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HomeMy WebLinkAboutDEI Comm. 10/19/2023Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee Meeting Minutes October 19, 2023 Present: Ms. Diana Bren, Deputy Chief Frank Archer, Ms. Teresa Murphy, Ms. Vivian Webster, Mr. Michael McCreless, Ms. Jocelyn LeMaire and Mr. Peter Lally via GoToWebinar. Ms. Beth CollinRk6EbVEE&t via phone. GOWN CLERKS OFFICE Not Present: Mr. SriRishi Atluri, Mr. Dhruv Jain, Mr. lames Owens, Mr. Kevin Dumas, Ms. Kate deLima, Mr. Joe Kaplan 2024 JAN 25 P 3: 41 Also Present: Mr. Earl Hinton, Organizational Consultant for this Committee was alsd`*hi6 t1Fik0oToWebinar. MASSACHUSETTS 1. Call Meeting to Order Ms. Diana Bren called the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee meeting to order at 6:04PM with eight members present. 2. Discussion and Consideration to Approve the Meeting Minutes of May 4, 2023 Motion: To approve the meeting minutes of May 4, 2023. (Murphy/Archer) Passes 8:0 Roll Call Vote: F. Archer — Yes J. LeMaire—Yes M. McCreless—Yes P. Lally —Yes T. Murphy —Yes V. Webster —Yes B. Collins —Yes D. Bren—Yes 3. DEI Committee Charge and Timeline Presentation — "The Work Ahead" Ms. Bren handed over the meeting to Mr, Earl Hinton. He began by revisiting where the Committee started and explained the definitions of diversity, equity and inclusion and showed a model comparing each to a leg of a stool and that each leg is necessary to create and sustain an equitable and inclusive environment. Vivian Webster left the meeting at 6:36PM. Mr. Hinton stated that the Committee has been charged with reviewing the current Town policies, practices, services and functions to make sure they are fair and equitable. He noted that the Committee will analyze the differences and present recommendations to the Select Board and that the work of the Committee will be data driven. The Committee will be involved with interrupting data that has already been collected and exists about the diversity of Mansfield. Ms. Bren asked Mr. Hinton where the data came from that he has. Mr. Hinton responded that it was the Town Manager Kevin Dumas and Jocelyn LeMaire from Human Resources from 2020 or 2021. Ms. LeMaire added that the information came from the US Census Bureau and the American Community Survey which is updated yearly. Mr. Hinton stated that the Committees role is advisory and not regulatory and if there are issues of discrimination those should be brought to Human Resources and rely on experts and specialists to handle those issues. Ms. Murphy stated that she looks at the charge of the Committee and there is only a small group of members and is unsure how this small group will be doing all of this work in nine months. Mr. Hinton responded that it is still unknown because it is unclear how many policies there are, he stated there could be dozens or hundreds. He stated this work will take longer than eight or nine months and anticipates that this committees work will take longer. Ms. Murphy asked if the charge of the Committee was too broad compared to others he has seen. She said that in the Schools they have policies and they are reviewed constantly, but is unsure how many there are on the Town side and maybe it is less than what she expects. She stated that the Massachusetts School Association gives great templates of policies for the Schools to start with and wonders if there is an equivalent on the Town side. Mr. Hinton stated that the Massachusetts Municipal Association is in the infancy stage of this kind of work. Ms. Bren stated that as a member of the Select Board she believes that part of the Committee's recommendation should be to renew the DEI Committee because this is a Committee that has work to be done that cannot be completed in a single year. Mr. Michael McCreless stated that as a citizen volunteer he is willing to meet more frequently to make up for some of the time lost and help gain some momentum. Lastly, Mr. Hinton provided a projected timeline with a description of each of the items within the timeline. 4. Establish Next Meeting Date This item was skipped. S. Next Meeting -In-depth review of socio-demographic data This item was skipped. 6. Any Items Not Known within 48 Hours There were no items. 7. Adjourn Motion: To adjourn the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee meeting of October 19, 2023 at 7:23PM. (McCreless/Murphy) Passes 7:0 Roll Call Vote: F. Archer —Yes J. LeMaire—Yes M. McCreless—Yes P. Lally —Yes T. Murphy —Yes B. Collins —Yes �M D. Bren—vPc Si Minutes prepared by Carrie Champagne Date