Council committee proposes councilmember liaisons to boards and asks mayor for equity update including pay equity

The council's Committee on Council Processes, chaired by Councilmember Piedmont Smith, presented a proposal on May 21 recommending that each city councilmember serve as a liaison to one or more boards and commissions to strengthen communication between resident advisory bodies and the council. The proposal envisions each council liaison attending at least one meeting per year of the assigned board or commission and relying on staff liaisons to keep councilmembers informed.

Council feedback was broadly supportive though members raised practical concerns about workload, whether the change requires a resolution, and how liaison assignments would be made and maintained. The council president and staff clarified that some changes (e.g., formalizing assignments or certain committee-structure updates) may require a resolution.

Equity update motion The committee also moved a separate request asking the mayor's office for an update on the administration's equity commitments, including a team, timeline and priority outcomes. After discussion Councilmember Piedmont Smith amended the request to explicitly include pay equity in city government; the amended request was approved by voice vote.

Why it matters Committee members said the liaison structure aims to make boards and commissions more effective by ensuring they have a clear council point of contact and by surfacing commission recommendations earlier in the legislative process. The equity update request signals council interest in tracking administrative progress on equity commitments and ensuring pay equity is part of that review.

Next steps Staff and councilmembers volunteered to draft legislation or resolution language to implement the liaison proposal and to coordinate with the mayor's office to supply the requested equity update.