Meeting Information

• Date: January 21, 2025
• Title: Administration and Enterprise Oversight Committee Regular Meeting
• Present: Wonsley (Chair), Palmisano (Vice Chair), and 2 other unspecified members (4 total present)
• Absent: Not specified
• Guests: Brett Jolly (Deputy City Operations Officer), Deb Kruger (HR Director of Operations), Pam Fernandez (Procurement Director), Eric Hanson (CPED Director), Director Corbett
• Votes: 1 (consent agenda items)

Highlights

• Presentation and discussion of Strategic Racial Equity Action Plan (SREAP) updates and future revisions
• Review of workforce diversity metrics showing declining tenure rates for men of color
• Update on procurement spending with BIPOC-owned businesses
• Housing stability and displacement prevention measures in targeted zip codes
• Concerns raised about federal administration’s impact on DEI initiatives

Discussion

Strategic Racial Equity Action Plan Updates

Deputy City Operations Officer Brett Jolly presented an overview of the SREAP, which began in 2018. The plan focuses on four key priorities: workforce, spending, housing policies, and economic development. Director Corbett indicated plans to revise and strengthen SREAP by Q3 2025, with better alignment of strategic needs, goals, metrics, and activities. Chair Wonsley raised concerns about the legal implications of recent federal actions on DEI work and the need for city attorney guidance on defending these initiatives.

Workforce Diversity Metrics

HR Director Kruger presented data showing declining average tenure for men of color who voluntarily leave city employment, dropping from 5 years to 4.7 years. Recent initiatives include establishing an immigrant and refugee employee workgroup, expanding culturally relevant mental health support, and increasing BIPOC male applicants by 44% over 2.5 years. Despite challenges, engagement survey results showed significant improvements in favorability ratings among African American male employees.

Quote from Director Kruger: “Our numbers have dropped slightly from 5.5 years to 4.7…although we have expanded culturally relevant mental health support…the favorability level for every engagement survey category increased significantly for the African-American segment.”

Procurement and Business Development

Procurement Director Fernandez reported exceeding disparity study benchmarks for Hispanic American-owned (4.34% vs 0.68% benchmark) and Native American-owned (3.7% vs 0.69% benchmark) businesses, though African American-owned business participation (0.86%) remained below the 3.55% benchmark. The Target Market Program has expanded to include over 2,500 vendors and is expected to reach $50 million in contracts for 2024.

Housing Stability Initiatives

CPED Director Hanson reported on efforts to prevent involuntary displacement in targeted zip codes (55412, 55414). Measures include expanded legal aid services, rental property ownership workshops in multiple languages, and implementation of pre-eviction notification requirements. The city has spent approximately $44,000 per week on rental relocation services through Q3 2024, an increase from previous years.

Public Comments

No public comments were recorded during this meeting.