The Harris County Commissioners Court has been stacking the deck in terms of contracts it enters into, awarding minority- and women-owned businesses millions of taxpayer dollars in the last year.
The court approved the Harris County Department of Economic Equity and Opportunity (DEEO) back in 2019 and has been using it ever since to determine which companies to do business with, according to the Texas Scorecard.
Contractors can apply for Minority and Women-owned Business Enterprise (MWBE) status. County departments can then consider that status when deciding which companies receive certain contracts.
Such designations helped MWBE businesses receive 25.9% of the $377 million awarded in contracts by Harris County between October 2022 and March 2023, marking a 32.8% increase compared to the share clocked between March and September of 2022, according to a DEEO report.
Certified MWBE prime contractors received 18.2% of the $377 million in contract funding during the period, with Hispanic-owned MWBEs receiving the largest portion at 8.2%, per the DEEO.
Prime contractors are those that contract directly with the county and oversee entire projects, while subcontractors enter into contracts with the prime contractors and are paid to handle specific portions of a given project.
The DEEO figures were presented to the commissioners court on July 18.
During the presentation, Precinct 1 Commissioner Rodney Ellis said that the increase was a positive development for the county.
“I think in the long run, we’ll be better off if we give these MWBEs the opportunity to go after being a prime,” said Ellis, per the Houston Business Journal.
“However we get these numbers up, it’s OK — obviously, you gotta be a [subcontractor] before you can be a prime,” Ellis said.
Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo agreed that the increase was a positive development.
“We’re working to move past the Old Boys’ way of doing things. Female employees in our County gov make $7K less than their counterparts; minorities make $18K less. Last week, we authorized our departments to study & remedy pay disparity moving towards a more just workplace for all,” she wrote on Twitter.
Still, some people did not agree with the sentiment, voicing their displeasure in comments on Hidalgo’s tweet.
“Google did this and it turned out they were underpaying MEN I can’t wait to see how this waste of taxpayer money turns out,” wrote one user.
Another commented, “You are really a disgrace for Houston. We need someone who will build Houston up and make it better. It has been in shambles, for a while.”