City of Boynton Beach
Agenda Item Request Form

Staff recommends approval of Proposed Ordinance 26-030 at first reading.

Generations of men and women have answered the call to serve in the Armed Forces of the United States. They have left their families, homes, and careers to defend our freedoms, often at great personal cost. Many come home carrying the visible and invisible wounds of their service. All of them come home with the discipline, leadership, integrity, and mission focus that military service builds.

Those veterans are our neighbors. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, 3,315 veterans live in the City of Boynton Beach, and 63,752 veterans live in Palm Beach County (American Community Survey, 2020–2024). Statewide, the FDVA reports about 1.38 million veterans in Florida, the second-largest veteran population in the nation, behind only Texas. The FDVA also reports that more than 500,000 Florida veterans have a service-connected disability, and more than 400,000 served during the Vietnam era.

When veterans return to civilian life, many put the skills they learned in uniform to work by starting their own businesses. Veteran-owned businesses hire other veterans, build up local economies, and bring the same commitment to their customers that they brought to their country. Yet veterans who start businesses face real obstacles. Years spent serving the nation are years not spent building business networks, developing bonding capacity, building credit history, or gaining familiarity with public procurement. A preference program helps level that playing field. It does not lower the standards a vendor must meet.

The State recognized this by passing the Florida Veteran Business Enterprise Opportunity Act (s. 295.187, F.S.). The Act sets up a statewide certification for Veteran Business Enterprises (VBEs), administered by the Department of Management Services' Office of Supplier Diversity. It also expressly encourages cities and counties to give certified VBEs consideration in their own procurement. The City has no such program today. This ordinance answers the Legislature's invitation and turns the City's gratitude toward veterans into concrete economic opportunity.

The ordinance is built to honor that service while protecting taxpayers and keeping the City's procurement process fair:

• The City never pays more. In sealed bids, a certified VBE within 10% of the lowest bid has the opportunity to match it. The City still pays the lowest price.
• Quality still matters. In RFPs, RFQs, and other best-value solicitations, certified VBEs receive 5 evaluation points (or 5% of total points). VBE status is one factor alongside qualifications, experience, and price.
• Ties go to veterans. When a certified VBE and a non-VBE submit equal bids or proposals, the award goes to the VBE.
• Only verified veterans benefit. Eligibility requires current State certification, submitted with the bid, and confirmed against State records. Vendors who misrepresent their status face rejection, contract termination, and debarment.
• It works alongside existing programs. The VBE preference combines with the City's other preference programs, such as the Local Business Preference. A local, veteran-owned business can therefore benefit from both.
• It stays within the law. The preference does not apply where state or federal law, or grant terms, prohibit it. That includes CCNA professional services, certain grant-funded and state-funded construction projects, cooperative/piggyback contracts, and emergency or sole-source purchases.
• It is accountable. Procurement Services will report to the Commission annually on the programs performance. 

The more than 3,300 veterans who call Boynton Beach home have already served their country. Adopting this ordinance sends a clear message: the City of Boynton Beach does more than thank veterans for their service. It opens the door for them to keep serving their community as business owners, employers, and partners of the City.

Allowing a veteran's preference. 

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