COUNTY UPDATE
COUNTY UPDATE : ALAMEDA COUNTY ’ S ENHANCED CONSTRUCTION OUTREACH PROGRAM
For nearly a decade , Alameda County ’ s General Services Agency ( GSA ) has relied on inclusion goals set forth through its Enhanced Construction Outreach Program ( ECOP ) to promote “ its construction contracting opportunities to local Alameda County , small , minority and women-owned business enterprises […].” 1 . The ECOP ’ s participatory goals relate specifically to non-federally funded sealed-bid , capital construction or major maintenance projects valued over $ 125,000 . The ECOP participatory goals are intended to guide prime contractors in meeting the County ’ s inclusionary goals , as outlined below :
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60 % Local Business Enterprise ( LBE ) Participation . For Alameda County , an LBE is defined as a local business with fixed offices and a street address located within Alameda County for at least 6 months prior to the date upon which a bid request is issued , and holding a valid business license issued by the County or by a city within the County . LBE firms who meet this criteria are not required to be certified .
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20 % Small / Local Business Enterprise ( S / LBE ) Participation . An S / LBE must be certified * and meet all the LBE requirements listed above , and also meet the current State of California definition of a small business , which is one that must be independently owned and operated ; cannot be dominant in its field of operation ; must have its principal office located in California ; must have its owners ( or officers in the case of a corporation ) domiciled in California ; have 100 or fewer employees , and an average annual gross receipts of $ 15 million or less over the previous three tax years , or be a manufacturer with 100 or fewer employees .
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15 % Minority Business Enterprise ( MBE ) Subcontracting Participation . A MBE must be certified * and also have at least 51 percent of the business owned by one or more minority persons , or in the case of any business whose stock is publicly held , have at least 51 percent of the stock owned by one or more minority persons ; and whose management and daily business operations are controlled by one or more minority persons .
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5 % Woman-Owned Business Enterprise ( WBE ) Subcontracting Participation . A WBE must be certified * and also have at least 51 percent of the business owned by one or more women , or in the case of any business whose stock is publicly held , have at least 51 percent of the stock owned by one or more women ; and whose management and daily business operations are controlled by one or more women .
To further advance these goals , ECOP guidelines encourage prime contractors to network with and conduct outreach efforts to subcontractors that meet the above certification requirements , and primes who are themselves certified small local business enterprises are eligible to receive a 5 % bid preference , while prime contractors who subcontract with certified small local businesses for at least 40 % of the total contract amount are also eligible to receive a 5 % bid preference .
2 . An example of the more detailed participatory goal instructions provided by Alameda County ’ s ECOP to would-be bidders can be reviewed in this generic version of
Alameda County ’ s General Services Agency “ Supplemental Instructions to Bidders – Enhanced Construction Outreach Program ( ECOP ) – please note that these instructions are regularly updated and are tailored to each bid request , so if you are preparing to submit a bid to the County , make sure to carefully review the current and bid-specific instructions .