In response to Council direction to develop a framework to explore opportunities to raise awareness in the community around anti-racism and inclusivity issues, staff requests the City Council add a fourth strategy to the City council’s four-year strategic plan under Goal C: Maintain a Safe and Healthy Community:  Strengthen inclusiveness and anti-racism efforts in partnership with the community. In addition, staff requests Council’s direction on public engagement efforts to support this strategy, which also ties in to Goal B: Support Community Engagement and Advocacy.

At its June 17 meeting, the City Council developed consensus to direct staff to develop a framework with community partners to explore opportunities to raise awareness around anti-racism and inclusivity issues and strategies, including community conversations and identifying things we need to do or change to make Roseville a community that feels inclusive to everyone.

Research

While Placer County is currently 70% white, 17% Hispanic and 8% Asian/Pacific Islander, based on the most recent Census data, projections show a decline in the percentage of population that is white and an increase in the percentages of population that are Asian and are Hispanic.

As Roseville grows, its increasing diversity brings opportunity. As recognized in the Sacramento Area Council of Government’s 2019 Prosperity Strategy Framework with research performed by the Brookings Institute,  an economically prosperous region must tackle both growth and inclusion…treating inclusion as an essential input to any decision making, instead of a separate policy consideration.

To facilitate inclusion in our community and make Roseville a welcoming place to people of all backgrounds, staff has met with community and regional leaders, participated in webinars, and researched the complexities of the issue with the help of subject-matter experts. This has included the Government Alliance on Race and Equity, California Commission on the Status of Women and Girls, American Leadership Forum’s Implicit Bias initiative, National League of Cities, League of California Cities, and International City and County Management Association. 

Actions to Date

• Conducted staff-facilitated Appreciating Differences training with employees throughout the City, reaching nearly all employees in 2016-2017
• Holds Police Citizen Academy each year, including a virtual one during this pandemic
• City Council added advocacy for funding and policies for body-worn cameras for the Roseville Police Department to its 2020 State and Federal Legislative Platform.
• Joined the Government Alliance on Race and Equity in August 2020
• Reached out to Global Marketplace, a Rocklin-based non-profit that had applied for funding from the Citizens Benefit Fund through the Grants Advisory Committee. Global Marketplace sponsors nine-week Conversations on Racial Healing with small cohorts of 12-15 people who are interested in these issues, want to create connections and cohesiveness that strengthen our community, and build awareness of the issues.

Next steps for consideration

• Conduct Conversations on Racial Healing workshops with Global Marketplace for interested Roseville residents and businesses; determine whether to wait for in-person participation
• Conduct awareness campaign on importance of diversity, equity, and inclusion
• Integrate work from the City’s Inclusion Committee as appropriate with community-based groups focusing on inclusion and diversity initiatives.

The $10,000 budget this fiscal year for this effort will come from the General Fund contingency budget. This includes $5,000 for membership in Government Alliance on Race and Equity, $1,000 per workshop with Global Marketplace, funding for outreach and awareness opportunities. 

The California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) does not apply to activities that will not result in a direct or reasonably foreseeable indirect physical change in the environment, or is otherwise not considered a project as defined by CEQA Statute §21065 and CEQA State Guidelines §15060(c)(3) and §15378.  A presentation of community inclusion initiatives meets the above criteria and is not subject to CEQA. No additional environmental review is required.

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Dominick Casey, City Manager