7 28 20 City Council Proceedings Official - Special1
CITY OF DUBUQUE, IOWA
CITY COUNCIL PROCEEDINGS
SPECIAL SESSION
OFFICIAL
The Dubuque City Council met in special session at 6:30 p.m. on July 28, 2020.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and mandates for social distancing, this meeting was
conducted virtually and aired live on CityChannel Dubuque (Mediacom cable channels 8
and 117.2), streamed live on the city’s website at www.cityofdubuque.org/media, and
streamed live on the City’s Facebook page at www.facebook.com/cityofdubuque.
Present: Mayor Buol; Council Members Cavanagh, Jones, Lynch, Resnick, Roussell,
Sprank; City Manager Van Milligen, City Attorney Brumwell
Mayor Buol read the call and stated this is a special session of the City Council called
for the purpose of conducting Part II of II of the work sessions on Black Lives Matter:
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion.
Swearing-In: Mayor Buol administered the Oath of Office to First Ward Council Mem-
ber Appointee Kevin J. Lynch.
WORK SESSION
Black Lives Matter: Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
Part II of II
1. Black Lives Matter: Diversity, Equity & Inclusion - Part II of II: City staff and network
partners provided information and presentations to the City Council in advance of their
annual goal-setting scheduled for August 10-12 about the work done in the community to
improve the experience of black and brown individuals in Dubuque. Assistant City Man-
ager Cori Burbach introduced the work session stating that the presentations will focus
on local government’s role in advancing racial equity.
• Current State – City of Dubuque
Collins Eboh, Organizational Equity Coordinator; Temwa Phiri, Community
Engagement Coordinator; Mark Dalsing, Police Chief; Jill Connors, Economic
Development Director; Jenni Petersen-Brant, Arts & Cultural Affairs Coordina-
tor; Todd Dalsing, Airport Manager; Teri Goodmann, Assistant City Manager.
Topics discussed included:
Why does race matter? Race explicit, not exclusive; What is racial equity?;
Equality vs. equity; systemic and institutional racism; cycle of socialization;
achieving racial equity; D.E.&I not a single concept – quantity, quality, justice;
equity teams, department evaluations, tool applic ation, equity plans; proposed
strategies to address barriers to equity.
• Dubuque Police Department
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Department staffing, data, Community Resource Officers, department de-
mographics, officer training, Community Oriented Policing history and princi-
ples; P2 partnerships and problem solving; long-term proactive problem solving;
expansion of the police role; 5-year average of, arrests, victimization, traffic ci-
tations, and use-of-force data; traffic stop study and conclusions; oversight hi-
erarchy, Dubuque Community-Police Relations Committee; Chiefs’ Forum and
other initiatives; reimaging policing; and brain health.
Economic Development: Supporting minority economic success: strategies
for addressing racial disparities in income and wealth; supporting partnering
agencies and minority-owned businesses; economic development partners.
Arts and Culture: 2016 to present DEI overview; education and outreach;
“Solidarity” mural, ideation, planning, implementation, and partnership, next
steps related to the mural;
Dubuque Regional Airport: Naming Captain Robert Martin Airport Terminal;
Intergovernmental relations: Iowa State Legislature Iowa Black Caucus com-
promise; in-progress legislative agenda; Congressional Black Caucus future
congressional efforts.
• Possible next steps:
Racial Equity Action Plan;
• Questions for Council to consider as they approach goal setting:
A. Do we have a shared understanding of racial equity and effective strategies that
might advance it?
B. What does the data tell us?
C. What performance measures should be prioritized?
D. Who has power to affect these measures? What are the target outcomes?
E. What programs or policies might we implement or change to reach these out-
comes?
The presenters responded to questions from the City Council following the presenta-
tion.
There being no further business, Mayor Buol declared the meeting adjourned at 8:34
p.m.
/s/Kevin S. Firnstahl, CMC, City Clerk
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