CITY of ALBUQUERQUE
TWENTY FOURTH COUNCIL
COUNCIL BILL NO. R-20-83 ENACTMENT NO. ______________________
SPONSORED BY: Klarissa J. Peña, Cynthia D. Borrego, Lan Sena
RESOLUTION
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Directing That The City Of Albuquerque Explore Opportunities For Promoting Diversity And Decreasing Barriers To Serving On City Boards And Commissions (Peña, Borrego, Sena)
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DIRECTING THAT THE CITY OF ALBUQUERQUE EXPLORE OPPORTUNITIES FOR PROMOTING DIVERSITY AND DECREASING BARRIERS TO SERVING ON CITY BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS.
WHEREAS, the City of Albuquerque is committed to supporting citizens who wish to serve on Boards and Commissions; and
WHEREAS, the City of Albuquerque established the Office of Equity and Inclusion to make Albuquerque a national role model of ensuring equity and inclusion at the local government level; and
WHEREAS, the City of Albuquerque is committed to ensuring equity and inclusion when appointing members to serve on Boards and Commissions; and
WHEREAS, Boards and Commissions are most successful when their memberships have a diverse membership by way of, including but not limited to, qualifications, work experience, life experience, and cultural and social awareness and intelligence; and
WHEREAS, the Public Boards, Commissions, and Committees Ordinance (ROA 1994 § 2-6-1-1 et. seq.) identifies terms for membership on Boards and Commissions, how to apply to serve on Boards and Commissions, and how applicants are appointed to serve on Boards and Commissions; and
WHEREAS, the Human Resources Department, Constituent Services Staff, and City Council staff conduct outreach, review applications, and assist in the appointment process for Boards and Commissions; and
WHEREAS, in the process of administering the Public Boards, Commissions, and Committees Ordinance, City staff have identified instances in which applicants are facing barriers in applying to serve on Boards and Commissions; and
WHEREAS, barriers include but are not limited to lack of access to education and work experience, life experiences or situations that can automatically disqualify one from serving regardless of context or mitigating factors, criminal history, and lack of access to transportation and daycare needed to attend meetings; and
WHEREAS, City staff assesses applications based upon each applicant’s qualifications, work experience, and life experience; and
WHEREAS, in order to promote the most effective and community reflective composition of Boards and Commissions, diversity factors should be considered amongst qualified applicants, including but not limited to sexual orientation, income, ethnicity, race, socioeconomics, immigration status, disability, and personal background; and
WHEREAS, other cities have established more holistic processes for reviewing applications and appointing members to serve on Boards and Commissions that effectively pose fewer barriers, and create more accessible opportunities for applicants who want to serve and who can contribute to the betterment of the City.
BE IT RESOLVED BY THE COUNCIL, THE GOVERNING BODY OF THE CITY OF ALBUQUERQUE:
Section 1. The Mayor and City Council shall work with the Office of Equity and Inclusion, the Human Resources Department, Constituent Services staff, and City Council staff to assess the Public Boards, Commissions, and Committees Ordinance, to review the current process for evaluating applications to serve on Boards and Commissions, and to identify any other policies or strategies to promote diversity on City Boards and Commissions that better reflect the demographics of the City, and to decrease barriers to serving by eliminating strict disqualification factors and implement a more holistic, and contextual review of each applicant.
Section 2. Recommendations shall be presented to the City Council within three months of the enactment of this resolution identifying options for promoting the objectives identified in Section ‘1’, above.
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