The Santa Barbara Metropolitan Transit District (MTD) will host a virtual workshop for local business owners to learn more about becoming a certified disadvantaged business enterprise (DBE), and about future contracting opportunities with MTD. The event will be noon-12:45 p.m. Monday, July 16 via Zoom. The registration link is here.

DBEs are defined as small businesses with minority or woman ownership of at least 51%. MTD has an average of $6 million in contracting opportunities each year, and actively seeks certified DBE firms to bid on those contracts.

MTD also welcomes comments on the agency’s proposed DBE goal for fiscal years 2022-24. The MTD has developed the proposed goal in accordance with Title 49 of the Code of Federal Regulations, Part 26. The goal is established to help ensure DBEs have an equal opportunity to participate in contracts partially or fully funded by the Federal Transit Administration of the U.S. Department of Transportation.

The proposed DBE triennial overall goal is 2.32%, to be achieved through race-neutral measures (i.e., with no contract goals). The proposed DBE goal and methodology is available on the MTD website. The overall goal is for the three-year period that runs Oct. 1, 2021-Sept. 30, 2024.

Questions or comments on the goal or methodology may be submitted through MTD’s website https://sbmtd.gov/about/about-mtd/ or by emailing Steve Maas at smaas@sbmtd.gov.