How Richland penny program is opening doors for minority contractors

A key element of the Richland County transportation penny tax program that voters approved in 2012 was the promise by officials that local, small and minority-owned businesses would get to compete for contracts.

That indeed has happened and is well worth celebrating. As a long-time contractor in Richland County, I can tell you this has been a long time coming.

There was a time when getting county contracts was extremely difficult for smaller companies. For decades, companies with female and black owners were left on the outside looking in as larger, white-owned businesses raked in millions in local tax dollars for public work.

Under the penny program, the county is making strides.

My company, Orion Construction, is working on its third contract under the penny program. We pour concrete, and we have helped build the pedestrian bridge at Riverbanks Zoo and sidewalks along Wiley Street in Columbia. We are currently working on sidewalks along Franklin and Jefferson streets.

Freeman Bell is president and owner of Premier Constructors, which specializes in removing above-ground utilities and placing them underground. Few companies do such work, which is a plus, Mr. Bell said. The fact that the penny tax recognizes small local business enterprises “gives us a bit of an edge with what we do.”

His company’s work has included installing traffic signals and decorative lighting along Greene Street and installing traffic signals and placing overhead utility lines underground on North Main.

Such consistent work helps grow businesses, he said. “As your workload increases that means you’ve got to hire more people, which creates more jobs.”

Other businesses with black and female owners that have landed contracts have their own stories to tell.

Although more avenues need to be provided for small and minority-owned businesses, the penny program gives the smaller companies a realistic chance to compete.

A lot of money is on the table: The additional penny on the dollar that tax voters approved will allow the county to spend a little more than $1 billion over 20 years to support the bus system, construct and pave roads and build other projects.

Giving local and small businesses an opportunity to land contracts isn’t a giveaway. On the contrary, it gives capable smaller businesses a fair chance.

Considering the large number of taxpaying black residents in Richland County, it was patently unfair that companies owned and operated by black citizens were left out while others built wealth through public contracts. It’s only right that the county give all local businesses an equal opportunity.

While some minority-owned businesses have had good experiences, there is a need for more. Richland County could do a better job of breaking projects into smaller pieces to give smaller contractors with limited capital or capacity a better chance to compete. More training is needed on bonding and other issues. Frankly, Richland County could consider such options as co-signing bonds, since the county knows the contractor will get paid and would be able to repay a loan.

Because of their size, there’s a limit to which projects minority contractors can bid on, which means they are all attempting to bite off of the same small slice of the larger pie. Minority contractors rarely are able to compete for road construction and paving jobs, which constitute the bulk of the work under the program.

It would be good to have opportunities to partner and learn this work so they can become able to participate in those more lucrative areas.

Still, the penny program is living up to the promise of opening the door of opportunity for small and black- and minority-owned businesses.

But the door of opportunity is just cracked; more can be done to open it wider.

This story was originally published September 10, 2017 at 6:00 PM with the headline "How Richland penny program is opening doors for minority contractors."