TAMARAC, Fla. – The demographics of the City of Tamarac has changed dramatically over the last 10 years with both the African American and Hispanic population nearly doubling.  Vice Mayor Gelin wants to ensure a place for all residents old and new.  He also wants to ensure fair and equitable purchasing practices by the city.  On Wednesday, February 23rd, Vice Mayor Mike Gelin, proposed a disparity study to determine if inequities exist in public procurement and contracting that adversely affect disadvantaged businesses, minorities and/or women owned businesses. Based on an internal study requested by the Vice Mayor, the City of Tamarac spends between $28-$33 million annually with all contractors.  Of that total, .54% was spent with Black owned businesses in 2020 and 2% in 2021.  The numbers declined for Hispanic owned businesses going from 6% in 2020 to under 5% in 2021.  For woman owned businesses the numbers declined as well, going from 9.3% in 2020 to 5.6% in 2021. 

Based on this data and discussions with minority suppliers, Vice Mayor Gelin proposed a disparity study to identify existing disparities, remove barriers to entry for minority and woman owned businesses, in order to foster and encourage competition thereby lowering tax dollars spent. 

Vice Mayor Gelin cited studies from leading global companies, such as Citibank and McKinsey, demonstrating that the entire economy benefits when black businesses and other minority businesses thrive.  According to Citibank, “If racial wealth gaps were closed today, $5 trillion could potentially be added to the US GDP over the next 5 years. 

Vice Mayor Gelin was disappointed that Mayor Michelle Gomez, Commissioner Debra Placko, and Commissioner Elvin Villalobos voted against a disparity study, which would have been the first of many steps to improve the lives of minority business owners and the overall economy.  The motion failed 2-3 with the only two black elected officials voting in favor of the study with

Commissioner Marlon Bolton joining Vice Mayor Gelin.  Cities in Florida that have conducted disparity studies include the City of Miramar, Fort Lauderdale, Tampa, Gainesville, Jacksonville, Pensacola, Tallahassee, and other agencies including the School Board of Broward County, Miami Dade Public School, and Palm Beach County.

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