BROWARD COUNTY MINORITY CERTIFICATION 

  What is a Small Business? 
 
Business Opportunity Act of 2004 -- pdf

In an effort to spur economic development and stimulate small business growth, The Broward County Board of County Commissioners has directed that projects costing less than $250,000 be identified as sheltered market/reserved contracts for certified small businesses.

Through this new race and gender neutral program, all certified small business enterprise (SBE) firms will receive first consideration for contracts under $250,000. The goal is to increase the number of small businesses acting as prime contractors or consultants for the County.

The program is open to all SBEs meeting the following program requirements: 

• For professional consultants, annual gross sales averaged over the previous three years should not exceed $500,000
• For firms in contractual services and commodities, annual gross sales averaged over the previous three year period should not exceed $1 million
• For firms in construction, annual gross sales averaged over the previous three years shall not exceed $3 million 
• Each business must be independently owned and operated with 25 or fewer permanent full-time employees
• The vendor must have a Broward Business Tax Receipt (previously titled Occupational License) and be located in and be doing business in Broward County.
• The business must be established for a period of one year prior to submitting its application, and must serve a commercially useful function.

"Our goal is to encourage local small businesses to do business with Broward County," Mayor Ilene Lieberman said. "We want to promote small business growth and ensure that small businesses receive an adequate share of Broward County Government's contracts."

For more information or to apply in person, qualified small business owners should call the County's Small Business Development Division at 954-357-6400 for an appointment. Business owners should bring the completed application and supporting documents to the office for immediate certification.

DEFINITION: Small Business Enterprise (SBE) Certification - Broward County Only

"Small Business Enterprise" or "SBE" is a business that has an occupational license, is located in, and doing business in Broward County. For professional consultants, annual gross sales averaged over the previous three years shall not exceed $500,000; for firms in contractual services and commodities, annual gross sales averaged over the previous three year period shall not exceed $1,000,000; for firms in construction, annual gross sales averaged over the previous three years shall not exceed $3,000,000. Each business must be an independently owned and operated business which employs twenty-five (25) or fewer permanent full time employees. The business must be established for a period of one year prior to submitting its application, and must serve a commercially useful function.

Community 
Disadvantaged 
Business Enterprise 
(CDBE)

Program Overview

The Community Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (CDBE) program is the latest initiative of the Broward County Board of County Commissioners to assist Broward County's local small business community in achieving greater opportunity in County procurement. The intent is to increase the participation by small businesses in County projects as both prime contractors and subcontractors. The program is like the former minority and women-owned business program in that firms have access to County subcontracting under a "percentage goals" system. It is different in that a firm need only meet size (gross receipts) and owner net worth standards, not race or gender requirements.

Program eligibility requirements:

• Each owner must have a personal net worth not exceeding $827,250.00;
• Has an office in Broward County, meaning that it has a current business tax receipt issue by Broward County, a physical business address (an office where the firm conducts business, not a post office box) located within the geographical limits of the county in an area zoned for the conduct of such business, and has sufficient full-time employees in Broward County to perform the contracted work;
• Is an independent firm; and
• The applicant may not exceed the average annual maximum gross receipts standard, calculated over the previous three (3) years, for the business category in which the firm does most of its work, as follows:>

Business Category	Maximum Gross Receipts Per Year
Construction	$9 million per year
Architecture & Engineering	$5 million per year
Professional Services	$4 million per year
Business Services	$4 million per year
Commodities	$5 million per year

Related program information:

• The County's MWBE Program has been suspended, in response to the need to complete a new Disparity Study to ensure that the County's minority and women-owned business program was operating at an optimal level, to ensure fairness to all Broward County businesses.
• Upon completion of the Disparity Study, which is anticipated to take approximately 1 to 1 ½ years to complete, the County Commission will respond to the consultant's recommendations for any identified disparity, to ensure a level playing field for all firms, regardless of race or gender background.