In September, Tampa and Hillsborough County both suspended parts of decades-old programs intended to support women and minority-owned businesses.<\/p>\n
Business owners were \u201ctotally shocked,\u201d said Daryl Hych, chairperson of the Hillsborough County Black Chamber of Commerce.<\/p>\n
The changes came as federal and state leaders crack down on diversity, equity and inclusionefforts. In January, President Donald Trump issued a spate ofexecutive orders targeting programs that promote diversity, including an order<\/a> that threatened to withhold federal funding from local governments that did not terminate such policies and programs.And this summer, Gov. Ron DeSantis\u2019 Department of Governmental Efficiency<\/a> audited cities and counties across Florida in search of \u201cwaste, fraud and abuse\u201d with a focus on<\/a> \u201cDEI-related spending inconsistent with state law.\u201d<\/p>\n Local leaders said the changes were necessary to preserve federal funding. But some business owners said the moves showed a lack of support for historically disadvantaged groups.<\/p>\n \u201cThis will have a major impact,\u201d Hych said.<\/p>\n In August, a city attorney sent a memo to Tampa\u2019s leaders.<\/p>\n \u201cThe City, to receive federal funds, must now certify that it does not operate any programs that discriminate based on race or gender or otherwise violate federal anti-discrimination laws,\u201d attorney Andrea Zelman wrote.<\/p>\n Tampa\u2019s Women & Minority Business Enterprise may run afoul of federal orders, she said.<\/p>\n The program was established to help women and minority-owned businesses secure government contracts. The city could award extra points to certified businesses in the bidding process. It could also set annual goals for women and minority-owned business participation in city projects, among other benefits<\/a>. Parts of the program were suspended Sept. 5.<\/p>\n Zelman did not specify the amount of federal funding at stake. But according to city websites, Tampa has gotten millions of dollars in federal grants in recent years, supporting disaster recovery, transit, housing and other projects.<\/p>\n Though the city\u2019s program was \u201cadopted and enforced in good faith compliance with both state and federal laws,\u201d Zelman wrote, its suspension was \u201cin the best interest of the City.\u201d<\/p>\n In mid-September, Hillsborough County commissioners voted to suspend a similar program, citing upward of $180 million in annual grant funding from federal agencies. Commissioner Harry Cohen said reimbursements from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, among other funding, would have been at risk.<\/p>\n \u201cI want to make sure that our citizens get everything they deserve from the federal government, and that the money doesn\u2019t go elsewhere when I know the need here is so great,\u201d Cohen told the Tampa Bay Times. \u201cWe have to be prudent about the way that we make decisions in this environment.\u201d<\/p>\n Business owners and local leaders across the region pointed fingers at the federal government.<\/p>\n \u201cNobody in city government is happy about this,\u201d said Tampa City Council member Luis Viera, who also voiced frustration about the recent suspension of the city\u2019s Racial Reconciliation Committee<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is based on a federal government that is pouring gasoline on the fire of our historic racial and cultural divisions and making people believe that efforts to talk about race, to talk about discrimination, are in and of themselves discriminatory,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Santos Morales, chief operating officer of the nonprofit Enterprising Latinas, said local governments \u201chave no choice\u201d but to follow federal orders because \u201ceveryone is afraid.\u201d<\/p>\n He said the business programs gave historically disadvantaged groups greater access to contracting opportunities, but \u201cthat didn\u2019t mean anybody else was excluded.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cA huge percentage of those dollars still went to nonminority, nonwomen-owned businesses,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Some said the city and county should do more to support affected businesses in the wake of the changes.<\/p>\n