Disadvantaged Business

Disadvantaged Businesses Offered One-Stop Certification Statewide Disadvantaged Businesses Offered One-Stop Certification Statewide February 07 , 2005 by Editor An Intergovernmental Agreement for Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) certification between the cities of Phoenix and Tucson, and the Arizona Department of Transportation has been signed. The agreement enables all certifying agencies in Arizona to offer a one-stop program for firms applying for DBE certification through the Arizona Unified Certification Program (AZUCP). The DBE program is intended to remedy past and current discrimination against socially and economically disadvantaged business owners. It fosters equal opportunity in all Department of Transportation-assisted contracts that include highway, transit and airport programs. "Since 1995, the cities of Phoenix and Tucson, and the Arizona Department of Transportation have participated in a limited reciprocity agreement that allowed applicants to complete an application with any one of the partners and request the file be sent to other participating jurisdictions. These jurisdictions made independent decisions on certification eligibility," said Carole Coles Henry, director, city of Phoenix Equal Opportunity. "Under the new arrangement, the AZUCP partners have adopted a uniform DEB certification process that allows small business owners to apply for certification with one agency and become certified statewide. DBE certification is open to qualifying business owners who own at least 51 percent of the firm and belong to one of the following groups: African-American, Hispanic, Asian-American, Native-American and Caucasian females. To become a certified DBE, businesses must be operational, owned by a citizen or legal resident of the United States, and be a small business as defined by the U.S. Department of Transportation. There are more than 600 businesses currently DBE certified by the city and approximately 1,000 statewide. For information about the Arizona Disadvantaged Business Enterprise Program, visit www.azdbe.org. The site also includes an online disadvantaged business enterprise directory and certification application. Chicken Recipes Chicken Recipes Chicken Recipes Mailing List World Famous Chicken Recipes Chicken Recipes Famous Quotes Phoenix Arizona Chicken Recipes Go Daddy Ad Super Bowl Ad Day - Godaddy Ad