Title
Approving the execution of the CERT Joint Powers Agreement.
Body
WHEREAS, The CERT Program is a Collaborative body comprised of the Hennepin County, Ramsey County, and the City of Saint Paul Governments; and
WHEREAS, The CERT Program is a small business certification program that currently certifies small business enterprises (SBEs), including minority-owned business enterprises (MBEs) and woman-owned business enterprises (WBEs) that qualify as SBEs; and
WHEREAS, The City of Saint Paul is the Lead Agency for the CERT Program; and
WHEREAS, The City of Minneapolis wants to join the CERT Program as a formal Collaborative member; and
WHEREAS, Each member of the Collaborative operates its own Business Assistance Program serving small business enterprises (“SBEs”), including, but not limited to, small minority-owned businesses (“MBEs”), and/or small women-owned businesses (“WBEs”); and
WHEREAS, Each member of the Collaborative may want to utilize the CERT program to serve disadvantaged businesses such as Veteran-Owned Businesses, businesses owned by persons with disabilities, or other small businesses that experience barriers to participation in the local marketplace; and
WHEREAS, This Joint Powers Agreement will allow the CERT Board to update its small business programming to include service to other disadvantaged business enterprises; and
WHEREAS, The Founding Members of the Collaborative have jointly operated a central certification program as a component of their Business Assistance Programs since November 1998; and
WHEREAS, The CERT Joint Powers Agreement has automatically renewed for a twelve-month term on an annual basis since 2011; and
WHEREAS, The Collaborative wants to enter into this new agreement through December 31, 2020, after which the agreement will renew automatically for twelve-month terms on January 1, of every year; and
WHEREAS, The Collaborative would like to end the existing Joint Powers Agreement and enact a ...
Click here for full text