Purchasing Office

Historically Underutilized Businesses

• HUB Specialized Listings
• Vendor Tracking System

Introduction

This is a quick reference guide to assist Historically Underutilized Businesses (HUB) vendors in doing business with Travis County and provide a brief overview of the Travis County HUB Program. 

In May 1994, the Travis County commissioners court unanimously passed a resolution creating the Historically Underutilized Business (HUB) Program within Travis County. The primary objective of the program is to insure that minority and woman-owned businesses receive a fair and equal opportunity to participate in the county's procurement process.

Video -  Travis County HUB Program: Ten Years of Progress

Policy

It is the policy of the Travis County Purchasing Office to ensure a good faith effort is made to assist certified HUB vendors and contractors in receiving contracts in accordance with the HUB Program policies and the Minority and Woman-Owned Business goals* adopted by the Travis County Commissioners Court.

The HUB Program policies and Minority/Woman-Owned Business goals shall be applicable to the eligible procurement dollars spent in the following areas:

• Purchase of supplies, materials, products, services, and equipment. 
• Maintenance and/or service of County assets and property. 
• Contracts for professional and non-professional services. 
• Contracts for commodities, equipment, or supplies/materials. 
• Contracts for repair/alteration of real property. 
• Contracts for the construction of real property. 
• Contracts for the repair/construction of roads, bridges, or other related structures/surfaces. 

Travis County’s HUB goals are as follows:

Construction

• Overall Minority Owned Business (MBE) Goal: 13.7%
  • Sub-goals:
  • 1.7% African-American
  • 9.7% Hispanic
  • 2.3% Native/Asian American
• Overall Woman-Owned (WBE) Goal: 13.8%

Commodities

• Overall MBE Goal: 3.5%
  • Sub-goals:
  • 0.3% African-American
  • 2.5% Hispanic
  • 0.7% Native/Asian American
• Overall WBE Goal: 6.2%

Professional Services

• Overall MBE Goal: 15.8%
  • Sub-goals:
  • 1.9% African-American
  • 9.0% Hispanic
  • 4.9% Native/Asian American
• Overall WBE Goal: 15.8%

Services

• Overall MBE Goal: 14.1%
  • Sub-goals:
  • 2.5% African-American
  • 9.9% Hispanic
  • 1.7% Native/Asian American
• Overall WBE Goal: 15.0%
   

Each buyer shall, to the maximum extent practical, ensure the HUB goals are met through the award of purchase orders and contracts, in each area defined above, to certified HUBs. This will be achieved through a systematic approach of soliciting quotes, bids, and proposals from certified HUBs as follows: 

Requisitions:

• Up to $2,499 - One HUB is selected from the county's "Automated Certified HUB Listing", to solicit a quote from. 
• $2,500 to 24,999 - Requires at least three written (informal) bids/quotes, which may be faxed, one of which must be from a certified HUB.
   

Competitive Bids & Proposals:

• Bid or Proposals for Commodities, Equipment Services (Professional and Non-professional), and Repairs or Maintenance - Requires that all certified HUBs registered with www.bidsync.com be informed of the county's intent to solicit bids/proposals.  
• Bids or Proposals for Construction - Requires that all certified HUBs registered with www.bidsync.com be informed of the county's intent to solicit bids/proposals. Also, all vendors/contractors will be responsible for making a good faith effort to ensure subcontracts are awarded to minority and woman-owned businesses.
   

Eligibility

To qualify, vendors/contractors must successfully complete the certification process with the State of Texas Building and Procurement Commission, The City of Austin, or Texas Unifed Certification Program. The vendor or contractor must also hold a current valid certification (title) from either of these entities.  Register as a vendor at BidSync. There is no charge to register or to respond to any solicitation posted by Travis County.

Travis County reserves the right to review the certification status of any vendor applying to do business with the county. This review will be accomplished to determine the validity and authenticity of the vendor's certification as a HUB. The Travis County HUB Coordinator will work in conjunction with the various certifying agencies to conduct random audits of those vendors representing themselves as certified HUBs. If it is discovered that a firm representing itself as a certified HUB does not meet the requirements of the certifying agency, the firm may be disqualified as a certified HUB with Travis County.

Outreach Activities

The key element in developing a successful outreach program is to first determine the needs of the targeted business community. This will be accomplished through dissemination of a needs survey. This survey will provide HUBs with an avenue to inform the Purchasing Office of programs they feel would be beneficial. 

Outreach activities will also help to educate the HUB community on the logistics of doing business with Travis County. The marketing and outreach programs will entail: 

• Conducting workshops and seminars on the HUB Program and how it can help the HUB Entrepreneur in being an active participant in the Travis County procurement process. 
• Identifying certifying agencies accepted by Travis County, and whom within those agencies the vendor should contact (name, phone numbers, etc.). 
• Providing overall assistance, within the limits of the Purchasing Act, to HUBs in various areas as required. 

Good Faith Effort Criteria

In the area of construction projects, including professional services associated with the projects, those contractors (Prime Contractors) that are awarded contracts with the County are required to make a "Good Faith Effort" to subcontract with HUBs.

The Prime Contractor will be required to comply with the following criteria:

1. Consistent with standard and prudent industry practices, divide the contract work into the smallest feasible portions to allow for maximum HUB Subcontractor participation.
2. Notify HUBs in writing, allowing sufficient time for effective participation, of work that the Prime Contractor plans to subcontract. The notification shall include, but not be limited to:
   • Adequate information concerning the project and intended subcontracting work (i.e. plans and specifications, scope of work).
   • Bonding and insurance requirements that the HUB subcontractor will be required to fulfill.
   • A point of contact (name, title, phone number, address, etc.) within the Prime Contractor's organization that can answer any questions a HUB may have concerning the project.
3. Provide written notice/explanations to the Travis County Purchasing Agent and/or HUB Coordinator if and when:
   • The Prime Contractor was unable to meet the required goal for HUB Subcontractor participation, and why the goal was not met.
4. Negotiate in good faith with interested HUBs, and not reject bids from HUBs that qualify as lowest, responsive and responsible bidders.
5. Communicate to the Purchasing Agent when no HUB participation is achieved and include the reasons why.
6. Prime contractors must obtain pre-approval from the Travis County Purchasing Agent and/or the HUB Coordinator of all changes involving Certified HUB Subcontractors. Modifications to the HUB Subcontractor Participation Plan are permitted only after award of the bid and solely with the prior written approval of the Purchasing Office.

For those prime contractors that experience difficulty in locating certified HUBs to fulfill their subcontracting goals, a list will be provided to the prime contractor by the Travis County HUB coordinator upon request. 

The Travis County Purchasing Office is committed to increasing contracting opportunities for HUB vendors and contractors. We are dedicated to ensuring HUBs receive a fair and equal chance to participate in the county's procurement process. If we can be of assistance, feel free to contact us by telephone or stop by and see us in person.

*City of Austin Minority and Woman-Owned Business Goals were adopted unanimously by the Travis County Commissioners Court in the July 15, 2003 Voting Session.

Last Modified:
Wednesday, December 15, 2010 12:12 PM