Praise for HACM exemplary hiring and contract gains for low-income residents

For the past several years, in many parts of Milwaukee, one cannot escape the sight of a new development or reconstruction occurring. While this is certainly great for overall economic development, we should be ever vigilant that lower-income residents also have opportunities to benefit from this activity.

This issue was highlighted years back when I first began working for City government in a non-elected position in 2013. I joined Mayor Barrett and representatives from the Housing Authority of the City of Milwaukee (HACM) as Milwaukee Innercity Congregations Allied for Hope (MICAH) conveyed that the City was not doing enough to ensure people who lived in the affected communities were able to benefit from the economics of redevelopment.

HACM took action in working by working with federal Housing and Urban Development (HUD) in a four-year Voluntary Compliance Agreement (VCA) for the Section 3 program that provides job and contracting opportunities to public housing and other low-income residents.

On Monday, I joined with Mayor Barrett, HUD, and MICAH to announce that not only had HACM met the hiring goals that it volunteered to meet but, it exceeded them! Please note the attached figures and what is cited in a press release from the city agency.

Through HACM’s Section 3 contracting program, HACM awarded 33.1% ($15,054,683) of construction contracts ($45,348,201 total) to Section 3 businesses between October 2013 and September 2018, more than tripling the 10% Section 3 goal. HACM also awarded 30.1% ($6,662,602.64) of non-construction contracts ($22,098,754.64 total) to Section 3 businesses, exceeding the 3.0% goal by 10 times.

This outstanding work has the federal government recognizing HACM as a national leader in developing innovative processes to exceed Section 3 results. While this particular program is being closed out, it will continue to be an example of what can be done with the correct approach. And I look forward to continuing to work with City administration, my fellow Council Members and community organizations to ensure all members of the community can be engaged as a potential workforce.

NOTE: This press release was submitted to Urban Milwaukee and was not written by an Urban Milwaukee writer. While it is believed to be reliable, Urban Milwaukee does not guarantee its accuracy or completeness.