City Manager’s Office
DATE: June 21, 2022
TO: Race, Equity, and Inclusion Council Ad Hoc Subcommittee
FROM: Christina Gilmore, Assistant to the City Manager
Audrey Seymour Ramberg, Assistant City Manager/Chief Operating Officer
VIA: Kimbra McCarthy, City Manager
SUBJECT: Race, Equity, and Inclusion Action Plan Update
BACKGROUND
In 2020, in response to calls for social justice and racial equity across the nation and locally, the City created a Council Ad Hoc Subcommittee on Race, Equity, and Inclusion (Council REI Subcommittee) and developed a Race, Equity, and Inclusion Action Pl an (REI Action Plan) with three areas of focus, including: policing practices, policies, and accountability; celebration and recognition of community diversity; and review of City operations and policies, with opportunities for community engagement throughout. These focus areas are further described below.
1. Policing Practices and Policies and Accountability: The City of Mountain View is committed to examining Mountain View Police Department (MVPD) practices and procedures, increasing police accountability, engaging the public about their experiences with MVPD, and increasing public understanding of MVPD practices and policies.
2. Celebration and Recognition of Community Diversity : Mountain View is a diverse community with residents and visi tors from around the world. Both past and present community members have contributed to making Mountain View the great city that it is.
We strive to recognize, celebrate, and increase understanding of Mountain View’s diversity.
3. Review of City Operations and Policies: The City acknowledges that inequity is often rooted in longstanding policies and procedures. Staff will be reviewing internal operations as well as the policies and procedures of City departments to ensure that the City is promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion.
Staff presented a comprehensive update to the Council REI Subcommittee at its November 19, 2020 meeting and an update related to City policy, incidents, and outreach related to hate crimes Race, Equity, and Inclusion Action Plan Update
June 21, 2022
at the April 22, 2021 Council REI Subcommittee meeting. In addition, written reports have been provided as part of the budget process each year.
DISCUSSION
Over the past fiscal year, the City has continued to implement elements of the REI Action Plan.
A summary of accomplishments and current efforts follows with selected initiatives highlighted in greater detail below.
Policing Practices and Policies and Accountability
• Launch of the newly established Public Safety Advisory Board (PSAB) and adoption of a substantive PSAB annual work plan.
• PSAB assessment and recommendations for improvement of the MVPD School Resource Officer program (further described below).
• Completion of a Ph.D. Research Fellow assessment of MVPD Traffic Stop Data.
• Implementation of Racial Identity Profile Act data collection in compliance with State Assembly Bill 953, with work under way by the PSAB to recommend approaches to enhance public access to the data.
• PSAB review of the MVPD budget.
• Continuation of MVPDx, Partnership for the Future of Policing, a program to foster dialogue and mutual learning between the MVPD and community members.
• Creation of the Police Chief’s Latino Community Advisory Council and Mountain View Faith Leaders Council.
• Collaboration with the cities of Palo Alto and Los Altos to work with Congresswoman Anna Eshoo to secure Federal funding to develop alternative responses to mental health calls for service.
Celebration and Recognition of Community Diversity
• Launch of the City’s inaugural Chinese Language Civic Leadership Academy for 18 Chinese - speaking Mountain View residents (further described below).
• Continuation of the Spanish Language Civic Leadership Academy for 17 Spanish -speaking Mountain View residents.
Race, Equity, and Inclusion Action Plan Update
June 21, 2022
• Providing bystander intervention training hosted by the Mountain View Library and led by the Council on American-Islamic Relations.
• Participation in United Against Hate Week through a series of events, displays, and programs.
• Plans for events led by the Human Relations Commission, including additional bystander training opportunities, a community dialogue to promote connections and healing across racial groups and other facets of Mountain View’s diversity, and an event focused on the book The Color of Law to promote education and engagement regarding the history of housing and zoning in Mountain View. (Further described below.)
• Celebration of the many cultures of Mountain View through the City’s third Multicultural Festival, including performances, booths, and crafts, which was attended by approximately 3,000 community members.
• Launch of the City’s first Race, Equity, and Inclusion Film Festival.
Review of City Operations and Policies
• Plans for commemorative historic Chinatown signage in downtown Mountain View.
• Application of a budget equity lens in the City’s Budget and Capital Improvement Program (further described below).
• Language Access Policy (further described below).
• Census Demographic Analysis (further described below).
PSAB Assessment and Recommendations for improvement of the MVPD School Resource Officer Program
In response to concerns raised by s ome residents of Mountain View and other cities about the presence of police officers on school campuses, the City Council referred an item to the PSAB to seek community input and provide feedback to the City Council regarding the MVPD School Resource Officer (SRO) program . A PSAB Subcommittee worked from the end of July through mid-November, providing a final report at the November 18, 2021 PSAB meeting summarizing the process it undertook, the findings from this process, and a set of seven recommendations.
Staff presented the PSAB’s feedback at the January 25, 2022 City Council meeting with recommendations to improve the SRO program and document and support the purpose and best Race, Equity, and Inclusion Action Plan Update
June 21, 2022
practices of the program through Memoranda of Understanding (MOU) between the City and the school districts and through development of an SRO Procedure Manual. At this meeting, the Council directed staff to develop and execute these MOUs consistent with outlined terms that were informed by the PSAB’s recommendations. The Council further directed that staff present the SRO Procedure Manual to the PSAB for its review and comment. Staff is developing and reviewing drafts of these documents with the school districts and other key stakeholders. The goal is to execute the MOUs and bring the Procedure Manual to the PSAB in the fall.
Chinese Language Civic Leadership Academy
In April 2022, staff launched the first Chinese Language Civic Leadership Academy (Academy).
Eighteen (18) Mandarin-speaking Mountain View residents participated in a free, seven -week- long program to expand their engagement with and understanding of local government and City services. Academy participants had the opportunity to meet City Councilmembers and City staff, learned about City departments, operations, and services, and participated in leadership skill-building exercises. A graduation ceremony was held on June 9 , 2022 for the Academy participants. In addition to receiving their graduation certificates, participants were presented with certificates of recognition from Congresswoman Anna Eshoo, Senator Josh Becker, Assemblymember Marc Berman, and Supervisor Joe Simitian.
Human Relations Commission Community Events
The Human Relations Commission (HRC) is planning two community events in the summer of 2022 that support REI Action Plan work plan items. On June 22, the HRC will host the community dialogue event Recovering Connection: Bridging the Gaps Between Us , with Candidly Speaking to promote connection and healing across racial groups in Mountain View. Through facilitated speaking and listening exercises in small groups about one’s life and experiences, culture, and challenges, participants will have an opportunity to make deep connections with other participants and enhance their understanding and decision -making from a place of cultural awareness.
The HRC, in partnership with the Mountain View Historical Association and Stanford senior lecturer Michael Kahan, is also developing a Civility Roundtable (CRT) event titled Understanding the History of Housing in Mountain View: Stories of Racism, Anti-Discrimination, and Movement towards Inclusion. The event will focus on historical issues related to housing and race and include an oral storytelling project featuring community members who have experienced housing discrimination or worked to address discrimination in housing in Mountain View. The CRT is scheduled for July 26 , 2022. The HRC will propose a continuation of events in support of race, equity, and inclusion, including bystander intervention training, housing insecurity storytelling, and mental health awareness storytelling, as well as other in-person opportunities for connection in the Fiscal Year 2022-23 Work Plan that will go to the City Council for approval in September.
Race, Equity, and Inclusion Action Plan Update
June 21, 2022
Language Access Policy
Staff has begun development of a Language Accessibility Policy to identify and meet community needs for translation and interpretation services to help Mountain View’s diverse residents access information about City programs and services and participate in City meetings, events, and input opportunities. As part of this work, staff will: identify specific needs in the Mountain View community ; formalize translation and interpretation policies and practices ; develop an implementation plan outlining resource needs; conduct outreach in the community to raise awareness about available language services ; and provide ongoing support to staff across the City organization on best practices for engaging language services and conducting culturally informed outreach.
Census Demographic Analysis
Staff has begun work to enhance the City’s use of Census demographic information to support the use of racial equity analysis in the development of City programs and policies, applications for grant funding, and implementation of the City’s REI Action Plan . This work will include developing a Census data fact sheet and providing training and reference materials on use of the Census data portal to build the capacity of analytical staff across City departments.
Budget Equity Lens
Last year, following a re commendation to the City Council from the Council REI Subcommittee, the City incorporated the use of an equity lens into the budget development process. This supports the City’s commitment to take a closer look at how decisions, specifically budget decisions, impact communities of color, lower -income residents, and those that may be disadvantaged or disabled and lacking the same access to the benefits and resources that are available to others in the community. This practice has been carried forward to the development of the Fiscal Year 2022-23 Recommended Budget and was expanded to the development of the Capital Improvement Program (CIP). In assessing proposed budget adjustments and CIP projects, departments considered whether each proposal provided a be nefit or could unintentionally burden communities of color and/or low -income residents. The one -time and ongoing department requests included in the Fiscal Year 2022-23 Recommended Budget and CIP projects were determined to benefit (or be neutral regardin g) communities of color and low -income residents.
Race, Equity, and Inclusion Action Plan Update
June 21, 2022
NEXT STEPS
Staff will continue to work toward the implementation of projects and programs identified in the REI Action Plan and provide an update to the City Council at a future date.
CG-ASR/6/MGR
608-06-21-22M