Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Equity Commission topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Tumwater staff to draft equity commission ordinance after Tumwater Safe talks with state
Summary
City Administrator Lisa Parks briefed the Public Health and Safety Committee on recent discussions with the Washington State LGBTQ+ Commission and Washington State Patrol about the 'Tumwater Safe' program and said staff will draft an equity commission ordinance with a target work session on Oct. 14 and council action on Oct. 21.
City Administrator Lisa Parks told the Tumwater Public Health and Safety Committee on Sept. 9 that staff are drafting an ordinance to establish an Equity Commission, and that the ordinance could be considered in a work session on Oct. 14 with possible council action on Oct. 21.
Parks said she met with Lisa Keating, executive director of the Washington State LGBTQ+ Commission, and discussed the Tumwater Safe program, noting there were “lots of questions” stemming from the executive order that prompted state agency programs in 2016. Parks said the meeting “was a great conversation about getting together with the state to, again, kinda work through some of these issues.” She said the state had implemented similar programs in several jurisdictions and that further coordination with state agencies and local governments is planned.
Parks said staff are working with Kelly Adams to draft an Equity Commission ordinance and aim to include a related action item in the city’s strategic plan. Kelly Adams told the committee she is consulting staff and council members while drafting the ordinance and will attend a regional meeting of equity groups Sept. 22 to gather best practices from nearby jurisdictions including Lacey and Olympia.
Committee members asked about timing; Parks said the goal is to have the ordinance adopted and the commission formed before the end of 2025. She described the sequence as: draft and shop the ordinance with staff and council, adopt the ordinance, appoint members, identify staff support and resources, and then have the commission develop bylaws and a work plan that will be reported back to the council.
Parks and Kelly emphasized that the equity commission would be a forum for community-led discussion, including issues facing LGBTQ+ residents and other frontline communities. No ordinance was voted on at the Sept. 9 committee meeting; the committee directed staff to continue drafting the ordinance and return with it for formal council consideration on the timelines discussed.
