Sacramento Racial Equity Committee Meeting - April 30, 2024
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Sacramento Racial Equity Committee Meeting - April 30, 2024
The Racial Equity Committee of Sacramento met on Tuesday, April 30, 2024, at 9:00 a.m. in the City Hall Council Chamber. Co-Chair Mai Vang presided. Members present: Rick Jennings, Lisa Kaplan, and Mai Vang. Mayor Steinberg was absent. The meeting covered three main discussion items: an update on the SCORE initiative, a pilot application of a Budget Equity Resource Guide and Tool (BERG/T) on three departments, and a Language Equity & Access resolution update. Public testimony was heard from a member of the Racial Equity Alliance.
Consent Calendar
- Approved the minutes of the April 2, 2024, Racial Equity Committee meeting (File ID 2024-00778) by a unanimous vote (Jennings, Kaplan, Vang).
Public Comments & Testimony
- D'Angelo Mack (Racial Equity Alliance member) expressed gratitude for the committee's partnership and urged continued support, noting that the alliance members bring significant personal and professional commitment to the work. He emphasized the historical trust issues and the need to continue moving at the speed of trust while pushing for implementation.
Discussion Items
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SCORE Initiative Update (Oral Report): Kelly F. Rivas introduced Race Forward consultants Nora Liu and Jesse Villa Lobos, who provided an update on the Sacramento Centered on Racial Equity (SCORE) initiative. They outlined the 2024 work plan, including the formation of three work teams (narrative, policy, community partnership and accountability) from the Racial Equity Alliance and Racial Equity Council. Highlights included a three-day strategic planning retreat in March, with each member already contributing 50+ hours in 2024. The work teams are planning community listening sessions for late July through August 2024, a public launch, and a web presence. Co-Chair Vang requested that the committee and city staff be kept informed as thought partners, and that communications be shared with all council members. Councilmember Kaplan urged moving faster with a sense of urgency. Councilmember Jennings asked how the committee could better support the work; Race Forward committed to providing a mid-June update on logistics and budget needs.
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Update on Development and Pilot Application of a Budget Equity Resource Guide and Tool (BERG/T): Diversity & Equity Manager Aimée Zenzele Barnes presented the BERG/T, developed in response to the committee's January direction. The tool was piloted on the Office of Innovation and Economic Development (OID), Fire Department, and Convention and Cultural Services (CCS) budget reductions. OID’s Denise Malvetti and CCS’s Megan Van Voris walked through their completed tools, highlighting service and location impacts of proposed cuts. The GIS team (Lauren Dreyfus) demonstrated the Sacramento Equity Explorer and Design Tool (SEED) with added heat maps for police part one crimes, fire calls, code enforcement violations, 311 calls, and Youth Summer Program participation. Councilmember Kaplan praised the tool and recommended it become a norm for future budget cycles. Co-Chair Vang directed staff to return in August with a phased implementation plan for citywide use.
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Language Equity & Access Presentation: Due to time constraints, the presentation was not given in full. Co-Chair Vang summarized that the item was to provide an update on the language access audit and direct staff to collaborate with her office and Councilmember Garrett’s office to develop a resolution reaffirming the city’s commitment to language access. The resolution will be developed in partnership with the City Manager’s Office and Office of Diversity and Equity. The committee supported the direction.
Key Outcomes
- Consent Calendar: Approved unanimously.
- SCORE Initiative: Update received; no formal vote. Committee requested ongoing communication and a mid-June progress report.
- BERG/T Pilot: Received and filed. Direction given to staff to return in August 2024 with a phased implementation plan for making the tool a standard part of budget processes. The GIS SEED tool will be presented to the full City Council on May 14, 2024.
- Language Equity & Access: Direction to develop a resolution in partnership with the City Manager’s Office and Office of Diversity and Equity, with a report back to the committee.
- Staff Report: Provided updates on mandatory DIB training (scheduled to begin June 2024) and a central repository of equity work launched citywide.
- Meeting adjourned at 11:03 a.m.
Meeting Transcript
Thank you so much. Good morning, everyone. I like to call our racial equity committee to order at nine o'clock. Good morning. Madam Clerk, would you call role to establish quorum? Yes. Councilmember Kaplan. Yeah. Councilmember Jennings? Here. Council, Co Chair Bain. Here. Mayor Steinberg is out today. Thank you. We have a quorum. Thank you so much. Councilmember Jennings, would you lead us in the land acknowledgement and the Pledge of Allegiance? Absolutely. Please rise for the opening acknowledgement in honor of Sacramento's Indigenous People and Tribal Lands. To the original people of this land, the Nisiaon people, the Southern Maidu, Valley and Plains, Miwok, Patwin Winton peoples and the peoples of the Wilton Rancheria, Sacramento's only federally recognized tribe. May we acknowledge and honor the Native people who came before us and still walk beside us today on these ancestral lands by choosing to gather together in the active practice of acknowledgement and appreciation for Sacramento's indigenous people's history, contribution, and lives. Please join me in the Pledge of Allegiance. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands. One nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. Thank you, Councilmember Jennings. Welcome everyone and happy Tuesday. Today we have three items for discussion. But before we begin the discussion item, we do have one item on consent. Uh, Madam Clerk, do we have any public comments on this item? Thank you. I have no members of the public that wish to speak on the consent calendar. Okay. Would my do my colleagues have any comments? Would like to move this item? I'll move consent. Okay. Move by Councilwoman uh Kaplan, second by Councilmember Jennings. Can you call the vote? Yes, thank you. Councilmember Jennings? Yes. Councilmember Kaplan. Yes. Thank you. Okay, we now move to the discussion part of our calendar. Um, and it is an update from um our uh community members from RaceFord. It's the score initiative update. And I will hand it over to uh Kelly Rubas. Wonderful, thank you. We have our race forward consultants Nora Liu and Jesse Villa Lobos via Zoom, and so I'll go ahead and invite both of you to start the presentation.
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