DEPARTMENT: Office of the City Clerk and Office of Equity
DEPARTMENT HEAD: Leticia M. Vacek (OCC) and Alex Lopez (Equity)
COUNCIL DISTRICTS IMPACTED: City Wide
SUBJECT:
Report on Council Consideration Request (CCR) from Councilmember Viagran - Request to Review and Enhance Outreach Strategies and Processes, Assess and Increase Diversity and Reduce Implicit Bias Related to Board and Commission Appointments
SUMMARY:
Earlier this year, Councilmember Rebecca Viagran submitted a CCR requesting that the City Clerk and Chief Equity Officer review the current processes related to recruiting, selecting, training, and the service of board and commission appointments. Staff from the Offices of the City Clerk, City Attorney, City Manager, Equity, and Government and Public Affairs completed an equity impact assessment and developed an action plan designed to enhance meaningful community outreach and engagement, increase diversity in representation City boards and commissions, and reduce implicit bias. The results of this work will be presented at the October 2 Community Health and Equity Committee.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION:
The equity impact assessment is a series of questions designed to integrate the consideration of equity into programs, policies, and service delivery. The assessment requires the analysis of disaggregated data to better identify and understand different outcomes experienced by particular populations. It also fosters community engagement and clear articulation of purpose, goals, measurable outcomes and strategies for successful implementation and evaluation of impact. The assessment results in decisions that are accountable to our most marginalized residents’ needs and priorities.
On January 11, 2018 Councilmember Rebecca Viagran submitted a Council Consideration Request (CCR) asking that the Office of the City Clerk and Office of Equity complete an equity impact assessment of the process related to board and commission appointments. This assessment was to include review of all existing processes and outreach strategies utilized to recruit, appoint, and train community members to serve on City of San Antonio boards and commissions; assess the diversity of past and current council appointments by district/councilmember; and recommend concrete steps to enhance meaningful community outreach and engagement, increase diversity and representation, and reduce implicit bias.
The Office of the City Clerk, the Government and Public Affairs Department, the City Attorney’s Office and the Office of Equity worked together to complete the equity impact assessment. The group was diverse in race, ethnicity, gender and position within their respective departments. The group’s work began by articulating a clear purpose and desired outcomes. After reviewing applicant and current board and commission member data disaggregated by race, ethnicity and gender, the group developed recommended strategies to increase diversity, along with performance measures to track improvement.
On May 16, 2018, the CCR was discussed at the City Council Governance Committee. The Governance Committee supported the staff recommendation for the final report to be presented to the Community Health and Equity Committee.
ISSUE:
The briefing will highlight the data findings, long-term outcomes and goals identified in this process, strategies to promote a more diverse board and commission applicant pool, and performance metrics to measure progress.
ALTERNATIVES:
This item is for briefing purposes only.
FISCAL IMPACT:
This item is for briefing purposes only.
RECOMMENDATION:
This item is for briefing purposes only.