Oshkosh DEI committee reviews metrics, accessibility and website outreach; municipal equity index cited at 95

City staff reviewed the city’s DEI metrics and accessibility work at the Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Committee meeting on March 23, saying the municipal equity index has improved markedly while noting remaining gaps in facility accessibility and language access.

A staff member told the committee the municipal equity index had increased from a score of 21 in 2016 to 95 out of 100 today, saying the progress demonstrates policy and program changes but does not mean work is complete.

Why it matters: Committee members pointed to persistent accessibility issues — such as an accessible restroom on the fourth floor of city hall and the need for multilingual signage and translated survey materials — that can limit equitable access to city services even when overall DEI scores improve.

The staff presentation emphasized efforts to make the city workforce more reflective of the community and cited progress increasing gender diversity in protective services. The committee discussed an ADA facilities plan that targets aging buildings and low-cost accessibility improvements already completed; staff described the plan as ongoing.

Members raised questions about the city’s citizen survey and whether it is broadly accessible: how it is distributed (online versus mailed), whether it is translatable, and whether online-only distribution risks self-selection bias. Staff said the city website supports translation via browser tools but noted that some documents may still require human translation.

Transportation and active-transport measures were also discussed: one committee member asked whether metrics measuring dwelling units within a quarter-mile of a bus stop capture where routes actually go; staff replied that federal guidelines inform transit studies and route-coverage considerations.

Committee members also discussed communications consolidation: the city has a new communications and engagement manager who will centralize social media and web postings; staff invited the committee to submit items it wants posted to the DEI page. Members expressed interest in inviting the communications manager for a future meeting.

Next steps: Committee members asked staff to follow up on multilingual outreach options, consider signage in commonly spoken languages, and coordinate with the housing department for an update on housing projects at a future meeting. No formal policy decisions were made at the session.

At the meeting’s end the committee approved the prior meeting’s minutes and adjourned.