Oshkosh DEI committee delays vote on mission statement, reschedules March meeting

Members of the Oshkosh City Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee spent a large portion of the meeting debating a proposed mission statement and related purpose language before voting to table the final decision to the next meeting.

Angie Lee proposed a short mission phrase to “inspire civility and conscious community.” Timber Smith and other members favored language that explicitly included equity and the purposeful inclusion of historically marginalized voices. Committee members suggested producing both a concise mission statement and a separate, more detailed purpose statement to capture equity goals and specific duties.

After discussion, Ashley Hess moved to table the mission-statement decision until the committee’s next meeting to allow members more time to submit written proposals; another member seconded the motion. The roll call recorded committee approval of the motion; the discussion was placed on the agenda for the subsequent meeting along with a Google Doc to collect suggested language.

The committee also voted to change its March meeting date. Staff noted the regular March meeting conflicted with the mayor’s State of the City event; a motion to move the March meeting to March 29 (same start time) was made, seconded and approved by roll call.

Committee staff said they will circulate the working Google Doc and accept written mission/purpose proposals in advance of the next meeting. Members discussed forming a small subcommittee to draft an action plan and asked staff to invite the county public-health communications coordinator to a future meeting for the vaccine-outreach discussion.

The mission language was not finalized; members agreed to continue the discussion at the next meeting after circulating written suggestions.