TITLE: Title
Discussion of Applied Social Justice/Equity in Preparation for Board’s Annual Retreat
PURPOSE: The purpose of this agenda item is to provide the Board of Aldermen an opportunity to consider examples of how local governments are working to operationalize concepts of equity and social justice in operations and policy making.
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DEPARTMENT: Planning
CONTACT INFORMATION: Patricia McGuire - 919-918-7327 - pmcguire@townofcarrboro.org
INFORMATION: At its retreat on February 15, 2015, the Board of Aldermen discussed values and decision-making strategies including the extent to which alignment around a concept of justice might be incorporated. The Board decided to have a worksession to review Carrboro’s Vision2020 and discuss its usefulness in guiding decision-making, particularly in relation to social impact/equity. See the agenda materials from the October 20th worksession at <https://carrboro.legistar.com/LegislationDetail.aspx?ID=2486647&GUID=2FAA4FAA-0C38-4DB3-85DB-1E84AB2CFEEC&Options=&Search=&FullText=1>. The Board decided that evening to take further action related to Carrboro Vision2020 after its 2016 annual retreat, which would focus on social justice.
The retreat planning committee has been working with Jim Svarra of the School of Government, Aspen Romeyn of the Triangle J Council of Governments, and Andy Sachs of the Dispute Settlement Center to develop a plan for the retreat that will allow Board members to share their thoughts on equity and its importance, learn about some community indicators and trends, and to learn about ways that equity can be integrated into departmental functions and policymaking. It was anticipated that the draft retreat agenda would be attached to this agenda item. The draft agenda and supporting information for the upcoming retreat is being distributed by the Town Clerk.
As was noted in the October 20th agenda materials, the Town’s interests related to the concept of equity are apparent, but have not been explicit. Some actions are more directly linked to equity, including the racial bias and policing meetings, and the increased use of facilitated processes in community outreach. It may also be noted that the Economic Sustainability Commission is including social justice as one of the values being examined as it works to update and shift the Local Living Economy Task Force report into an Economic Development Plan for the Town.
A closer examination of the local government experience has been identified as a way for the Board of Aldermen to see how equity as a community value has been examined, prioritized, and integrated into local government’s operations. The focus of a staff presentation will be primarily the experiences in Seattle and King County, Washington (see examples also included in the October 20th agenda materials as Attachments B-D). Somewhere between window shopping and a test drive, it is hoped that reviewing some specifics will help clarify concepts that are sometimes nebulous and identify where additional information or focus may assist with the retreat discussion.
FISCAL & STAFF IMPACT: None noted in relation to discussion.
RECOMMENDATION:r The staff recommends that the Board of Aldermen consider the local government examples and identify questions or additional resources that will best inform the retreat activities.