CC Minutes - 10/20/10 Work Session

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Ms. Ortiz referred to the matrix and asked if it could be made more uniform as it regarded the number of allowed absences. Ms. Ortiz believed there was institutional racism in the City's existing processes. The City expected the community to come to it, which was intimidating for some people. She suggested that the council meet in various wards of the city when doing such interviews. She also asked why the candidates needed to be asked questions when they had already provided written answers to similar questions. She called for a more informal process that allowed the council to get to know candidates as people. She also suggested that all applicants could be asked to appear. Ms. Ortiz posited the idea of doing background checks on candidates. Mr. Clark supported Ms. Ortiz's suggestion for more a more informal interview process where the council went to the community. Ms. Taylor did not like Ms. Ortiz's suggestion because she thought it could be confusing to some. She recalled the former Citizen Involvement Committee had members selected randomly from the Voter Pool who had been excited to participate and happy to serve. She suggested a Citizens Academy could be a useful tool in encouraging people to apply. Ms. Taylor suggested the diversity of individual schedules was something for the council to consider. Mr. Brown thought Ms. Ortiz' idea was interesting and worth a try. He recalled that the Police Commis- sion had held a meeting at Sheldon High School, but not many additional people attended. He believed the current system worked well, although he acknowledged it might intimidate some. Mr. Pryor liked the idea of more outreach and making the system more accessible. He believed the City could develop a more informal system, and suggested the City identify and list the barriers to citizen participation. The council could review the list and discuss how to overcome the barriers. He wanted to make it easier for people to participate. Ms. Taylor liked Mr. Brown's suggestion that interested candidates should attend meetings. She said she was not in favor of moving council meetings to different locations, pointing out that City Hall was the recognized seat of City government and she believed that meetings should be held there. Ms. Hammitt acknowledged it was hard to get residents to come to meetings but she believed that frequently, citizens were simply unaware of the opportunities for input. She noted that the next recruit- ment effort would begin in January 2010, and anticipated that staff would return to the council soon after that with additional recommendations. Mr. Clark adjourned the meeting at 12:48 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Beth For City Recorder (Recorded by Kimberly Young) MINUTES— Eugene City Council October 20, 2010 Page 4 Work Session