BY LISA DONOVAN
The Cincinnati Enquirer
Behind closed doors Thursday, Cincinnati officials presented a good-news, bad-news scenario on the city's affirmative action plan that sets aside a portion of public works projects for minority- and women-owned businesses.
During an executive session of Cincinnati City Council, officials told elected leaders that the city has met its 1998 mandates to set aside work for minority and women-owned businesses. But a legal challenge to that program as well as other race- and gender-based set-asides across the country has prompted the city to virtually halt the program for up to 90 days.
Deputy City Manager Richard Mendes said after the session that the city has no more set-aside contracts to be let for the rest of the year, and that there are no plans to advertise for contracts in the next three months.
This plan is separate from a set-aside plan for the overhaul of Fort Washington Way.
Currently, a consultant is studying the local set-aside program. Data on the participation of minority, disadvantaged and women-owned businesses in city projects for the year was unavailable late Thursday.
The study of the city's minority program will determine whether the city should proceed with a "Croson study," named for a 1989 U.S. Supreme Court ruling. In that case, the court ruled local and state government set-aside programs are unconstitutional unless there is statistical evidence that a group has suffered discrimination.
In his budget proposal, City Manager John Shirey recommended spending $1 million on a local study to prove whether there is a history of discrimination on these projects.
The challenges have provided the city a cautionary tale.
"City programs are constantly being called into question, and we are doing what we can to stay within the law and still keep these very important set-aside programs," said Councilman Tyrone Yates.
But Councilman Phil Heimlich had a different view: "These laws are well-intentioned, but it's illegal to discriminate on the basis of race and gender."
