The Greater Los Angeles African American Chamber of Commerce has released a report advocating reforms to the city's contract bidding procedures. The report says that the reforms will help direct more of the $1.1 billion that the city spends every year on contracts to those owned by minorities and service-disabled veterans. The report says that city should give businesses owned by minorities and women 35% of the funds, with 8% going to firms owned by service-disabled veterans. Many contractors say that the problem is not with the city's system, but with the businesses themselves, who they say are not able to adequately offer the services needed. Without explicitly endorsing the report, the Mayor said that a larger pool of bidders was better and would save the city money in the long term.
See "Minorities and women seek bigger share of L.A. city contracts", Cyndia Zwahlen, Los Angeles Times, October 31, 2010