DATE: July 8, 2009
MEDIA CONTACT: Marcia Young/Vonetta Rachels Williams, Office of Equal Opportunity
PHONE: 954-357-6400
The Broward County Board of County Commissioners has approved the County Business Enterprise (CBE) Act of 2009, which replaces the Community Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (CDBE) Act of 2007. The new CBE Act establishes a cumulative goal of 25 percent participation by CBE certified firms in all County procurement contracts -- excluding contracts under the federal Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) and Broward County's Sheltered Market, or small business enterprise (SBE), program.
One major difference in the two programs is that the business categories established under the previous program have been dissolved in the new program. All firms seeking CBE certification must now meet the same maximum gross receipts (averaged over three years), regardless of their industry.
Eligibility criteria for certification as defined by the County Business Enterprise Act of 2009 are as follows:
- The firm must be independent
- The firm must have a continuing operating presence in Broward County
- Each owner must not have a personal net worth exceeding $750,000
- The firm must not have an excess of $5 million in average annual gross revenue calculated over the previous three (3) calendar years
Note: Maximum average gross revenue figures shall be indexed annually commencing October 1, 2009, using the Council for Community and Economic Research's ACCRA Cost of Living Index as applied to Broward County.
In an effort to ease the transition into the new program, firms currently certified by the Broward County Small Business Development Division under the CDBE program will automatically be certified under the new CBE program until the expiration date of their original CDBE certification. Certificates for the new CBE certification will not be issued to any current CDBE certified firms.
For more information on the County Business Enterprise program, call the Broward County Small Business Development Division at 954-357-6400 or visit www.broward.org/smallbusiness.
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