REPORT TO TASK FORCE ON DIVERSITY, EQUITY, AND INCLUSION
SUBJECT
Title
Background Information on the Elected Police Chief and City Clerk Positions
Report
BACKGROUND
At the September 13, 2021 Task Force on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (Task Force) meeting, Chair Neil Datar reported on the Policing and Community Engagement/Relations Subcommittee's (Subcommittee) recent work with the Police Department. The Task Force raised an interest in discussing the elected Chief of Police and City Clerk positions and voted to add a discussion to their next meeting agenda.
At the October 18, 2021 Task Force special meeting, the City Manager reported that she had some concerns with this topic coming forward to the Task Force since the City Council directed staff to bring this discussion to their 2022 Priority Setting Session. The City Manager also noted that she would need to consult with the City Attorney's Office regarding her concerns and would report back to the Task Force. She also committed to providing background information on the elected Chief of Police and elected City Clerk.
Concerns were raised about the Task Force taking a position on a matter that is before the Council as a potential ballot measure in November 2022 and how this action departs from the role of Council directed advisory bodies that could be perceived as a political position. It is not a practice for Council directed advisory bodies to act on ballot measures or political positions and this matter would need to be referred to the full Council in a public session to determine how to proceed.
On November 2, Chair Datar requested that a letter, drafted by the Subcommittee, regarding taking a position on the elected status of the police chief be placed on the agenda for the November 8 Task Force meeting. At this time, staff is unable to place this item on the agenda for discussion for the reasons noted in this report.
DISCUSSION
As the City Manager reported at the last Task Force meeting, the C...
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