High Point committee forwards Resilience High Point "Compassion Charter" to full City Council

The Transparency Engagement and Communication Committee voted March 19 to forward Resilience High Point’s Compassion Charter to the full City Council for consideration. Councilmember Dr. Patrick Harmon moved to send the item to council; Councilmember Amanda Cook seconded the motion and the committee chair declared the motion carried.

Resilience High Point produced the Compassion Charter as a statement of principles intended to guide how the city considers policies and programs. Assistant City Manager Damon Duquesne told the committee staff had provided the charter for discussion and clarified it does not compel specific actions by departments. "It's just a statement of intention to be mindful of why you do the things you do," Duquesne said.

Councilmember Dr. Patrick Harmon, who requested additional presentations from Resilience High Point at an earlier meeting, said the charter offers a "framework and a why" for work already underway, including the city’s strategic plan and past initiatives on fair housing and economic resilience. "It gives us a language and a framework that we're trying to become a compassionate city by looking at all segments of our society," Harmon said, adding that social trust and social capital have documented economic benefits.

Other committee members described the charter as a lens for future policymaking rather than a new regulatory mandate. The committee did not adopt the charter at this meeting; the motion approved by the committee sends the document to the full City Council for consideration of adoption.

The item was listed on the agenda as Item 20250583 and was presented to the committee by Assistant City Manager Damon Duquesne.