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September 14,2021 Page 5 of 9 <br /> and included a philosophy, governance and management structure. She described how she was <br /> working with the City to create an equity statement, a DEI Commission charter along with <br /> advising the City on its next steps. Feedback from the survey and the City Council was <br /> discussed, along with how the City responded to these suggestions. The equity statement <br /> adoption process was further reviewed with the Council and staff recommended approval. <br /> Councilmember Dunsworth explained the equity statement was discussed extensively at the <br /> recent PREC meeting. She commented one of the concerns raised was that the Council did not <br /> ask for the race and ethnicity of the people responding to the survey. Therefore, the feedback <br /> received may not be a reflection of the entire community. Ms. Tabor described how the equity <br /> statement was developed, noting it began from a sample used by another city with suggestions <br /> from CultureBrokers. She explained some of the responses included language stating they were <br /> a person of color. She stated there was difficulty with who is in power, who gets to make <br /> decisions and who is involved in providing feedback. She indicated there was not a lot of <br /> diversity in leadership, or decision making and at some point, this has to be accepted. She was <br /> of the opinion that anybody can understand the concept of equity. She stated it was likely that <br /> the City would evolve over time with its collective understanding of equity and the statement <br /> should continue to adapt or evolve. <br /> Councilmember Dunsworth explained the main concern was that the City does not generally <br /> receive feedback from a large cross section of the population, specifically underrepresented <br /> community members and residents of color. She agreed the City had to start somewhere and <br /> appreciated the fact that the statement could evolve over time. She reported she would bring <br /> this information back to the PREC Commission. <br /> Councilmember Abdulle indicated he liked where this statement was at. Even though he <br /> would like it to be a little stronger, he understood the statement could evolve over time. He <br /> asked if terms and definitions would be added to this document. City Manager Massopust <br /> reported this would be included in the equity framework. <br /> Councilmember Dunsworth stated she would like the City to consider how it would be able to <br /> develop a diversity framework without more diverse voices in leadership positions. City <br /> Manager Massopust explained he understood the framework has been developed with the DEI <br /> strategy team and a conscience effort was made to have people with different backgrounds and <br /> ethnicities in conjunction with CultureBrokers. <br /> Councilmember Abdulle commented further on the tools that would be needed to do DEI work. <br /> He stated he wanted to make sure staff had the tools they needed to do their work more <br /> efficiently. <br /> Mayor Niedfeldt-Thomas understood the City had to align and calibrate decisions. She asked <br /> what this would look like going forward. Ms. Tabor stated there were lots of different ways to <br /> look at this. She explained she likes to look at where progress needs to go based on the <br /> organization which includes having proper processes in place, are these processes being <br /> deployed properly, is the organization learning about its processes and are the processes and <br /> decisions being integrated into the organization. <br /> Motion by Councilmember Dunsworth,seconded by Councilmember Abdulle to approve the City of <br /> New Brighton Equity Statement. <br /> 5 Ayes,0 Nays-Motion Carried <br /> 2.Consideration of <br /> 2. Consideration of Resolution Adopting the Proposed Pre minaryTax Levy for Taxes Resolution Adoptin <br /> g the <br /> Payable 2022 and Setting the Meeting Dates for the 2022 Budget Discussion with Public Proposed Preliminary Tax <br /> Comment and the Determination of the Final 2022 Tax Levies. Levy for Taxes Payable <br /> 2022 and Setting the <br /> Meeting Dates for the 2022 <br /> City Manager Massopust indicated Finance Consultant Davitt would be presenting this item to the Council. Budget Discussion with <br /> Finance Consultant Davitt stated Minnesota State Statute requires all cities in excess of 2,500 in Public Comment and the <br />