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Ellensburg council directs staff to rename DEI commission and rewrite duties
Summary
Council directed staff to draft ordinance language renaming the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Commission the “Community Engagement Commission,” and discussed membership size, duties (advocacy, outreach, work plan and metrics), grant reporting and appointment rules; staff will return the ordinance for readings in March.
Ellensburg’s City Council on Feb. 17 directed staff to prepare ordinance language to rename the city’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Commission the Community Engagement Commission and to revise the commission’s duties and membership rules.
City Manager Heidi Baron opened a continued review of chapter 1.88 of the city code, saying the composition language and some duties require revision so staff and employees are not placed in legally or operationally uncomfortable positions. The council’s discussion focused on three central choices: an updated name that would avoid perceived partisan baggage, how many commissioners the body should have, and whether the commission’s duties should emphasize community engagement and advocacy or remain more narrowly advisory.
Councilmembers offered competing views on membership and workload. One councilmember urged reducing the commission from nine members to seven to align with other bodies and to simplify meeting logistics; others noted the larger body was created to expand representation and to handle an active workload. Staff and council agreed that any change to the number of seats could be handled gradually by attrition and that the ordinance language would be brought back for formal first and second readings rather than changing the code tonight.
Public commenters addressed the name change and membership. Resident William Coleman said he preferred a fresh start and suggested removing current members; other commenters including Merrill Kelly said the name Community Engagement Commission carried less baggage and could help broaden participation.
Council also discussed specific duties the commission performs, including advising council on engagement strategies, conducting community research, running grant programs, and producing a formal work plan and progress report with metrics. Several councilmembers suggested collapsing overlapping duties for clarity and adding a clear role for advocacy where appropriate; staff agreed to draft clearer, legally vetted language and to consider whether grant rules should live in ordinance or in a separate grant policy.
The council voted to direct staff to return ordinance language reflecting the new name and proposed changes, with the earliest first reading expected at the next meeting in March and a likely second reading the following month.
The next formal step is staff’s ordinance draft and proposed language for chapter 1.88; the council will review that language in at least two subsequent meetings before adopting changes.
