1 STAFF REPORT
DATE: July 26, 2022
TO: Justin Hess, City Manager
FROM: Judie Wilke, Assistant City Manager
SUBJECT: Approval of a Classroom Training Agreement with National League of Cities Race Equity and Leadership Program to Support Racial Equity Work in the City of Burbank and Amending the Adopted Fiscal Year 2022-23 Budget by Appropriating Funds
RECOMMENDATION:
Approve a Classroom Training Agreement with the National League of Cities (NLC) to implement the Race Equity and Leadership (REAL) Program and amend the Fiscal Year (FY) 2022-23 budget from the unappropriated fund balance in the amount of $130,000 to fund the REAL Program.
BACKGROUND:
Beginning in July 2020, the City Council started discussing the idea of establishing some form of a reconciliation committee to foster community dialogue regarding the divisiveness that was created during the COVID-19 Pandemic. Initially, staff recognized the Burbank Human Relations Council (BHRC) as an existing group in the community who could be a partner in this endeavor should the Council be interested in pursuing this matter. Founded in 1958, BHRC is a resource an d advocacy group that promotes, “equality and understanding through education and action” and seeks to, “eliminate barriers that separate people from each other and build bridges of understanding.” In addition to its work promoting good human relations and moderating intergroup conflict, BHRC partners with entities such as the Burbank Unified School District (BUSD) to foster inclusion and equal access, as well as the Burbank Police Department to investigate hate crimes and provide assistance to victims.
As such, staff invited BHRC to make a presentation to City Council at the November 10, 2020 Council meeting regarding its outreach efforts and partnerships with the City and CITY MANAGER’S
OFFICE
2 community. As part of the presentation, BHRC recommended Council consider taking the following actions:
1. Adopt a “sundown” town resolution;
2. Participate in a citywide campaign condemning hate;
3. Incorporate human relations topics into the Youth Leadership Program (YLP); and
4. Partner with BHRC on engaging with the community in 2021.
As a result of those recommendations , City Council adopted a “Sundown Town Resolution” on December 8, 2020. All current and some former Council Members and some community members signed the Resolution which is now displayed on the first floor of City Hall for the community to view. Community messaging signs were provided by BHRC depicting messages such as “Hate Has No Home Here” and” Choose Love, Be Kind” and have been available to the community at City Hall. Staff is awaiting the creation of custom window decals for City vehicles until the REAL program culminates as staff believes an appropriate message will be determined through the process. In a session of the 2021-2022 YLP, a speaker on human relations and equity was invited to engage the students on the topic. The facilitator received positive feedback from students and program coordinators and as such will be included in future YLP programming. Future classes of the City’s Residents Inspiring Service and Empowerment (RISE) program will also include lessons and activities relating to human relations. Lastly, while a partnership with BHRC to engage the community in a dialogue about race, equity and inclusion hasn’t yet commenced, BHRC did partner with the City and a teacher from the New York Film Academy to host an interactive program called “Race Relay.”
In addition to adopting the Sundown Town Resolution at the December 8 th meeting, the
Council also created a Council Subcommit tee on Racial Equity and Diversity. The first Council Members appointed to the Subcommittee were then Mayor Frutos and City Council Member Springer. The current members are Mayor Talamantes and Council Member Springer . Staff support to the Subcommittee includes staff from the City Manager’s Office , City Attorney’s Office, Library Services, Information T echnology, Management Services and Police Department.
Since the establishment in December 2020, the Subcommittee has held four meetings.
At the February 9, 2022 meeting they received a presentation from NLC and subsequently reviewed the proposal on February 14, 2022.
NLC is an organization comprised of city, town and village leaders that are focused on improving the quality of life for their current and future constituents. With over 90 years as an organization, NLC has more than 2,000 member agencies across the nation. Their mission is to strengthen local leadership, influence federal policy and drive innovative solutions. NLC created the REAL department to strengthen local government leaders’ 3 knowledge and capacity to eliminate racial disparities, heal racial divisions, and build more equitable communities. REAL supports the vision of a nation in which every local official is equipped to effectively lead and serve an inclusive, thriving, and healthy community. REAL has three focus areas in which they support cities:
1. Training and technical assistance that builds the capacity of local government leaders to identify racial disparities and effectively challenge and address issues through policy and practice.
2. Network-building opportunities that promote peer -to-peer learning and showcase local government leaders who are advancing efforts through REAL.
3. Showcasing f ields of practice that leverage new and existing partnerships and share knowledge and resources across cities to promote innovative solutions to racial equity challenges in local government.
When NLC was first approached by the City in 2020, they had a change in leadership and asked for additional time while the new person immersed themself in the organization.
The new leadership also took time to reevaluate the program and make some changes.
Although it took longer than anticipated to engage with NLC, on February 14, 2022, the Council Subcommittee heard the program proposal from NLC REAL. Following that review, the Subcommittee recommended the entire Council hear the presentation which they did at a Study Session on April 4, 2022. As a result of the Study Session, Council directed staff to return with an agreement (Attachment 1) for City Council approval.
ANALYSIS:
The proposal from NLC (Attachment 1- Exhibit B) will support the racial equity work in the City of Burbank through several key components: Context Setting, Capacity Building & Technical Assistance, Community Engagement, Racial Equity Training, Communicating Effectively about R ace for Local Elected Leaders, Organizing R XHIBIT bacial Equity in Local Government, Operationalizing Racial Equity in Local Government, Train the Trainer in Advancing Racial Equity in Local Government, and Culminating Symposium.
Context Setting:
REAL will meet with key stakeholders within the City organization to understand the current context of the City’s racial equity work to ensure appropriate workshops and technical assistance are in place that speak to the current context, culture and needs of Burbank.
Capacity Building:
REAL will work in partnership with the City’s soon to be established Equity Core Team to prepare the City to engage in advancing racial equity and providing technical assistance and coaching between workshops that strengthen the learning within each session.
Some of the Equity Core Team will engage in train the trainer sessions so the City can continue this important work long after the REAL program has been completed. 4 Community Engagement:
At the heart of racial equity work is the engagement of residents, especially those most impacted by racial inequities. In this area, the City will begin the process of intentional relationship building with those in the community most impacted by racial inequities based on data collected. The City leadership will work to collectively reflect on ways government has advanced racial equity and maintained racial inequities. Moreover, it will be a time to acknowledge, apologize, atone and act to address and repair any harm caus ed by previous or current policies, practices, and procedures.
Racial Equity Training:
A series of workshops will be held around racial equity. They will help develop a shared understanding of racial equity terminology and concepts and support our City Department Executives in sharing the vision for a racially equitable community. The sessions will provide context to key historical events as they relate to systemic racism in the United States. And they will help assess the City’s role in promoting racially equitable policies and practices and leadership behaviors that can help to advance racial equity.
Leading for Racial Equity in Government:
This workshop will provide our City Council with an overview of institutional and structural racism and equip participants with a shared language for racial equity and position leaders to visualize a racially equitable Burbank.
Normalizing Racial Equity in Local Government:
This session will be offered to the City’s Equity Core Team and the Chairs/Vice Chairs of the Boards and Commissions. This training will equip participants with a shared language for racial equity and assist with examining racial disparities and their implications for advancing racial equity.
It should be noted that although the City Council requested this training for all Board, Commission and Committee members, NLC has advised that due to resources and current program policies, they are unable to provide training for all 200 plus members and instead have provided a c ompromise to offer training to all Chairs/Vice Chairs. It would be expected that the Chairs/Vice Chairs would share the training with their other Boards/Commission/Committee members. Further , if the training proves valuable and desired, once the City has in- house trainers, the City staff can provide the training to future Board/Commission/Committee members.
Communicating Effectively about Race for Local Elected Officials:
This workshop will provide the Council with insight into the role of communication in advancing racial equity. The participants will practice using tools that support them to unify the city, speak to racial violence and tragedy, and cast a vision for a better future. 5 Organizing Racial Equity in Local Government:
This workshop will assist City leaders and the Equity Core Team review the topical issues identified from other sessions. The Team will use what they have learned and apply the racial equity tool to prioritize an approach for advancing equity in the City organization and overall community. The racial equity tool intentionally focuses on disaggregated data to understand those most impacted by racial inequities, ensure community engagement with those most impacted by racial disparities, and development of strategy in partnership with those most impacted by racial inequities. Great emphasis is placed on supporting staff in strengthening their relationship with community members and sharpening their community engagement skills.
Operationalizing Racial Equity in Local Government:
In this series, t he Equity Core Team will use the racial equity tool application as they explore structural changes to daily operations, budgeting, communications, community engagement and decision making. This is the culminating training session and will include the development of a draft racial equity plan that will eventually be presented to City Council for adoption. The racial equity plan seeks to assert community informed goals, address root causes of inequities by identifying policy , practice and procedural changes as well as provide an indicator that measures success.
Train the Trainer in Advancing Racial Equity in Local Government:
This series will equip the Core Equity team in knowing how to normalize conversations about race by providing shared language. The goal is for the Team to leave with skills and confidence to practice leading future trainings, and ultimately building the internal skill and capacity to sustain racial equity work and to facilitate future conversations about race effectively.
Culminating Symposium:
This symposium would create an opportunity for the Equit y Core Team to share with community members, partner organizations and City leadership their experience of applying the racial equity tool, the draft racial equity action plan and any recommendations to implement policies , practices and procedures that advance racial equity in the City of Burbank.
FISCAL IMPACT:
The proposal includes two options, and due to the desire for enhanced training as well as creating a racial equity action plan, staff is recommending option A. The total cost to the City for the REAL program option A is a not to exceed amount of $13 0,000. Staff is requesting City Council authority to amend the Fiscal Year 2022- 23 Adopted Budget by appropriating $13 0,000 from account number 001.ND000.30010.0000.000000.00000 (General Fund, Non -Departmental, Unassigned Fund Balance) to expenditure account 6 number 001.CM01A.62755.0000.000000.00000 (General Fund, City Manager Administration, Training) for the training agreement with the National League of Cities to implement the REAL program.
CONCLUSION:
The City of Burbank is committed to foster an organization and community that cares about everyone, ensuring all are included, and cared for equally. The REAL program is an important step towards fostering improved relationships and learning about areas in our organization and community that need to be repaired and finding a path forward to be a more racially equitable city. Further, the “Train the Trainer” portion of the program will enable the City to continue learning, teaching , and progressing so racial equity remains at the forefront of all we do. It is anticipated that the REAL process will take about 18 months to complete. The key outcomes include draft racial equity vision statement, ideas for normalizing conversations about race in Burbank, narrative summary application of racial equity tool including recommended community driven data informed strategies, curriculum to use in Burbank with new employees, partners and organizations, and a draft racial equity action plan. Once the process has been culminated, the Equity Core Team will present the racial equity action plan to the City Council for approval.
ATTACHMENTS:
Attachment 1 – Classroom Training Agreement with National League of Cities Race Equity and Leadership Program