Newport News Contracts Leave Out Diverse Businesses | Virginia Beach News

Newport News just released a damning report revealing deep inequities in how city contracts are awarded — minority, women, and veteran-owned businesses are being systematically left out despite their qualifications and readiness to compete. Over $800 million in contracts over five years showed minority-owned firms available for 15% of work but receiving just 1.8%, Black-owned businesses snagged a mere 1%, women-owned firms got 3.4% of available work, and service-disabled veterans received a shocking 0.3% of the opportunities they were eligible for. The city’s reliance on a handful of contractors is squeezing out smaller, diverse firms — many of which operate on modest budgets under $1.5 million and can only realistically bid on contracts up to $1 million. To fix this, the report calls for expanding eligible bidders, encouraging subcontracting, setting annual diversity targets, and streamlining the bidding process. Mayor Phillip Jones sees this as a chance to right past wrongs and create a fairer local economy. City Council is poised to vote on a plan that includes forming a work group, adopting new policies, and launching a business advisory panel — signaling a real push toward equitable contracting moving forward. Listen in comfort:Get a discount on a Soli Pillow: http://solipillow.com/discount/dnn. Advertise on DNN:[email protected] This is an automated, high-level news summary based on public reporting.Report issues to [email protected]. View sources & latest updates:https://sources.thednn.ai/8f8762f35356a598