Res. No. 16 Title Resolution calling upon the appropriate committee of the Council of the City of New York to conduct an oversight hearing regarding the lack of tracking and reporting by City agencies in relation to City contracts awarded to women and minority owned businesses. Body By Council Members Perkins, Reed, Comrie, Foster, Jennings, Liu, Quinn, Reyna, Sears and Barron; also Council Members Gioia, Jackson, Lopez, Martinez and Vann Whereas, The City's Minority and Women Business Enterprise ("M/WBE") Program went into effect in September 1992; and Whereas, The M/WBE Program established a certification procedure for minority and women-owned businesses and developed outreach and assistance programs for M/WBE's, including bonding and technical assistance; and Whereas, The M/WBE Program was in effect for six years and required the Department of Business Services ("DBS") to conduct an additional study prior to any extension of the Program to determine whether it was still necessary; and Whereas, In June 1998 the M/WBE Program expired, and since then, neither the Administration nor DBS have attempted to conduct a study on whether there exists a disparity of City contracts awarded to women and minority owned businesses; and Whereas, Despite repeated attempts by the Council to fund such a study, DBS has failed to use the appropriated funds to conduct a study or offer alternative solutions; and Whereas, The City Charter requires the DBS Commissioner to produce an annual report on the activities and efforts made to enhance the ability of minority and women owned business enterprises to compete for City contracts; and Whereas, In the past some information and indicators regarding M/WBE's was provided in the Mayor's Management Report, but that information is no longer being made available; and Whereas, It is becoming increasingly difficult to monitor the number of City contracts being awarded to M/WBE's and it is believed that since the expiration of the Program there is a substantial decrease in the amount of citywide contract dollars being awarded to M/WBE's; now, therefore, be it Resolved, That the appropriate committee of the Council of the City of New York conduct an oversight hearing in relation to City contracts awarded to women and minority owned businesses.