Disadvantaged Business Enterprises

Disadvantaged Business Enterprise, or DBE, refers to the Federal Disadvantaged Business Enterprise Program. This is a Federal program for increasing the participation of women and minority owned businesses in the award of federally assisted contracts. The Met Council’s Office of Equal Opportunity is responsible for monitoring the SWLRT Contracts with a DBE goal for compliance with the DBE program.

The Met Council recognizes that economic prosperity is essential to equity in our region. The spirit of this program is to create a level playing field for disadvantaged small businesses to participate in the Councils contracting opportunities. The DBE program provides the groundwork for addressing disparities and is critical to achieving the Thrive MSP 2040 outcomes.

DBE goals for the METRO Green Line Extension LRT project

• 16% for civil construction
• 12% for systems construction

The DBE goals are based on:

• The type of services needed on the contract
• The availability of registered businesses in the region able to perform the services
• The availability of MN certified DBE businesses that can perform the services
• The DBE achievement on past contracts that are similar

We take these goals seriously. Over the course of the project, we have undertaken numerous efforts to achieve the DBE goals:

• Hosted a DBE kickoff event showcasing a 3-year projection of future projects and how to do business with the Met Council
• Set a 12% DBE goal for the systems contract
• Hosted a systems contract DBE meet-and-greet
• Hosted a table at the Small and Disadvantaged Business Opportunity Council Procurement Fair
• Established the Green Line Extension DBE and Workforce Advisory Committee
• Monitored active contracts with DBE goals
• Conducted DBE site visits with DBEs for the civil contract
• Reviewed and closed the rail support facility demolition contract

The METRO Green Line Extension LRT prime contractors’ roles will be to follow through with their commitments toward the DBE goals. They are responsible for putting forth good faith efforts into engaging and including DBEs to achieve the DBE goal.