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Council amends meeting-notice rules to allow government email; DEI policy discussion deferred
Summary
The council approved amending city code to recognize government email as acceptable personal delivery for meeting notices and held a separate, multi-member discussion about a proposed diversity, equity and inclusion policy, deferring further action while federal guidance is reviewed.
The Government Operations committee voted to amend the city code to allow notices sent via official government email to count as personal delivery for meeting-notice purposes.
Corporation Counsel and committee members said legal review found that using official government email for meeting notices is appropriate in contemporary practice; committee members moved and approved the change as a stand-alone update so it could proceed quickly. The motion passed by voice vote.
Separately, the committee held an extended discussion about developing a formal diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) policy for the city. Committee members and staff noted a recently issued presidential executive order with certification language that could affect grant and contract recipients; staff warned that the executive order requires certain contractual certifications related to programs that officials might view as DEI and that the language may expose grant recipients to claims under the Federal Claims Act. Committee members expressed differing views: some urged caution to avoid jeopardizing federal funding streams, others encouraged updating practices and operationalizing stated values while avoiding terminology that might create federal conflicts. The council agreed to defer any ordinance-level DEI adoption and asked staff and department heads to report back with suggested practices and any new federal guidance within two weeks.
No ordinance or policy adopting a citywide DEI program was enacted at this meeting; the committee instructed staff to present existing relevant policies and recommended next steps at the next meeting.
