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From YouTube: Council Minute April 14
Description
This week the City Council moved all agenda items to a future date following the death of Daunte Wright in Brooklyn Center. Mayor Tim Busse takes time to talk about why the City is committed to advancing the work of racial equity, inclusion and diversity.
A
Hello
bloomington,
I'm
mayor
tim
bussey,
and
this
is
the
council
minute
for
the
week
of
april
12th.
This
week
the
city
council
opened
our
meeting
continued
all
of
the
items
on
the
agenda
to
a
future
meeting
date
and
adjourned.
We
did
this
because
it
seemed
like
the
meeting
agenda
items
were
inconsequential
on
monday
night
compared
to
the
larger
issues
going
on
around
us.
I
am
deeply
saddened
and
more
than
a
little
disheartened
that
dante
wright,
a
young
black
man
died
at
the
hands
of
a
police
officer
in
brooklyn
center
on
sunday.
A
I
do,
however,
want
to
spend
my
time
with
you
today
talking
about
why
it
matters
why
it
matters
for
us
here
in
the
city
of
bloomington
and
why
we
have
committed
ourselves
to
advancing
the
work
of
racial
equity,
inclusion
and
diversity
in
the
city
of
bloomington
organization
and
throughout
our
community.
Let
me
start
by
going
back
a
few
years
to
2013.
A
that's
when
the
city
joined
with
hennepin
county
in
the
joint
community
police
partnership
program
or
the
jcpp,
the
jcpp
focuses
on
building
trusting
relationships
between
police
and
the
communities
they
serve,
especially
communities
of
color
and
new
americans.
Since
joining
the
jcpp,
we
have
had
a
hennepin
county
staff
person
embedded
in
the
bloomington
police
department,
as
a
community
liaison.
The
community
liaison
works
with
a
group
of
community
members
called
the
multicultural
advisory
committee
to
increase
community
awareness
of
policing
and
to
increase
police
officer
awareness
of
the
unique
cultures
that
exist
here
within
bloomington.
A
The
multicultural
advisory
committee
finds
opportunities
to
bring
police
officers
and
residents
together
to
get
to
know
each
other
to
provide
opportunities
for
positive
interactions
and
to
build
trust.
I
am
grateful
for
the
good
work
that
they
do.
I'm
also
grateful
for
the
ongoing
work
within
the
bloomington
pd
on
the
subject
of
race
and
equity,
and
I
am
most
grateful
for
the
outstanding
work
done
by
the
men
and
women
of
the
bloomington
police
department
and
the
culture
and
expectation
of
excellence
and
professionalism.
A
A
A
Back
in
2016,
we
focused
on
three
key
goals.
First,
we
acknowledged
the
need
to
diversify
the
volunteer
boards
and
commissions
that
advise
the
city
council.
These
commissions
are
an
important
voice
in
the
community
in
our
policy
development
process,
and
it's
important
that
the
residents
on
our
commissions
are
a
good
reflection
of
our
entire
community.
A
A
It's
important
that
residents
see
themselves
reflected
in
the
city
staff
that
serves
them,
and
it's
important
that
our
staff
has
the
cultural
competence
to
serve
the
many
needs
within
this
community.
Third,
we
wanted
to
establish
a
process
to
evaluate
our
city,
services
programs
and
our
policies
through
the
lens
of
equity.
A
A
We
took
another
significant
step
forward
when
we
decided
to
create
the
position
of
racial
equity
coordinator,
to
have
a
consistent
and
dedicated
effort
from
city
hall
to
make
sure
that
equity
is
a
core
consideration
in
everything
that
we
do.
I
will
tell
you.
I
think
this
is
one
of
the
best
investments
the
city
council
has
ever
made.
A
I'm
not
going
to
go
through
in
the
information
here,
but
there
is
more
than
ample
evidence
that
generations
in
this
country
have
not
had
access
to
fair
and
equitable
services
from
their
government.
There
are
many
who
would
say
that
our
local
government
here
in
bloomington
doesn't
perpetuate
these
historical
disparities.
A
A
A
A
I
feel
strongly
about
this,
but
it's
clear
that
others
do
as
well.
The
corporate
community
in
the
twin
cities
has
made
racial
equity,
a
top
priority,
greater
msp,
the
itasca
project,
the
minneapolis
regional
chamber
of
commerce.
All
of
them
are
focused
on
issues
that
will
attract
more
workers
to
the
region
and
ensuring
that
the
twin
cities
is
addressing
some
of
the
worst
disparities
in
the
country
between
white
people
and
people
of
color.
It
is
an
economic
imperative
for
the
entire
twin
cities
region
that
we
address
issues
that
continue
to
exacerbate
inequities
and
disparities.
A
Here
in
bloomington,
within
the
past
six
months,
we've
taken
even
bolder
steps
forward.
The
city
council
adopted
a
racial
equity
business
plan
at
the
end
of
2020..
Earlier
this
year
we
declared
racism
to
be
a
public
health
crisis.
City
staff
has
formed
racial
equity
action
teams
in
each
of
our
departments,
and
just
last
month
we
kicked
off
the
racial
equity
strategic
planning
process,
with
a
group
of
nearly
two
dozen
community
representatives
working
together
to
define
how
we
are
going
to
achieve
our
goals.