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HomeMy WebLinkAboutItem B: City Council Goal - Enhance Understanding of Race Issues and Improve Race Relationships Action Plan ECC UGENE ITY OUNCIL AIS GENDA TEM UMMARY Work Session: City Council Goal - Enhance Understanding of Race Issues and Improve Race Relationships Action Plan Meeting Date: May 14, 2007 Agenda Item Number: B Department: Human Resource and Risk Services Staff Contact: Lauren Chouinard www.eugene-or.gov Contact Telephone Number: 682-5663 ISSUE STATEMENT The purpose of this work session is to review the proposed revised action plan for the council goal on race. Continuing the council’s work on race issues was identified by the council as one of 10 goals for 2007 and 2008. The council is asked to approve or modify the proposed action plan. BACKGROUND In February 2007, the City Council met to develop goals for the community. Out of that session emerged ten goals. The goals and executive leads for each issue are: 1. Neighborhood Empowerment – Renee Grube 2. City Hall – Jim Carlson 3. Hospital – Dennis Taylor 4. Police Initiative – Bob Lehner 5. Arts and the Outdoors – Renee Grube 6. Transportation Initiative – Kurt Corey 7. Race – Lauren Chouinard 8. Homeless Initiative – Angel Jones 9. Sustainability Initiative – Susan Muir 10. Downtown Initiative – Randy Groves The expectation from the council was that the City Manager would develop recommended action plans for each goal and return to the council for discussion, input, and adoption of the plans. As an outcome of a meeting in 2006 between the mayor, City Council and members of the communities of color, the council established an ad hoc group called the Community Committee (CCR) on Race to provide input for this action plan. The CCR’s recommendations are included in the revised action plan and are also presented as Attachment B. The race action plan was developed by a staff team and is included in the template format as Attachment A. This action plan identifies outcomes for the priority, progress to date, action steps, resources needs, and an option for evaluation. L:\CMO\2007 Council Agendas\M070514\S070514B.doc RELATED CITY POLICIES Issues of race in the community are related to the “Safe Community” focus of the council’s vision which emphasizes a safe community where people feel secure and respected. COUNCIL OPTIONS The council is asked to provide direction on the action plan. The council may approve or modify the proposed action plan. Approval or modification of the action plan would give staff direction to assist the council with implementation of the action plan. CITY MANAGER’S RECOMMENDATION None. SUGGESTED MOTION Move to approve the proposed Enhance Understanding of Race Issues and Improve Race Relationships action plan as amended. ATTACHMENTS A.Enhance Understanding of Race Issues and Improve Race Relationships Action Plan B.Cover memo on Community Committee on Race activities C.Community Committee on Race recommendations D.Community Committee on Race complete set of ideas discussed FOR MORE INFORMATION Staff Contact: Lauren Chouinard, Human Resource and Risk Services Director Telephone: 682-5663 Staff E-Mail: lauren.d.chouinard@ci.eugene.or.us L:\CMO\2007 Council Agendas\M070514\S070514B.doc ATTACHMENT A Council Priority Enhance Understanding of Race Issues and Improve Race Relationships Action Plan A. Planning Horizon and Focus Although this action plan is developed for a 3-5 year horizon with a specific focus on the first 18–24 months, working on race relations is a long term, ongoing commitment where progress is measured in decades versus a few years. By acknowledging and illuminating instances of bias in the community and making a commitment to change, the City Council is in a unique position to set the tone for race relations in Eugene and the broader metropolitan area. This plan outlines actions that the council as a body, and the mayor and councilors as individuals, can engage in to build a better understanding of race issues among themselves and improve race relations in the community at large. B. Priority Issue Outcomes 3-5 year outcomes: Enhanced council and community awareness of race issues ? Increased understanding by council and the community about the affect race ? relations has on community members’ perception of safety and quality of life Effective race relations becomes a priority the whole community will actively ? embrace People of color in the community feel they are respected, engaged, and have a ? voice in community affairs Issues of race are engaged proactively versus reactively in time of crisis ? Eugene will begin to forge a national reputation as a community that actively ? supports an environment that is viewed as welcoming by all races and cultures. 18-24 month outcomes: Informed and educated mayor and councilors on the nature and status of race ? relations in the community Mayor and councilors articulate their collective philosophy and commitment ? regarding race, racism, and race relations Mayor and councilors act collectively and swiftly against acts of racism in the ? community Mayor and councilors enhance existing, and forge new, relationships with ? communities of color and other race relations allies in the community Mayor and councilors explore areas of personal growth related to issues of race ? Last Updated May 6, 2007 1 ATTACHMENT A C. Progress to Date The following short term action steps from the original work plan have been completed or are ongoing: 1. Facilitated Training on Race and Diversity – Hold a facilitated training with the City Council. One option for this training would be “Privilege” training. Result: The Mayor and all Councilors attended “Privilege” training in 2005 with other local elected officials of participating Diversity and Human Rights Consortium (DHRC) organizations. 2. Facilitated Dialogue on Race –Hold a facilitated session on race with the City Council. One outcome of this session would be a Council Resolution stating the council’s collective perspective and commitments on race. Council would contract with a skilled facilitator for this event. Result: In 2006, the Mayor and Councilors reaffirmed a 2002 resolution pertaining to human rights, acknowledging Eugene’s history of discrimination and resolving to increase public awareness of racial discrimination. In January 2007, the Council held a facilitated workshop with the Human Rights Commission (HRC) at which they discussed issues of race and reviewed a draft of a Hate Incident Response Plan. 3. Racism Response Plan – Develop an integrated, rapid response plan outlining actions to be taken by council when acts of racism happen in our community. Result: In January 2007 the Council held a facilitated workshop with the Human Rights Commission in which they discussed issues of race and reviewed a draft of a Hate Incident Response Plan. Staff is currently revising the plan to include input from that meeting and will return to HRC and Council for adoption of the plan. 4. Communities of Color Outreach - Set a meeting between Council and representatives of the communities of color to listen to their issues, needs, and suggested strategies around community race relations. Result: The Mayor and Councilors met with 65 members of the communities of color for a facilitated dialogue on race in July 2006. One result of that meeting was the formation of the Community Committee on Race (CCR) which was formed to distill the input from the communities of color meeting into a set of recommendations for Council. 5. Continue Mayor One-on-Ones – Continue to locate the mayor’s one-on-one meetings in various neighborhoods of the community and invite comments on issues of race relations. Result: The Mayor has continued to meet with community members in various neighborhoods. 6. Direction to Human Rights Commission – Set a meeting between Council and HRC to explore strategies for Council, the HRC, and the City organization to more effectively assess, manage, and support issues of race and diversity in the community. Result: In January 2007 the Council held a facilitated workshop with the Human Rights Commission in which they discussed issues of race and reviewed a draft of a Hate Incident Response Plan. 7. Refocus the Diversity Manager Role – Re-emphasize outreach recruitment to candidates of color and employee retention strategies as priorities for the new Diversity Manager. Last Updated May 6, 2007 2 ATTACHMENT A Result: The City’s new internal Diversity Consultant has been concentrating on helping both internal Human Resource recruitment and selection staff as well as department diversity committees to focus on recruitment and retentions issues. He also sits on many City hiring panels. 8. Endorse Current Race Initiatives – Communicate endorsement of the work of the DHRC, racism study circles, and other race related work in the community. Result: Council has communicated appreciation for race related work in the community informally. They have also tasked the ad hoc Community Committee on Race to make recommendations to Council. The following mid to long term action steps from the original work plan have been completed or are ongoing: 1. Meet as a full council with community ally leaders on race issues. Result: The Mayor and Councilors met with 65 members of the communities of color for a facilitated dialogue on race in July 2006. 2. Attend awareness and skill building trainings as they are offered locally and regionally. Result: The Mayor and all Councilors attended “Privilege” training in 2005 with other local elected officials of participating Diversity and Human Rights Consortium (DHRC) organizations. The Mayor and several councilors attended a Perspectives in Profiling workshop in November 2006. D. Action Plan Action Steps – The following action steps have been divided into short term and mid to long term items. They have further been divided into three sections: ? Uncompleted actions items from the original priority action plan ? Items recommended by the Community Committee on Race already in progress ? Items recommended by the Community Committee on Race that the Council or organization have not begun to implement Short Term (6-9 months) Uncompleted Items From Original Action Plan: 1. Participate in Racism Study Circles – The Mayor and individual Councilors may join one of the community Racism Study Circles currently planned to begin in late September. Status: To date there have been three rounds of Racism Study Circles. One Councilor has participated in the first round. The next round is scheduled for the fall of 2007. The multi-week and evening scheduling of study circles makes participation challenging. 2. Boards and Commissions Diversity – Enhance outreach efforts to our communities of color to increase ethnic and racial diversity on City boards and commissions. Status: Staff enhanced the outreach efforts but it did not result in an increase in ethnic and racial diversity on City boards and commission. Last Updated May 6, 2007 3 ATTACHMENT A CCR Recommendations Already In Progress: 3. Create an over arching strategic plan for the organization that addresses diversity and human rights which includes defined mission and goals. 4. Publicly respond to critical issues of race that happen in or affect the community. This includes making public statements through various channels including the media and opposing state or federal legislation that have racist or anti-civil rights implications. Mid to Long Term (10-24 months) Uncompleted Items From Original Action Plan: 1. Meet individually with communities of color members (other than leaders) to better understand their issues. Status: Some Councilors have met with individual people of color in their wards. 2. Hold a Council worksession to examine key high profile race related incidents and issues from the past. Status: Nothing scheduled yet. 3. Add race relations as an ongoing topic of joint elected officials meetings. Status: This has yet to be added as a topic to joint elected official meetings. 4. Identify opportunities for joint public/private forums for working on race issues within area organizations. Status: This has been discussed by the Community Committee on Race but no actions have been planned at this time. 5. Bring up the topic of race, and discuss the Council’s Resolution on race, when meeting with individuals and groups of constituents such as neighborhood groups. Status: Unaware as to whether individual councilors have brought this up as a topic of discussion with constituents. 6. Identify gaps in service delivery to communities of color. Develop and implement solutions. Status: A few City departments are addressing this in their department diversity plans and are actively conducting gap assessments. CCR Recommendations Already In Progress: 7. Support existing efforts within the communities of color financially. CCR Recommendations Not Implemented 8. Create an annual report card for City programs and services in which departments report on their diversity program progress to the community. This may be a component of the diversity and human rights strategic plan. 9. Lead the effort with the other Diversity and Human Rights Consortium (DHRC) member organizations to publicly fund the racism study circles. 10. Offer diversity trainings across companies and institutions that contract with the City. 11. Provide annual diversity training for the Mayor and Council with an emphasis on local community and city history. 12. Regularize conversations on race between Council and the community. 13. Support existing efforts within the communities of color financially. 14. Explore the creation of a community cultural center. Last Updated May 6, 2007 4 ATTACHMENT A 15. Create a comprehensive media and communication strategy which includes utilizing the City’s DiverCity Calendar and intervening when media or others perpetuate stereotypes. The lead staff for all action steps will include Human Rights staff, Human Resource staff, and the Council Coordinator, in collaboration with the mayor and councilors. E. Resource Needs The mayor and councilors will need to devote some worksession and individual time to meet the commitments of the action plan. Staff time will also be needed to coordinate some of the activities. While costs of individual action plan items can be estimated, the total cost of the action plan would be dependent on the final package of items chosen by council to be included in the plan. F. Monitoring and Evaluation It will be critical to revisit the workplan on a semi-annual basis. This could be accomplished through a worksession discussion. Further evaluation of outcomes may be accomplished by engaging feedback from community stakeholders. Last Updated May 6, 2007 5 ATTACHMENT B Central Services Human Resource And Risk Services City of Eugene 777 Pearl Street, Room 101 M Eugene, Oregon 97401 EMORANDUM (541) 682-5061 (541) 682-6831 FAX www.eugene-or.gov Date: May 7, 2007 To: Mayor Piercy and City Council From: Lauren Chouinard, 682-5663 Human Resource and Risk Services Director Subject: Community Committee on Race Recommendations As an outcome of the July 2006 meeting between Mayor Piercy, City Councilors and 65 members of the communities of color, Council formed an ad hoc group called the Community Committee on Race (CCR). The CCR was co-facilitated by Councilor Ortiz and Carmen Urbina and met six times between November 2006 and April 2007. The group of more than 15 people was a rich cross-section of passionate and engaged community members. Over the course of the meetings the CCR reviewed over 100 suggestions made at the communities of color meeting in July. They condensed and prioritized those into 55 possible strategies and action steps that would improve race relationships and awareness of race issues in the community. The complete list of possible strategies and action steps is presented in attachment D. The group then worked to focus the larger list into a set of recommendations for Council’s consideration as possible additions to the “Enhance Understanding of Race Issues and Improve Race Relationships” Council goal action plan. This set of recommendations is presented in attachment C. Both of the attachments contain information on each item regarding ownership, timeline, and cost. Ownership identifies the group or groups that would either lead or be most involved in implementation of the item. The timeline generally refers to how long it may take to accomplish or make significant progress in accomplishing the item. The cost is estimated by one (under $5,000), two ($5,000 - $25,000), or three (over $25,000) dollar signs. The cost estimates have not been analyzed and are very rough. Over the course of the few months of the CCR’s work, they also were used as a “think tank” by Mayor Piercy when the community was hit by another wave of hate activity. The CCR also talked with community members and the NAACP when concerns were expressed regarding the MLK keynote speaker. Many members of the CCR have indicated they would be willing to continue on an ad hoc basis to serve as a think tank and sounding board. They also would be available as a review body for progress on this Council goal action plan. The CCR’s work has been invaluable in helping the staff team understand community concerns and issues and in identifying a set of solutions that have been included in the revised action plan. They are hopeful that the work on the recommendations they made will help to sustain this important Council goal. They acknowledged much of the work the City is already engaged in and see the City as being in a position to model leadership in the area of race relationships and diversity to other organizations and the community as a whole. ATTACHMENT C COMMUNITY COMMITTEE ON RACE RECOMMENDATIONS May 7, 2007 Actions in Bold – indicate these items are current or ongoing efforts ACTION OWNERSHIP TIMELINE $ Policy Admin. DHRC Community 6 Mo. 6 – 24 Mo. 24 + Mo. $ $$ $$$ PUBLIC AGENCY SUPPORT Lead the effort to publicly fund X X X X the racism study circles X Public statements when incidents happen X X X X Elected officials stand up for critical issues X X X Take a stand when state or federal laws have racist/anti-civil rights X implications ACTION OWNERSHIP TIMELINE $ Policy Admin. DHRC Community 6 Mo. 6 – 24 Mo. 24 + Mo. $ $$ $$$ ACCOUNTABILITY AND MEASUREMENT Create an annual report card for City X X X programs and services Define Goals and Mission as part of X X X X the strategic plan Department’s diversity programs report to community as part of the X X X report card Create over arching strategic plan that addresses diversity and human rights X X X Sustain the City Council Priority on Race with this plan X X X City should model leadership to other organizations X X Page 1 ATTACHMENT C ACTION OWNERSHIP TIMELINE $ Policy Admin. DHRC Community 6 Mo. 6 – 24 Mo. 24 + Mo. $ $$ $$$ DIALOGUE, EDUCATION, AND TRAINING Offer Diversity Trainings across X X X X Companies and Institutions that contract with the City Provide annual diversity training X X X X X with a local emphasis for the Mayor and City Council Regularize conversations X X ACTION OWNERSHIP TIMELINE $ Policy Admin. DHRC Community 6 Mo. 6 – 24 Mo. 24 + Mo. $ $$ $$$ NETWORKING AND INCLUSION Support existing efforts within X X X X X X communities of color financially Explore the creation of a community X X X X X X cultural center ACTION OWNERSHIP TIMELINE $ Policy Admin. DHRC Community 6 Mo. 6 – 24 Mo. 24 + Mo. $ $$ $$$ PUBLICITY AND MEDIA Intervene when media or others X X X perpetuate stereotypes Utilize City’s DiverCity Calendar X X X X Create comprehensive media X X X X X X strategy Page 2 ATTACHMENT D COMMUNITY COMMITTEE ON RACE – COMPLETE LIST May 7, 2007 ACTION OWNERSHIP TIMELINE $ Policy Admin. DHRC Community 6 Mo. 6 – 24 Mo. 24 + Mo. $ $$ $$$ PUBLIC AGENCY SUPPORT Publicly fund the racism study circlesX X X Assess Funding Decisions by impact on community X X X X Tie city $$$ to commitment X Public statements when incidents happen X X X X Elected officials stand up for critical issues X X X Take a stand when state or federal laws have racist/anti-civil rights X implications ACTION OWNERSHIP TIMELINE $ Policy Admin. DHRC Community 6 Mo. 6 – 24 Mo. 24 + Mo. $ $$ $$$ ACCOUNTABILITY AND MEASUREMENT DHRC should hire an ombudsperson X X X X X Survey community X X X X X Create an annual report card X X X X Create city-wide performance measures X X X Define goals and mission X X X Department diversity program report to community X X X Employees of color should be surveyed X X X There should be a phone report hot line X X X Sustain the City Council Priority on Race with this plan X X X Page 1 ATTACHMENT D City should provide leadership to other organizations X X Assess progress in hiring policies X X X and procedures ACTION OWNERSHIP TIMELINE $ Policy Admin. DHRC Community 6 Mo. 6 – 24 Mo. 24 + Mo. $ $$ $$$ DIALOGUE, EDUCATION, AND TRAINING Offer diversity trainings across X X X companies and institutions Explore the race and immigration X X topic Tie privilege training to Study X X X X Circles experience Regularize conversations X X Regularize reports X X X X Develop a City “after hours” concept X X X X Develop a Citizens’ City Academy X X X X Educate the community through X X X X media Have “working City” videos X X X X Have articles readily available to X X X X insert in existing publications Develop a contract with a TV station X X X X Collaborate with the City Club for X X X X large town hall-type meetings Explore why people have stayed in X X X X the community Include stories of multiple X X X generation families Find collaborative tools like X X X Portland’s “Say Hey” st Expand and enhance 1 Fridays X X Duplicate “Story Corps” model X X X X X Support history projects like “We, X X too, are Eugene” Create and use existing Style Guides X X X X X X X City Elected and Execs should speak Page 2 ATTACHMENT D on diversity Provide diversity training with local X X X emphasis for Mayor and Council Define diversity with emphasis on X X X X communities of color Culturally competent police training X X X X ACTION OWNERSHIP TIMELINE $ Policy Admin. DHRC Community 6 Mo. 6 – 24 Mo. 24 + Mo. $ $$ $$$ NETWORKING AND INCLUSION Expand the conversation to include X X X X X business community Bring youth to table/ diversity youth X X X X X council Increase participation in local X X X X X X government Train staff of BCC to work with X X X X X community members of color Increase employment opportunities X X X X Support other existing efforts X X X X X financially Sponsor conversations that include X X X X X X youth Create cultural center X X X ACTION OWNERSHIP TIMELINE $ Policy Admin. DHRC Community 6 Mo. 6 – 24 Mo. 24 + Mo. $ $$ $$$ PUBLICITY AND MEDIA Intervene when media perpetuates X X X X stereotypes Utilize City’s DiverCity Calendar X X X X Use themes and campaigns to X X X X promote positive efforts Create comprehensive media X X X X X X strategy Work with Neighborhood Leaders X X X X X and newsletter coordinators Develop web page X X X X Page 3