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6 <br /> <br /> Mr. Taliaferro said he likes the look of what has been done. He said he is hoping <br />it will create a dialogue where people can say what they think and share their concerns. <br />He said he hopes City employees will be involved as we have internal issues. In addition <br />he said there is the issue of how our employees treat citizens. <br /> <br /> Mr. Jones said Human Resources is leading the internal diversity issue and the <br />City Manager and Lead Team are also discussing it. <br /> <br /> Mr. Taliaferro said who we employ is important. <br /> <br /> Mr. Huja said there was a similar effort years ago and he suggested this <br />information be looked at. He said the dialogue is overdue. He said we need consulting <br />assistance, but he expressed concern about staffing. He said part-time should be <br />sufficient. <br /> <br /> Mr. Jones said there will be a lot of administration needs and coordinating of <br />meetings. <br /> <br /> Mr. Huja agreed that City employees and the School should be included. <br /> <br /> Dr. Brown said his main concern is the cost. He said he is pleased to hear we are <br />trying to get private support. He said some organizations such as QCC may overlap. <br /> <br /> Mr. Jones said there have been preliminary discussions with organizations, and <br />these discussions will continue once Council agree that we should move forward. <br /> <br /> Dr. Brown suggested those organizations be consulted with and make sure they <br />are comfortable with the plan. He said they may also have suggestions. He said the <br />experts suggested all seem to be out of the City or State, but he would like to see us try to <br />hire locally. <br /> <br /> Mr. Jones said staff will do its best to reach local people if we go out with an <br />RFP. <br /> <br /> Dr. Brown said he generally supports the proposal, but wants to hear more input. <br />He said he is willing to commit to up to $5,000 for FY 2009 and up to $15,000 for FY <br />2010. He said the idea is to try to limit the City’s direct investment and make it more of a <br />community effort. <br /> <br /> Mr. Huja agreed with Dr. Brown’s figures. <br /> <br /> Dr. Brown said the issue could be brought back up when Ms. Edwards is present. <br /> <br /> Mr. Jones noted that it may be harder to get corporate support in the current slow <br />economy. <br /> <br /> Mr. Norris said he is okay with $10,000 for FY 2009, and exploring funding for <br />2010. <br /> <br /> Dr. Brown said if this allows a step process he is okay with that. <br /> <br /> Mr. Jones said the facilitation costs can be addressed up front, and the coordinator <br />can be addressed during the budget process. He said it would be hard to achieve a level <br />of success without a coordinator. <br /> <br /> Dr. Brown said we are not going to be able to do all we want in the budget, and <br />his concern is committing to something before the budget which takes away our <br />flexibility. <br /> <br /> Mr. Jones said what is being asked of Council now is to include it in the proposed <br />budget and Council can consider it during the budget process. <br /> <br />