, and the Austin Convention Center’s reconstruction.

In her words, “Whether it’s the minority chamber or the general chamber members, we’ve been working on this for quite a while now trying to get all of our members certified to the extent that they’re able for whatever certification hub or DBE qualification they can get to better prepare themselves to be at the gate when the floodgates open.”

A Comprehensive Understanding for a Wider Scope

In addition to the forum, expert advisors from the EY accounting firm provided detailed information on how businesses interested in participating in government work need to manage their bookkeeping. This includes understanding different ways to calculate overhead costs, business expenses, and specific rules for factors such as the part of a CEO’s compensation that can form part of the labor costs for a job.

Long-term Benefit Potential

Paul Saldaña, a public relations consultant, opined that the measures taken to qualify as a DBE for Project Connect work could potentially pave the way for several other government contracts that require a certain quota of minority participants. In his view, this could be intimidating and sometimes cumbersome, but once a business is certified, it automatically gets notified whenever opportunities are available, and people would seek them out.

The current initiative taken by the Austin Transit Partnership is projected to not only provide opportunities for underrepresented businesses to participate in large infrastructure projects but could potentially create a more inclusive business environment in the city in the long run.