A. The procurement director shall develop and implement a procedure for the certification of bona fide SBEs in order to effectuate the purposes of the Pima County SBE program. This procedure shall provide that the procurement director may issue county certification to eligible SBEs with current certification from the small business administration, state and local governments, and entities that certify SBEs in accordance with an established SBE program. Criteria for certification shall include, but is not limited to, the following considerations:
1. Ownership: small business owner(s)shall be deemed to be owner(s) of all or a portion of a business enterprise if they:
a. Own, in his or her own name(s), at least fifty-one percent in the enterprise;
b. Acquired the interest in an arms-length transaction;
c. Acquired the interest with his or her own financial resources or has put his or her own financial resources at risk in the operation of the enterprise.
2. Control and management: a small business owner shall be deemed to manage and control daily business operations only if such management and control is real, substantial, and continuing, that is:
a. The small business owner shall possess the power to direct and cause the direction of the management and policies of the business enterprise and to make day-to-day as well as major decisions on matters of management, policy, and operations;
b. The business enterprise shall not be subject to any formal or informal restrictions which limit the customary discretion of the small business owners;
c. Management and control is demonstrated by a showing of at least one of the following factors:
1) The small business owners hold the professional license relied upon by the enterprise;
2) The small business owners have substantial experience in the trade or industry which would be necessary to the primary decision maker of the enterprise; or
3) The small business owners regularly make decisions, hold themselves out to the public, and sign important documents and financial instruments in a manner which is indicative of primary management and control of daily business operations.
3. In cases where the management of an SBE is contracted out to individuals other than the owner, those persons who have the ultimate power to hire and fire the managers can, for the purpose of this article, be considered as controlling the business.
4. All securities which constitute ownership or control of an entity for purposes of establishing it as an SBE must be held directly by a small business owner. No securities held in trust or by any guardian for a minor shall be considered held by a small business owner in determining the ownership or control of a corporation.
5. Ownership and control shall be measured as though not subject to the community property interest of a spouse.
B. The procurement department shall grant certification to an approved SBE for a period of one year or until the certification accepted under Section 20.32.040(A) expires, whichever time period is shorter.
1. Following initial certification, an SBE which desires to renew its certification shall, thirty days prior to each annual anniversary of the certification, submit a renewal application which shall update and affirm all requirements for recertification. Timely renewal, if approved, shall be effective on the date of the annual anniversary of the certification.
2. A certification shall terminate automatically and without notice upon the failure of the business enterprise to renew certification.
3. If an SBE is denied certification on the basis of information submitted, the enterprise can appeal the denial as described below, but cannot reapply for certification for a period of six months from the date of notice of denial.
C. The procurement department may decertify a business that it finds is no longer a bona fide SBE.
1. Grounds for decertification include, but are not limited to:
a. The enterprise has changed to the extent that it no longer meets initial certification requirements;
b. The enterprise fails to submit information requested by the procurement director or fails to cooperate with the investigation process.
c. There is a change in ownership such that the enterprise fails to qualify for certification in one or more categories.
2. If an SBE is decertified, the enterprise can appeal the denial as described below but cannot reapply for certification for a period of one year from the date of notice of decertification.
(Ord. 2011-15 § 1 (part), 2011: Ord. 2009-47 § 1 (part), 2009: Ord. 2000-24 § 3, 2000; Ord. 1997-44, 1997)