Minority Procurement Policy Killed

The procurement policy passed without goals included. Then, seconds later, the council voted to reconsider the issue. That is procedural vote, which means the issue is effectively killed and sponsors would have to start from scratch if they ever want a policy. Minority members of the city council openly expressed their disgust as the issue was killed. Alderman Victory Bell spoke directly to the minority community with a call to action. "Im talking directly to the minorities: It is time to get up off your knees, if you want to pray, go to church," says Bell. "It is time to deal with the issues." There was a group of men and women from the minority community who attended each city council meeting as the procurement policy was discussed. They had no comment. Several aldermen who voted to effectively kill the ordinance said putting percentages as goals for minority involvement was the problem. "If you put the 20% number in there, it`s a lose-lose situation because you`ve got a number in there without a track record," says Alderman Pat Curran.