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Speakers ask about DEI policies; meeting participants say city has no formal DEI policy
Summary
Attendees raised questions about diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) policies. Meeting participants said the city does not have a formal DEI policy, and clarified that federal funding can require outreach or contractor forms but does not always impose hiring requirements.
During the "for the good of the order" portion of the meeting, several people raised questions about the city's stance on diversity, equity and inclusion policies.
A meeting participant thanked another speaker (identified in the transcript as "Mr. Murphy") for clarifying the issue and said, "the city has, to my knowledge, absolutely no policy." The speaker and others explained that the only time the city has been asked to consider requirements connected to DEI matters is when large amounts of government money are involved; in those cases, federal rules may require bidders to complete forms documenting outreach or inclusion efforts for minority- or woman-owned businesses.
The meeting record shows participants described such outreach as an opportunity rather than a universal hiring mandate. One speaker said those bidder forms are typically required when federal dollars are involved and are meant to document an attempt to involve disadvantaged or underrepresented subcontractors; the speaker emphasized it is not necessarily a requirement that a contractor hire a particular subcontractor. Participants also noted they were not certain whether similar requirements always apply to state funding.
The transcript references a past request by Governor Kim Reynolds that the city attempt to balance committee appointments by gender but says that request was framed as a request rather than a mandate. Speakers said they would follow up by sharing the materials read at the meeting with colleagues and responding to questions raised by residents.
No new DEI policy or ordinance was proposed or adopted during the session; the discussion in the record was explanatory and intended to clarify current practice and past requests.
