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Committee favors a select committee to study accessibility and inclusive hiring rather than an immediate ordinance
Summary
Members debated creating a permanent diversity/equity/inclusion committee by ordinance and leaned toward forming a council select committee or using existing personnel policy to address accessibility and hiring practices due to staff capacity concerns.
Members discussed an entry on the ordinance list proposing a diversity, equity and inclusion committee. Chair (S1) and Committee member (S2) both said the goal of improving accessibility and broadening hiring outreach is important, but they disagreed that an immediate standalone ordinance is necessary.
"Creation of an ordinance creating our ... inclusion committee," S1 read from the list, then asked whether an ordinance was required to form such a committee. S2 recommended using a select committee or personnel processes and suggested staff capacity could make a permanent, ordinance-based committee burdensome.
Both members said the proposal could be reframed as a council select committee with a defined charge to study policy gaps, suggest personnel-policy changes, and help funnel grant and outreach work to existing departments. The committee directed staff to consider whether the personnel committee or a short-lived select committee could handle the work before pursuing ordinance language.
