Tue, May 19, 2026·Alameda County, California·Board of Supervisors

Procurement and Contracting Committee Meeting – May 18, 2026

Discussion Breakdown

Procurement and Contracting65%
Workforce Development32%
Procedural3%

Summary

Procurement and Contracting Committee Meeting – May 18, 2026

The committee received two quarterly reports: the Auditor-Controller’s procurement payment report and the Public Works Agency’s workforce and business outreach report. Both presentations detailed current data, multi‑year trends, and ongoing outreach efforts. Supervisors Marquez and Miley raised questions about demographic representation, local hiring levels, and the need for clearer benchmarks.

Auditor-Controller Quarterly Report (Melissa Wilk)

  • Presented payments to contractors for the period July 1, 2009, through March 31, 2026.
  • For payments up to $500,000: total $2.53 billion; 58% ($1.48B) to local contractors; 48% ($1.23B) to minority, women, and small local emerging businesses (MWBE/SLEB).
  • For all payments (including over $500,000): total $5.72 billion; over 50% ($3B) to local contractors; 35% ($2B) to MWBE/SLEB contractors.
  • By category (MWBE/SLEB): construction $334M (28% of construction payments), architecture/engineering $56.8M (≈50%), professional services $691M (32%), goods and services $932.7M (41.3%).
  • The Auditor-Controller is developing a streamlined report covering the prior five years, with quarterly and category breakdowns, per the Board of Supervisors’ recommendation. The new format will begin with the first quarter of the next fiscal year.

Public Works Agency Quarterly Report (Daniel Waldes)

  • Workforce Report (Sept 1, 2025 – Apr 30, 2026): 79,500 construction labor hours; 33% local, 54% minority, 10.9% apprenticeship, <1% women.
  • Ethnic breakdown: Hispanic/Latino 49.6%, “Other” (no identity provided) 39%, Caucasian 7%, Asian 2%, African American 1.4%.
  • Five‑year trend: All categories (local, minority, apprenticeship, women) are essentially flat except the “Other” category, which rose from 10% (2021) to 49% (2024) and then leveled off. The cause is unknown; possible data error.
  • Business Outreach: 26 transportation/flood control projects advertised; 27% of winning bids went to Alameda County‑based prime contractors; 31% of subcontractors were local.
  • Outreach activities included the 11th Construction Contractor Academy (34 participants) and two “Bob Breakfasts” featuring multiple agencies (Port of Oakland, BART, EBMUD, ACTC, Housing Authority, cities of Oakland and San Leandro). The 12th Academy is scheduled for July 2026.

Discussion Items

  • Goals and benchmarks: Supervisor Marquez asked whether the reports reflect legal requirements or specific targets. Staff noted that some apprenticeship ratios are specified in contracts, but formal project‑specific goals (e.g., under the Project Stabilization and Community Benefits Agreement) are reported separately by the General Services Agency (GSA).
  • Disparities in workforce demographics: Both supervisors expressed concern over the low and flat representation of African American and Asian workers. Chair Miley mentioned the RAMP program and the National Association of Minority Contractors (NAMAC) as potential resources to explore.
  • Local hiring: The 27% of winning bids going to local prime contractors was discussed. Staff cited housing affordability and the nature of horizontal construction (more material‑intensive) as factors limiting local labor participation.
  • “Other” ethnic category anomaly: The sudden increase in workers declining to identify their ethnicity from 2021 to 2024 will be investigated.
  • Standard Service Agreement: Chair Miley requested a future informational presentation on the county’s Standard Service Agreement, which Supervisor Marquez agreed to coordinate with GSA.

Key Outcomes

  • The Auditor-Controller will continue to produce streamlined quarterly reports beginning July 2026; historical data will remain available.
  • Public Works will add dollar values for each project to future workforce/business outreach reports.
  • Staff will look into the rise of the “Other” ethnic category and explore why workforce demographics remain static, particularly for African American and Asian populations.
  • The committee will schedule a discussion on the Standard Service Agreement, pending a preliminary meeting between Supervisor Marquez’s team and GSA.
  • No public comments were received on any agenda or non‑agenda items.

Meeting Transcript

Okay, so good afternoon, everyone. It's uh Monday, May the 18th. I'd like to call the procurement and contracting committee to order. Clerk roll. Supervisor Marquez. Present. Supervisor Miley. Present. We have a quorum. All right. Any instructions we need to provide? For all participants, please state your name for the record prior to your presentation. If you wish to speak on an item not on the agenda, please wait until Chair Miley calls for public input on non-agenda items only matters within the committee's jurisdiction may be addressed. To notify the clerk you wish to speak for in-person participants, please fill out a speaker card and hand it to the clerk. The speaker cards are at the front of the room, and I am the clerk. For online participants, please use the raise hand function when we are on an item you wish to comment on. For dialed in participants, please dial star nine to use the raise hand function. Dialing it again allows you to lower your hand. The clerk will call your name when it is time for public comment. If you are in person, please come to the podium to speak. If you're online or dialed in, the clerk will call your name and allow you to unmute. That concludes the clerk instructions for public comment. Thank you. All right. Thanks. Okay. So we have a short agenda this afternoon. Two items. First item is the quarterly report from the auditor controller. Good afternoon. All right. My name is Melissa Wilk. I'm the Alameda County Auditor Controller, Clerk Recorder, and I'm here to present the updated progress report on county procurement. The information presented today is based on payments made to contractors for the period covering July 1, 2009 through March 31st, 2026. Page A1 of this report includes total payments made up to $500,000. The total amount for that period was $2.53 billion. $1.48 billion was paid to local contractors, which equals about 58% of total dollars up to $500,000. $1.23 billion was paid to minority women business enterprises and small local emerging business contractors, which equals 48% of total dollars up to $500,000. Payments made to the MWBE SLEB contractors by category include construction of 125.5 million, architecture and engineering, 38.3 million, professional services, 499.3 million, and goods and services, 570 million. Also included in the report are all payments to contractors, including amounts over 500,000. This data is presented in summary on page A2. And again, it's for the period July 1, 2009 through the most recent quarter, ending March 31st, 2026. And total payments included are included in the report are $5.72 billion. $3 billion were paid to local contractors, which is over 50% of total dollars. 2 billion was paid to minority women business enterprises and small local emerging business contractors, which equals 35% of total dollars paid to contractors. And then by category, the payments to our MWBE SLEB contractors include construction of $334 million, which is $28% of all payments made for construction dollars, architecture and engineering, $56.8 million, which is almost 50%. Professional services, $691 million, which is 32%. And goods and services, 932.7 million, which is 41.3% of goods and services for that period of time. Again, all of the reports, including this one, are um included on our website. And we do plan based on the Board of Supervisors recommendation to bring back the more streamlined uh report with uh the July 1st um quarterly, um which I'm sorry, which will cover July 1 through September.