Agenda Item #15.2
For Council Meeting of: May 21, 2024
CITY OF SANTA ROSA
CITY COUNCIL
TO: MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL
FROM: DINA MANIS, CITY CLERK
SUBJECT: DIVERSITY REPORT ON CITY COUNCIL BOARDS, COMMISSIONS, AND COMMITTEES AGENDA ACTION: MOTION
RECOMMENDATION
It is recommended by the City Clerk’s Office that the Council, by motion, accept the Annual Report of Diversity of City Council Appointees for the reporting year 2023 and provide feedback to staff on future reports.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
City Charter Section 11, Participation and Diversity in Boards and Commissions, requires that the Council issue an annual written report regarding its appointments to boards, commissions, and committees to be discussed in public session. The report shall contain, but is not limited to, the total number of appointments in a given year, the total number of applications in a given year, and relevant diversity information including geographic and ethnic diversity. Further, the report will evaluate the progress and success of increasing the diversity of appointments.
BACKGROUND
Pursuant to City Charter Section 11, Participation and Diversity in Boards and Commissions, the City shall undertake all reasonable efforts to encourage participation by all residents and ensure that appointments reflect the diversity of Santa Rosa, including geographic and ethnic diversity. The City Charter requires the Council to issue a written report annually on its appointments to boards, commissions, committees showing trends in diversity, including geographic and ethnic diversity.
In February of 2022, the Council recommended that future reports include data on the gender and ethnicity of appointees by City Council district and by appointing authority. In August of 2023, Council recommended that future reports also capture data on age ranges.
Historically the City Clerk’s Office has also provided applicant information in the report as the pool of applicants directly ties to Council’s ability to make diverse appointments.
PRIOR CITY COUNCIL REVIEW
Diversity reporting was previously presented to the Council on the following dates:
July 26, 2011
September 11, 2012
June 17, 2014, for the reporting years of 2013 and 2014 February 22, 2022, for the reporting years of 2018 through 2021 August 23, 2023, for the reporting year of 2022
Report years 2011 through 2022, including 2015 through 2017 which were not presented to Council, are posted online at https://www.srcity.org/2572/Annual-Diversity-Report.
ANALYSIS
The report provides statistics and trends in Council appointments showing the City’s progress towards increasing diversity on its boards, commissions, and committees.
No benchmarks or success factors were identified in Section 11 of the Charter or set by previous Councils. The Diversity Report for 2023 (Attachment 1) shows applicant and appointment data and provides Census data where applicable for comparison.
Gender Diversity Progress Summary
There has been a 1% increase in female board, commission, or committee members from August 2023 to March 2024, and an increase in the number of appointees who are not reporting or prefer not to state their gender. Census data shows female persons make up 51.2% of the population in Santa Rosa.
Ethnicity Diversity Progress Summary
Ethnicity data for 2023 indicates a modest shift towards a more diverse applicant pool, with the percentage of Caucasian applicants going down over time as there is a significant increase in Hispanic applicants, and a modest increase in applicants in the remaining ethnicity categories which include API, American Indian/Alaskan Native Aleutian, Other/Multi-Racial, and Prefer Not to Say. In 2023, the ethnicity data for appointed board, commission or committee members shows an increase in the Prefer Not to Say category, a decrease in Caucasian and American Indian/Alaskan Native Aleutian categories, and no significant change in remaining ethnicity categories from August 2023 to March 2024.
Geographic Diversity Progress Summary
Significant geographic diversification of the applicant pool started in 2019. This point aligns with the City’s shift to District-based Council elections starting in the 2018 November election. Since then there has been a shift in more diverse appointments based on geographics from across all Community Advisory Board (CAB) districts as required in the Charter, and a lesser concentration of appointments from the Northeast CAB district.
Age Diversity Progress Summary
There has been an increase in the self-reports on age overall in applicants, and incremental change in age diversity in appointees across all age categories defined and captured in the moment in time counts in August 2023 and March 2024.
Recruitment Efforts
In addition to historical recruitment efforts such as publication in the Press Democrat, LaVoz, social media, and the City Connections newsletter, the City Clerk’s Office continues to increase recruitment efforts and visibility of opportunities to serve on a board, commission, or committee with increased collaboration with over forty-five community partner groups. In the fall of 2024, the City Clerk’s Office will also host a Boards, Commissions, and Committees Outreach/Informational meeting to aid with recruitment and build applicant pools.
FISCAL IMPACT
Approval of this action does not have a fiscal impact on the General Fund.
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT
The proposed action is exempt from the provisions of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) under CEQA Guidelines Sections 15061(b)(3) and 15378 in that there is no possibility that the implementation of this action may have significant effects on the environment, and that no environmental review is required.
BOARD/COMMISSION/COMMITTEE REVIEW AND RECOMMENDATIONS
Not applicable.
NOTIFICATION
Not applicable.
ATTACHMENTS
Attachment 1 – Diversity Report for 2023
PRESENTER
Dina Manis, City Clerk
DIVERSITY REPORT ON CITY COUNCIL BOARDS, COMMISSIONS, AND COMMITTEES PAGE 3 OF 3