Middlesex County in New Jersey is joining a long list of local administrations working to make the procurement and contracting process more equitable and fair and providing opportunities to minority-owned and small businesses.

Middlesex County's Board of County Commissioners has approved a resolution to set aside 20% of all the County's contracts for goods and services annually to minority-, women-, veteran-owned, and small businesses (M/W/V/SBEs).

This resolution is part of the County's commitment to incorporating diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging (DEIB) into the administration's business practices.

Under the Set-Aside Program, the County will make a good faith attempt to award contracts directly to Qualified Business Enterprises, defined by State law as Qualified Minority, Women, Veteran, and Small Business Enterprises, or to encourage primary contractors to give subcontracts to these small businesses.

This Program is part of the DEIB study undertaken by Apruzzese, McDermott, Mastro & Murphy, P.C. to evaluate the fairness of Middlesex County's practices, policies, and processes and design an enterprise-wide DEIB implementation strategy.

A disparity study will also be conducted by the end of 2024 to evaluate the economic viability of M/W/V/SBEs in the County and to ascertain how the Set-Aside Program may better serve the business community.

“As one of the most diverse counties in the nation, Middlesex County has long recognized the need to have our internal and external functions, policies, and programs reflect the diverse community in which we live,” explained County Commissioner Director Ronald G. Rios