Mountlake Terrace staff to finalize DEI strategic plan, prioritize training and community outreach

Mountlake Terrace city staff and consultants updated the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) Commission on progress toward a citywide DEI strategic plan and sketched a community outreach timetable at a recent commission meeting.

Consultants from a contracting firm identified gaps in personnel policies, inconsistent application of rules, uneven customer service and a low level of formal DEI training across city departments after a discovery phase that included a staff survey, 16 interviews and a document review. The staff survey went to roughly 130 employees and returned more than 80 responses; consultants reported that roughly 60 percent of survey questions received answers, which they described as a sufficient sample to surface priorities.

The consultants and staff recommended several pragmatic first steps the city can take while longer policy work continues: citywide customer-service training focused on equitable interactions with residents; broader, culturally relevant programming developed with multiple commissions and community partners; a modest ongoing DEI budget with accountability metrics; and steps to increase the share of city contracting awarded to small businesses owned by women and people of color. Commissioners and staff emphasized building long-term community relationships and recruiting community ambassadors to help connect underrepresented residents to events and civic processes.

Why it matters: Mountlake Terrace officials said many residents do not currently engage in civic life and that everyday interactions—how staff greet visitors, how events are run and whether residents feel welcome at city facilities—affect trust and participation. Staff and consultants framed several early, measurable actions intended to make visible improvements quickly while the city develops policy changes and staffing capacity over the medium term.

Key findings and recommendations - Discovery work: Consultants conducted 16 interviews across departments, reviewed city documents (HR policies, handbooks, purchasing rules, planning materials) and ran a staff survey sent to about 130 people that returned more than 80 responses. - Barriers identified: limited DEI training among leaders; a tendency to rely on good intentions without follow-through; tokenistic programming rather than culturally relevant events; bias in customer service; and inconsistent application of policies for staff and residents. - Recommended near-term actions: mandatory customer-service training for all city employees emphasizing equitable treatment; broaden cultural programming across commissions; define roles and responsibilities between the DEI staff committee and the DEI Commission; create a recurring DEI budget with accountability metrics; and begin technical assistance and outreach to increase contracting with minority- and women-owned small businesses.

Commission-staff relationship and next steps Commissioners discussed how the DEI Commission should work alongside a newly formed DEI staff committee. Staff said the committee is self-directed, currently small and forming its cadence; the city manager was identified as planning to focus on personnel policy work this winter. Commissioners requested regular, practical information from staff—summaries and prioritized lists—so the commission can review policies, advise on public-facing procedures, and focus commissioners’ time on community engagement and ambassador recruitment.

Engagement and outreach plans Staff and consultants outlined a multi-pronged outreach approach: an online community poll (short, 8–10 questions), pop-up tabling, partner workshops, library-hosted programming, targeted outreach to apartment communities, and youth engagement through local schools and CTE programs. A mid-November workshop window and extended outreach through the winter were discussed; staff also mentioned a December 5 event planned with clergy partners. Staff said it will finalize an engagement plan and return to the commission with a prioritized work plan and recommended timeline.

Welcoming Week logistics Staff described logistics for an upcoming Welcoming Week event (a community day referenced in the meeting). They reported roughly 22 partner organizations committed to attend, interpreters on site, and a plan for a DEI table, a welcome table, and a small rotating commission presence to help collect survey responses and run informal interviews with attendees. Tentative set-up time was 9 a.m.; the main outreach window was described as roughly 11 a.m.–2 p.m.

What the city will not decide yet Consultants and staff stressed that many larger policy items require more funding and cross-departmental planning; no formal policy adoptions or council votes occurred at the meeting. Instead, staff will finalize the written report, refine the engagement plan, and return with prioritized short-, medium- and long-term actions for commission and council consideration.

Meeting context and immediate follow-up Commissioners and staff asked that staff provide a concise package for the commission with the policies and procedures the consultants recommend for review; staff agreed to organize follow-up meetings and offer an early opportunity for the commission chairs to coordinate directly with the staff committee in a less formal cadence. The consultants said they would finalize recommendations and deliver a report for staff review before broader public release.