The Palm Beach County Board of County Commissioners voted unanimously on Nov. 18 to advance a proposed Small Business Development ordinance to a public hearing on Dec. 2, approving preliminary reading and permission to advertise the measure.

The action followed a presentation and discussion of a county-commissioned disparity study. Axel Miranda, division director for the Office of Small Business Development, summarized the study’s findings, saying the report showed “some disparities,” with pockets of both overutilization and underutilization across different groups and sectors. Miranda said there are about 75,000 small businesses in the county and fewer than 1% (roughly the low 700s) are currently certified with the county, a figure he cited to explain the outreach challenge.

Miranda and other staff described a proposed ordinance that reduces administrative text in the ordinance and transfers operational details to a policy-and-procedures manual to allow greater agility. The proposal seeks to simplify certification, streamline the good-faith-effort waiver process, expand outreach, use technology for vendor portals and faster processing, and reduce duplication in advisory committee structure (staff recommended an 11-member advisory group rather than the current 15).

Vice Mayor Woodward and other commissioners pressed staff for more time to review the 45-page ordinance packet and asked for clearer strike-throughs showing changes. Staff said they would meet with commissioners individually before the public hearing and noted legal constraints from an emergency county ordinance that currently prevents race- or gender-based preferences until further legal developments.

Commissioner Bobby Powell moved to approve preliminary reading and permission to advertise; the motion passed 7-0. The ordinance will return to the board for a public hearing on Dec. 2 at 9:30 a.m., as advertised.