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(1) Creation or Amendment of an Equity and Human Relations Advisory Committee Work Plan for Fiscal Year 2023/2024, including Proposed Events and Workshops; (2) Approve the Work Plan for Fiscal year 2023/2024 for Transmittal to City Council for Approval; (3) (if desired) Creation of Ad Hoc Subcommittees to Commence Planning the Proposed 2023/2024 Events and Workshops and Appoint Members Thereto; and (4) Discussion and Approval of EHRAC’s List of Accomplishments over the Past 6 months for Transmittal to City Council.
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Meeting Date: July 25, 2023
Contact Person/Dept: Michelle Hamilton / Human Resources
Phone Number: (310) 253-5640
Fiscal Impact: Yes [] No [X] General Fund: Yes [] No [X]
Public Hearing: [] Action Item: [X] Attachments: [X]
Public Notification: (E-Mail) Meetings and Agendas - City Council (7/19/23); (E-Mail) Meetings and Agendas - Equity & Human Relations Advisory Committee (7/19/23); (E-Mail) All City Staff (7/19/23)
Department Approval: Dana Anderson, Human Resources Director (7/19/23)
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RECOMMENDATION
Staff recommends that the Equity and Human Relations Advisory Committee (EHRAC): (1) create a work plan for fiscal year 2023-2024, including proposed events and workshops; (2) approve the new work plan for fiscal year 2023-2024 for transmittal to City Council for Council approval; (3) if desired, create ad hoc subcommittees to work on the various work plan events/workshops and appoint members thereto; and (4) discuss and approve EHRAC’s List of Accomplishments over the past 6 months for transmittal to City Council.
BACKGROUND/DISCUSSION
Every six (6) months, the City’s Commissions, Boards, and Committee’s (CBC’s) must provide City Council with a report that includes a list of accomplishments and proposed activities or agenda items for the next six months under its work plan for approval. At the July 25, 2023, regular meeting, the EHRAC will discuss with staff the drafting of the biannual report to City Clerk’s office that contains a summary of accomplishments over the past six months to be submitted to the City Council by the City Clerk’s Office with EHRAC’s Work Plan by the August 18, 2023, deadline.
Accomplishments January through June 2023
• EHRAC dissolved a number of Ad Hoc subcommittees at the June 27, 2023, meeting in an effort to remain compliant with City CBC guidelines regarding the dissolution of Ad Hoc subcommittees that are no longer needed, or have completed the assigned project of the subcommittee;
• After a successful Civil Discourse Workshop in 2022, the EHRAC and participants developed civil discourse guidelines for the community. These guidelines were presented to and approved by the City Council. EHRAC members continue to promote the Civil Discourse guidelines at various CBC meetings. The guidelines will be communicated by staff to the public via Govdelivery, as an alternative to emailing the guidelines to public businesses via unsolicited emails
• Held a number of special events/ meetings, as follows:
o Hosted a Nonviolence Workshop on February 28, 2023;
o EHRAC presented two (2) Community Contribution Organizational awards to Chitra Golestani and Art Of The Runway at the City Council meeting held on May 22, 2023;
o Hosted a Community Conversation: Focus on Ageism on May 23, 2023;
o EHRAC approved the statement created by former member Michele Dennis in honor of Pride Month, along with a request to wave the Pride flag in June. The EHRAC Pride statement was subsequently issued as a Proclamation by City Council and accepted by Member Dennis on June 12, 2023;
o EHRAC members attended the Juneteenth celebration held on June 17, 2023, and distributed information to the public regarding the Civil Discourse Guidelines and the Historical Context Study;
o /Approved an amended Antisemitism Statement in accordance with the Holocaust Remembrance Alliance definition for general response to acts of hate and violence against the Jewish Community on June 27, 2023. The statement has been submitted to the City Clerk’s office for next steps; and
o Committee members received a presentation from Member McBride on the revisions to police officer training on the Racial and Identity Profiling Act (RIPA) conducted in the State of California.
Work Plan
A Work Plan defines the objectives and outlines the tasks that the EHRAC will pursue for the fiscal year. The Work Plan should:
1. Clearly outline objectives and tasks and describe how they will be accomplished.
2. Effectively allocate resources and time.
3. Include goals that are reasonable and achievable.
4. Prioritize activities to focus resources in priority areas.
Equity and Human Relations Advisory Committee (EHRAC) 2023-2024 Work Plans
The Equity and Human Relations Advisory Committee is working on the work plan for the next fiscal year with the following broad principles in mind:
1. Evaluate current, policies, programs and activities that promote positive human relations, cultural competency, and intergroup relations and reduce discrimination. Develop recommendations to improve such policies, programs, and activities.
2. Sponsor/organize roundtable discussions, workshops and/or community dialogue with the purpose of developing positive and productive community relations.
3. Sponsor/organize roundtable discussions, events, speaker series, workshops and/or community dialogue with the purpose of developing positive and productive community relations.
4. Attend events held or sponsored by Human Relations committees from other jurisdictions.
5. Prepare and disseminate educational and informational material related to stereotypes, prejudice, discrimination, implicit bias, microaggressions, and inequity, and ways and means of addressing such issues.
6. Continue to track and publicly report on existing and emerging related issues stemming from complaints from individuals and visitors concerning interactions with City employees, elected and appointed officials, City contractors and City volunteers
The EHRAC has previously submitted proposed community conversations and/or events for fiscal year 2022/2023, which carry over to fiscal year 2023/2024 (Attachment 1); however, staff is reviewing the proposals and making recommendations to reduce the number of events to allow EHRAC an opportunity for sufficient planning and budgeting.
The EHRAC and staff will discuss the proposed list of community conversations and/or events for fiscal year 2023-24 during the July 25, 2023, regular meeting so that the proposed work plan, biannual report, and the proposed events may be presented to the City Council for direction and approval. Upon approval, the work plan will be reviewed and updated periodically, as needed.
At the January 24, 2023, and February 28, 2023, EHRAC meetings, Work Plan and budget discussions were held regarding the goals set by EHRAC over the six months, which included, but not limited to:
• Selection and distributions of the Community Contributions Awards Medallion to eligible recipients who have embodied inclusiveness, altruism, and giving through volunteerism and public service to make Culver City a better place for all people to live.
• Development of a Nonviolence Workshop
• Development of an Event to Honor Senior Citizens
• Development of antisemitism statement and statement in recognition of the annual Pride Month
• Pursuance of the implementation of the Diversity Awareness Projects
• Development and distribution of key communications, including the Civil Discourse Guidelines
At the Equity and Human Relations Advisory Committee Special Meeting on February 28, 2023, the committee met to discuss the proposed workplan and budget request for Fiscal Year 2023 - 2024.
EHRAC chose ‘Civility’ as the theme for the upcoming Work Plan and outlined the following items and the proposed budget for each of them:
• Q1: September 26, 2023 - Latino Heritage Month Celebration $1,800
• Q2: October 25, 2023 - Indigenous People Day $2,250
• Q3: January 23, 2024 - MLK Celebration $2,500
• Q3: February 27, 2024 - Creating Economic Diversity $300
• Q3: March 26, 2024 - Courageous Conversations Workshop $1,100
• Q4: April 23, 2024 - Race Relations $600
An additional budget amount of $2,200 was proposed for the Diversity Awareness Projects and the EHRAC Awards.
Please note, at the July 10, 2023 City Council meeting, the Council appointed a City Council MLK Ad Hoc Subcommittee, to determine the path forward for planning the MLK event. Thus, at this time, it is unknown what role the EHRAC will play in planning the MLK Celebration event in 2024.
It is staff’s recommendation that EHRAC review the past and current Work Plans, and:
1. Propose four events, programs, or projects, with one (1) per quarter and
2. Connect the proposed event to a policy recommendation or change.
The recommendation to consider a reduction in the number of events planned per quarter is to ensure that ample time is available to ensure a successful event(s), especially when events are scheduled so closely together.
Once the Committee agrees on the Work Plan, the biannual report will be prepared by staff and the Work Plan will be routed for City Council approval.
INFORMATION REGARDING SUBCOMMITTEES
In some instances, Commissions Boards, and Committees, form subcommittees, either standing (to develop and work in-depth on specific issues), or Ad Hoc (to address a limited/defined specific issue over a defined period of time). A standing subcommittee must follow Brown Act protocols, with a published agenda and public meetings, and have staff present to facilitate the meeting, including the recording. Whether a standing or an ad hoc subcommittee, a subcommittee must consist of less than a quorum of members of the body. The EHRAC may consider whether creating an ad hoc subcommittee for some of the 2023/2024 events or workshops would aid in the implementation of the work plan at this time, and if so, create such ad hoc subcommittees and appoint members to those ad hoc subcommittees.
FISCAL ANALYSIS
There is no fiscal impact associated with this agenda item.
ATTACHMENTS
1. EHRAC Work Plan Dated January 24, 2023 - Item 25-535
2. Historical Work Plan from EHRAC Inception
MOTION
That the Equity and Human Relations Advisory Committee (EHRAC):
1. Amend or Create a new work plan for fiscal year 2023-24;
2. Approve the new proposed workplan for the Fiscal Year 2023-2024, to be sent for City Council approval;
3. If desired, create any needed ad hoc subcommittees to work on and plan specific 2023/2024 events or workshops and appoint members thereto; and
4. Approval of EHRAC’s List of Accomplishments over the last 6 months for transmittal to City Council