SHARE

By of the

Although the City of Milwaukee spent about $82 million on construction projects from 2005 through 2008, less than $2.5 million went to qualified African-American-owned businesses, according to a complaint filed Tuesday with the U.S. Justice Department.

At a news conference at Reuss Federal Plaza, the Milwaukee branch of the NAACP said its complaint filed against the city contends that disparities in Milwaukee's contracting and procurement policies and its administration of contracting harm minority contractors and fail to provide equal opportunity.

Because the city receives federal money, it's required to comply with federal civil rights laws that prohibit discrimination based on race and national origin, said James Hall, president of the local NAACP. Failure to do so "has the effect of discriminating against minorities and nonmi nority women," he said.

Diane Lindsley, co-director of the Greater Milwaukee Human Rights Network, said the complaint represents "a wake-up call for the city that profound changes have to be made."

The NAACP wrote to Mayor Tom Barrett last June asking for a community-driven external audit of the city's contracting and procurement system, but Barrett never responded, Hall said.

Officials from Barrett's office and the city attorney's office said Tuesday that they had no comment.

The complaint states that the city has spent $1 million over the last 18 years on disparity studies.

"The disparities have been widely documented and steps have been recommended to effectively administer and enforce policies that would ensure equal opportunity, but the city has refused to implement them," Hall said.

Although the city recently enacted Ordinance 370, which redesigns the city's emerging-business enterprise program, "this new ordinance makes no significant changes in the operation of the program nor in enforcement of program requirements," according to the complaint.

"This new ordinance does not change how the program is administered and fails to respond positively to the many recommendations on administration and enforcement that have been recommended to the city in (disparity) studies," the complaint states.

The Hispanic Chamber of Commerce of Wisconsin has filed suit in Milwaukee County Circuit Court challenging the constitutionality of Ordinance 370.

As part of its study, the NAACP complaint said, the D Wilson Consulting Group interviewed business owners and asked them to respond to a series of situations designed to test for potential discriminatory practices.

The results showed that:

Nine African-American firms said they were asked to be a front for a nonminority firm, and 12 were pressured to lower quotes on a bid because of bid peddling or bid shopping by the prime contractor.

Four African-American firms were asked to sign a form stating the firm had been paid when it had not been paid. Nineteen African-American firms had problems with prime contractors paying them on time.

Eight African-American firms said the prime contractor used their firm's name in a bid without permission.

Six firms reported that the prime contractor changed the African-American firm's bid without permission.

A Hispanic-owned construction company suggested that prime contractors engaged in unfair bidding practices, such as calling at the last minute to get a bid, so that the firm can obtain a waiver of the city's minority contracting provisions.

"The city should adopt policies and procedures to assure that such unfair practices end and monitor and enforce them," the complaint states.

"It's about fairness," said Ruben Hopkins, chairman of the Wisconsin Black Chamber of Commerce. "We have to participate in economic opportunity."

The complaint asks the Justice Department to fully investigate the claims, ensure that the city "adopts changes to its contracting and procurement policies and procedures that eliminate racial and national origin disparities, and any other relief that it "deems just and proper."