AGENDA CATEGORY: General Business
SUBJECT:
Title
Proposed Schedule/Approach for Reviewing Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Advisory Board Applications
Body
DEPARTMENT: Administration
PRESENTER: Malcolm Fleming, Town Administrator
TIME ESTIMATE: 30 Minutes
only required for non-consent items
FISCAL INFORMATION: N/A
Cost as Recommended:
Balance Available:
Budget Line Item Number:
New Appropriation Required:
STAFF RECOMMENDATION:
Recommendation
Consider public comments on this issue, then review/discuss and finalize the proposed Schedule/Approach for reviewing Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Advisory Board Applications.
End
SUMMARY AND BACKGROUND OF SUBJECT MATTER:
The Board of Trustees has committed to establishing a Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Advisory Board (DEI Advisory Board). To get this Advisory Board up and running, the Town is advertising for volunteers to serve as Founding Members of the DEI Advisory Board. Here is a link to the posting <https://www.erieco.gov/civicalerts.aspx?aid=2392>. The deadline for submitting applications is Friday, August 21. Based on the number of applications the Town received to serve on the Police Directives Review Task Force (71), we anticipate there may be even greater interest and even more applications to serve on the DEI Advisory Board.
For all of the Town’s other advisory boards, the Board of Trustees reviews applications and makes the appointments to the advisory boards. To ensure the process and timeline for reviewing applications and appointing members of the DEI Advisory Board is clear, staff recommended the following schedule and selection process outlined below.
• Schedule:
o Tue, July 28: Town posts for applications
o Fri, Aug 21: Deadline for submitting applications
o Sat, Aug 22: Human Resources Department transmits all applications to Board of Trustees
o Sat, Aug 22-Wed, Sep 2: Board of Trustees (BoT) reviews and scores individual applications
o Wed, Sep 2: Deadline for BoT Members to submit individual scores on top 12 applications to Town Clerk
o Fri Sep 4: Town Clerk transmits list (but no scores) of top 12 candidates to BoT
o Tue, Sep 8: BoT Regular meeting; BoT votes on appointments to DEI Advisory Board
o First DEI AB Meeting September 24 (4th Thursday of the month)
Based on a meeting the Town Administrator and Human Resources Director had August 5th with 3 members of the Building Better Neighbors (BBN) Steering Committee, the BBN may want to have more time for community dialog on who would be most effective in serving as Founding Members of the DEI Advisory Board, and on other aspects of the selection process and the Advisory Board’s action plan. The BBN Steering Committee committed to communicating their interests more specifically via email by Monday, August 10, and the Town Administrator committed to ensuring the Board of Trustees received that email communication as a supplement to the agenda item packet for this issue. The BBN Steering Committee also said they would like to provide comments to the Board during the Board’s August 11 meeting, and the Town Administrator said he would facilitate that.
Additional Background.
The Recruitment Message used on the Town’s posting for DEI Advisory Board applicants is as follows: (message and all application materials are available in both English and Spanish):
The Town of Erie is committed to equity and inclusion and welcomes diversity. To better support this commitment, the Erie Board of Trustees is establishing a Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Advisory Board. This Board will be a full and official Advisory Board of the Town of Erie. We are seeking applications for 9 Founding members of this Advisory Board representing a diverse body (including racial, ethnic, LGBTQ and socioeconomic backgrounds). These Founding members, and with the feedback of the community, will work to shape the role and focus of the Advisory Board to be a responsive, permanent and effective Advisory Board of the Town of Erie. Among the many responsibilities of the 9 Founding members will be recommending to the Board of Trustees the Advisory Board’s role and the processes and procedures for seating a permanent Advisory Board. The purpose of the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Advisory Board is to ensure ALL Erie residents, and businesses in Town feel safe and welcome, are well-represented, and are well-connected with each other.
Application Requirements:
• Resident of the Town of Erie
• Information enabling the BoT to compose an Advisory Board that represents diversity (age over 18, race, ethnicity, LGBTQ status, household income)
• Response on Supplemental Questions: Applicants are asked to respond on the following questions:
§ What challenges do you believe exist in the Town of Erie that must be addressed to ensure ALL Erie residents, and business in Town feel safe and welcome, are well-represented, and are well-connected with each other?
§ What experience or ability do you have that will help the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Advisory Board effectively address the challenges you have identified above?
§ What special organizing, team building, or other experience or ability do you have that as a Founding member of the Advisory Board will help this new Advisory Board become effective quickly in fulfilling its purpose?
Board of Trustees Priorities
þ Engaged and Diverse Community
þ Small Town Feel
þ Safe and Healthy Community
þ Effective Governance
ATTACHMENTS:
1. Diversity Equity Inclusion Advisory Board DRAFT Action Plan (August 5, 2020 DRAFT Reflecting Initial Community Input)