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Small businesses, especially those owned by women and minorities, may become certified to work on projects funded by the US Department of Transportation through the Disadvantaged Business Enterprise program.
The program has recently gone through a federally mandated certification change that will help disadvantaged businesses compete on a more level playing field.
"The new mandate requires that there be one database and one application process for disadvantaged businesses to go through instead of having to certify with each transportation agency," said Raymond Christy,
DBE liaison Officer for the Utah Transit Authority.
Recently, UTA teamed up with the Utah Department of Transportation and the Salt Lake International Airport to make the certification process easier. Combining the agencies' databases created the first ever, Utah Unified Certification Program.
In the past, women and minority business owners had to certify with each of the three separate agencies, which became an involved and tedious process that took a considerable amount of resources to complete - resources that are often in short supply at small businesses.
"The process is no longer as cumbersome and bureaucratic," said Justin Jones, spokesman for UTA. "Now a company only has to certify with one of the three agencies."
Once certified, the company's name goes into a central database that can be accessed by transportation agencies throughout the state. Once approved, the certification will be valid for all agencies.
"I think it's a good opportunity to have a database that people in the state can access," Christy said. "It provides opportunity and you need opportunity to grow your business."
Currently, the new database has...