Mayor’s Office of Economic Development To Lead Small Business Enterprise Program; Utilization Reports Released

7/7/2020

The City of Tulsa announced today the Mayor’s Office of Economic Development (MOED) will take on leadership of the Small Business Enterprise (SBE) program as a part of efforts to enhance the City’s small business programming and economic development services.

The SBE program, which is a program designed for small businesses to interact with City employees and become contractors on various goods and services, will maintain its mission to get at least 10 percent of the City’s goods and services from small businesses.

“Every business, regardless of size, should have an equal chance to participate in the projects we’re taking on here in Tulsa,” Mayor G.T. Bynum said. “As COVID-19 impacts Tulsa’s economy, we want to make sure our small businesses feel supported and have a designated role to help us through this time.” 

Previously managed by the Mayor’s Office of Resilience and Equity (MORE), the SBE Program will now fall with MOED, who will be responsible for oversight, administration, and policy development. MORE will support the program’s transition and provide ongoing assistance with community outreach and education, ensuring the program continues to align with the goals of the Resilient Tulsa Strategy.

Utilization reports, which detail which businesses are involved in the program and where they are at on their projects, have also been publicly released at www.cityoftulsa.org/sbe. The findings in these reports show Tulsa’s small businesses are contributing to City contracts, the majority of which are meeting and exceeding their project goals and timelines.

“We are continually evaluating how we can ensure the City of Tulsa is meaningfully contributing to the growth of businesses in Tulsa, “said Kian Kamas, the City’s Chief of Economic Development. “Publishing this utilization data is the first of many planned efforts to enhance the SBE program, and our analysis of past and ongoing data will inform all of our efforts as we aim to grow small businesses in Tulsa.”

The SBE program is open to all Tulsa businesses with 25 employees or less, even sole proprietorships. Membership in the SBE program is free and open to small business that meet the qualifying standards.

Qualifying standards include the following:

• Be operational for at least one year prior to application
• Have 25 or fewer employees & annual sales volume (averaged over the previous three years) of less than $3 million or construction of less than $5 million
• Be a for-profit business, independently owned with a physical address in the Tulsa Metropolitan Statistical Area. Tulsa area office must have one or more employees conducting core business activities
• Have capacity to perform work independently or as a subcontractor relative to its field of operation, and where required, has a license or certificate issued in his or her name
• Be owned by U.S. citizens or by lawful, permanent residents of the United States

To apply for membership, small business owners can fill out the application, which is available to download at www.cityoftulsa.org/sbe, or in person at the City Clerk’s Office, 2nd floor of City Hall, 175 E. 2nd St.

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