CITY OF SALINAS
COUNCIL STAFF REPORT
_____________________________________________________________________________________ DATE: MAY 2, 2023
DEPARTMENT: LIBRARY AND COMMUNITY SERVICES DEPARTMENT
FROM: KRISTAN LUNDQUIST, LIBRARY AND COMMUNITY SERVICES DIRECTOR BY: JOSE ARREOLA, COMMUNITY SAFETY ADMINISTRATOR
TITLE: APPROVAL OF AN AGREEMENT WITH RACE FORWARD TO PROVIDE RACE EQUITY TRAINING FOR CITY STAFF AND ELECTED OFFICIALS RECOMMENDED MOTION:
A motion to approve a resolution authorizing the City Manager to sign an agreement with Race Forward to provide race equity training for City staff and elected officials for $237,600.
BACKGROUND:
In August of 2014, the City of Salinas led by the City Manager, Public Works Director, and the Chief of Police began working with Building Healthy Communities East Salinas to collaborate on a Governing for Racial Equity (GRE) Initiative. Building Healthy Communities East Salinas is a California Endowment funded Initiative.
The California Endowment (TCE) sponsored trainings at the City of Salinas began in November of 2014. Fifty city employees in leadership positions trained in GRE while fifty community leaders also trained. Each group trained for two full days followed by a daylong group training for all one hundred participants at the local Hartnell Community College. The training was innovative and the first of its kind in the country. The GRE training conducted by Race Forward blended with Trauma Informed Healing training done by the National Compadres Network. Out of this training came the development of a GRE steering committee made up of equal parts community and City leadership. The goals of the steering committee were to:
Tell the Salinas story.
Develop ongoing city trainings.
Develop ongoing community trainings.
Expand community engagement.
Conduct or begin actual new projects, policies or practices.
The development of the Salinas case study “Building the We” and the short documentary by the same name are how we “tell the Salinas Story”. Additional trainings of another 100 city employees happened in 2016. Some smaller scale community trainings have also occurred. In late 2016 city staff and leadership decided to join the Government Alliance for Race and Equity (GARE) to develop a cross department team that could work together to create a Racial Equity Impact Assessment tool. A team of ten city staff created in January 2017 trained for a full year in GARE together and went on to do a second-year implementation track in 2018. A new smaller group completed the introductory training in 2019.
The GARE trainings from 2017-2019 occurred monthly in Oakland. The County of Monterey has also been sending a team since 2017. The monthly travel for such large teams and the amount of time spent in traffic for the day long trainings has taken a toll. In 2019 members of the GRE steering committee joined the cross-sector collective, “Towards A Racially Equitable Monterey County” (TREMC) Together with the County of Monterey, Building Healthy Communities and other agencies we brought GARE to Monterey County in 2020 to improve participation and make the training more accessible. Fifteen city staff from all departments participated in this training. In 2021-2022 a smaller team of about 5 city staff participated in the Monterey County Learning to Action cohort, “COLIBRI” (Collaboratively Organizing for Liberation, Inclusion and Breaking Racial Inequities). Out of this cohort an action plan was developed to do equitable community engagement by improving the City’s outreach processes and strategies. This plan resulted in the engagement of over 6,000 residents through meetings, pop-ups and an online survey on the budget priorities of residents. Now we will partner with Race Forward to train all staff in governing for race equity.
Race Forward was founded in 1981 and brings systemic analysis and an innovative approach to complex race issues to help people take effective action toward racial equity. Race Forward is home to the Government Alliance on Race and Equity (GARE), a national network of local government working to achieve racial equity and advance opportunities for all. Race Forward also presents Facing Race, the country’s largest multiracial conference on racial justice. Race Forward helped design and deliver the Monterey County Learning to Action cohort, “COLIBRI” in 2021 and 2022. Race Forward’s training/workshops present core racial equity concepts, and then focus further on content and application to support training participants in bringing key ideas into their daily work.
The key outcomes for these trainings are:
To shift the understanding of racism from the individual to the system focus, to assist participants in thinking through how to utilize this framework in policy making.
To provide an orientation to the role, responsibilities, and opportunities for government to advance racial equity.
Focus on normalizing racial equity as a core value with clear definitions of key terminology, operationalizing racial equity via new policies and institutional practice, and organizing, both internally and in partnership with other institutions and the community.
Introduction to a racial equity tool that can be used in decisions relating to policies, practices, programs and budget and share effective communications strategies.
The goal is to train all city staff and elected officials. We will complete most of the trainings late Spring through to the Fall of 2023. Half of the trainings will be in person and the other half will be virtual. Each training is one full day. The terms of the contract will allow us one year through May 2024 to complete trainings for all staff.
CEQA CONSIDERATION:
Not a Project. The City of Salinas has determined that the proposed action is not a project as defined by the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) (CEQA Guidelines Section 15378).
STRATEGIC PLAN INITIATIVE:
The continuation of GRE training supports the following City Council Goals:
Effective & Culturally Responsive Government
Invest in training and development opportunities to build skills and capacity.
Provide Diversity, Equity and Inclusion training for policymakers.
DEPARTMENTAL COORDINATION:
The Library & Community Services Department has coordinated and collaborated with designees from the Police, Fire, Administration, Finance, Human Resource, Public Works and Community Development Departments who have been training together on Governing for Racial Equity through a cross department team that trains on Governing for Racial Equity since 2017. Recently this cross-sector group along with Policy makers attending the 2022 Facing Race Conference in Phoenix Arizona FISCAL AND SUSTAINABILITY IMPACT:
The funds are appropriated and available in expenditure accounts 1100.55.6248-63.6010 ($187,236) and 3255.55.7354-63.6010 ($50,364).
ATTACHMENTS:
Resolution
Professional Services Agreement