Denver City Auditor’s Office Questions Small Business Program

Date: May 22, 2015

Denver Airport Program Said To Have Numerous Implementation Problems

 

A new report from Denver’s city auditor urges the Denver International Airport and the city to do more to seek small businesses for its Airport Concessions Disadvantaged Business Enterprise program. The Federal program, developed to help women and minority-owned businesses get involved in airport spaces, has seen numerous problems with implementation in Denver, the report found. For instance, as the Denver Post notes, a loan program designed to fund ACDBE has been dormant for almost two years. The report made a total of 15 recommendations to address issues in the program’s implementation. These included inaccurate calculations for applicants’ personal net wealth, undefined policies for how sites would be visited, and addressing the advantage larger ACDBE-certified firms would have over smaller ones in the application process.

The auditor’s office’s latest report comes after it last year found that the city’s concessions contracts have been controlled by three operators who receive more than half of food and beverage revenues. A separate concern, raised by auditor Dennis Gallagher, was an allegation that the airport rigged the terms of its contract bids so that Hudson Group could win a $53 million bid allowing it to operate three big duty-free stores at the airport.

What Happens Next

Airport officials said they expect loans to begin being distributed by September. Other findings from the auditor’s office are expected to be publicly released later in the year. However, it’s unclear what steps might occur after that. Auditor director of government and community affairs Clay Vigoda said, “I think that when you look at all the different elements (of DIA’s concession contracts), there’s a certain status quo feel to all of these programs.”

What This Means For Small Businesses

Small businesses are at a competitive disadvantage when attempting to gain entry to new market spaces, including airport retail. The City of Denver and Denver International Airport appear to be conducting a program designed to help the small business community in ways that instead could be detrimental to small business owners.

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