City Of West Palm Beach: Mayor's Task Force On Racial & Ethnic Equality Recommendations Announced

West Palm Beach FL

07 October, 2021

10:33 AM

Description

Press release from the City of West Palm Beach: 10/06/2021 10:52 AM Members of the Mayor's Task Force on Racial & Ethnic Equality with Mayor James Prior to the October 4, 2021 City Commission Meeting   WEST PALM BEACH, FLA (October 6, 2021) – At a meeting of the city commission on October 4, 2021, the Mayor's Task Force on Racial and Ethnic Equality, led by co-chairs Michelle Diffenderfer and Patrick Franklin, presented recommendations for consideration by Mayor Keith A. James and the commission. The recommendations are the culmination of more than 300 hours of work and repeated engagements with stakeholders by 43 diverse community representatives who responded to Mayor James' call for a more equitable West Palm Beach. Justice & Sustainability Associates served as facilitator with Neighborhoods First Director Tiffany David. As the recommendations are non-binding, Mayor James intends to hold a Mayor-Commission Work Session to discuss the recommendations and identify five for immediate action or short-term implementation. By Executive Order, Mayor James established the taskforce last summer after police-involved shootings of African Americans in other parts of the country ignited outrage, exposed deeply entrenched systemic racism, and challenged the public's confidence and trust in policing and criminal justice. This coincided with the COVID-19 pandemic's exposure of racial and ethnic disparities and led to demonstrations calling for change across the country and in West Palm Beach. Education about racial and ethnic inequities, Research of best practices, and Issuance of policy/funding recommendations to address racial/ethnic inequity. Education and workforce development, Finance, banking and business, Health, Real estate and housing, and Criminal justice. Improve information sharing and outreach for access to existing education, career, and workforce opportunities. Leverage business, philanthropic, and private partnerships and offer incentives to businesses to support workforce development and education programs. Develop strategies to address barriers that people have faced when trying to access workforce training or career development programs. Create a Communication Engagement-Foundation Liaison staff position in the Mayor's Office to work closely with the business and foundation community to facilitate funding for initiatives. Create an Education Liaison coordination team in the Mayor's Office to support the schools with resources and advocate on behalf of teachers and students. Incentivize offices of financial institutions to locate in black and brown neighborhoods with the goal of investing in increasing percentage of home ownership. Target programs toward financial education, financial literacy, and entrepreneurship with a focus on youth and young adults. Create a dedicated city-staffed neighborhood small business center with a presence in identified underserved neighborhoods in the city. Develop or support initiatives that solicit bids from and offer contracts to small- and medium-sized minority-owned businesses from both city and private enterprises in multiple languages. Create mobile services and transit services for medical needs to overcome the digital divide in communities and support areas with low accessibility to healthcare. Promote and encourage more equity in healthcare institutions and recruitment of more representative minorities in medicine. Prioritize policies aimed at ensuring equitable access to and increase education about healthy, affordable food options. Invest in programs that improve relationships and build trust between health providers and community organizations. Increase availability and access to mental health resources and services, especially in underserved communities. Develop programs that target use of vacant lots, support partnerships to buy distressed properties, and build affordable housing on city-owned land. Invest resources to support education and capacity-building of local organizations that advocate for tenant rights of vulnerable immigrant communities. Invest resources to prioritize code enforcement in the most blighted areas and other targeted neighborhoods. Promote quality rental housing with incentives or ways to support landlords in addressing substandard conditions both inside and outside of units. Prioritize greater investment in programs that help people, especially historically excluded populations, purchase and maintain homes. Establish a Civilian Review Board designed to provide recommendations to the police department. Target strategies for hiring and maintaining a diverse team of police officers. Invest in the police department's field training program to build a culture of community awareness and best practices in promoting racial and cultural sensitivity. Create mechanisms for tracking use of force and data available for identifying and understanding racial and ethnic disparities in community-police interactions. Pilot a crisis intervention team program to work alongside police officers with mental health calls. Provide and promote a more accessible portal for community members to share information or file complaints of misconduct toward police officers and provide the choice for citizens to remain anonymous. This press release was produced by the City of West Palm Beach. The views expressed here are the author's own.