Travis County issues HUB participation report

TX News - Published Dec 15, 2023

Travis County has issued its HUB Utilization Annual Report for fiscal year 2023, which looks into the utilization of historically underutilized businesses (or HUBs) by the County. The report made findings of growth in utilization over the preceding five-year period.

The report showed that 19.08 percent of the $202,842,193 of the County expenditures during the 2023 fiscal year went to HUBs. This represents a slight decline in percentage utilization from 2022 and 2021, in which 19.61 percent and 21.82 percent (respectively) of County expenditures went to HUBs, albeit a decline in which the absolute dollar amount going to HUBs climbed significantly (over $38 million in 2023, versus roughly $35 million in 2021 and $32 million in 2022).

It was noted, despite this fluctuation in the numbers, that HUB utilization has made some strides since 2018, with a 5.9 percent utilization in the category of commodities specifically during that year, which has now climbed to 20.6 percent in 2023. This still represents a shortfall relative to the goal of 27.4 percent for HUB participation in the category of commodities. The report comes after a disparity study into the County's HUB contracting was released.

"When we have taxpayers who are business owners also and they have the capacity to do business with the County, they should have the opportunity to do so as well," said Precinct 1 Commissioner Jeff Travillion in part, during a session of the Commissioners Court.

Read the transcript of the relevant session of the Commissioners Court at https://traviscotx.portal.civicclerk.com/event/3096/files/10736.

Find the HUB Utilization Annual Report at https://traviscotx.portal.civicclerk.com/event/3096/files/31551.