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From YouTube: Council Minute August 4
Description
Mayor Tim Busse provides a recap of Monday’s Council meeting, including presentations by the City’s Racial Equity Action Teams and improvements to boards and commission policies. Plus, a thanks to all who participated in National Night Out.
A
Hello
bloomington,
I'm
mayor
tim
bussey,
and
this
is
the
council
minute
for
the
week
of
august.
2Nd.
The
highlight
of
this
week
was
one
of
my
favorite
annual
events.
National
night
out
national
night
out
is
about
two
things:
it's
about
community
building
and
it's
about
building
relationships
between
residents
and
the
public
safety
staff
dedicated
to
keeping
them
safe.
A
We
had
more
than
300
parties
registered
across
the
city
of
bloomington
for
a
national
night
out
this
week,
and
every
one
of
those
parties
that
were
registered
got
a
visit
from
the
members
of
the
bloomington
police
department
or
the
bloomington
fire
department,
and
many
of
them
got
both.
I
got
to
ride
with
chief
hartley
and
it
was
great
to
see
how
excited
kids
got
when
a
police
officer
showed
up
and
in
fact
it
was
fun
to
see
how
excited
some
of
the
adults
were
too.
Throughout
the
night.
I
consistently
heard
the
same
messages.
A
Safety
begins
by
taking
care
of
each
other
and
looking
out
for
each
other
having
neighborhood
events
to
get
to
know.
Your
neighbors
is
the
foundation
of
that
safety,
and,
frankly,
a
connected
neighborhood
makes
the
work
of
keeping
the
community
safe,
much
easier
for
our
public
safety
professionals.
I
want
to
specifically
thank
all
of
the
bloomington
police
department
staff,
the
firefighters
city
staff
and
the
city
council
members
who
visited
the
parties,
and
I
especially
want
to
thank
katie
zuerl.
A
Once
again,
congratulations
to
all
of
you
who
chose
to
make
a
difference
this
year
we
did
have
a
council
meeting
this
week
as
well,
and
one
of
the
items
was
the
second
part
of
a
two-part
presentation
from
city
staff
talking
about
the
racial
equity
action
teams
at
work
in
each
of
the
city
departments
in
september,
2020,
approximately
60
employees
volunteered
to
be
part
of
the
city's
inaugural
racial
equity
action
teams.
These
staff
driven
teams
advance
racial
equity
from
the
unique
perspectives
of
individual
departments
and
divisions.
A
This
week
we
heard
from
police
public
works,
community
development
and
community
services,
equity
and
inclusion
is
a
strategic
priority
for
the
city
of
bloomington.
We
know
that
investing
in
equity
and
inclusion
will
not
only
improve
individual
lives.
It
will
generate
broad
community
benefits
as
well.
A
Internal
efforts
are
guided
by
the
city's
racial
equity
business
plan
and
supported
by
the
city's
racial
equity
action
teams.
The
presentations
last
week
and
this
week
show
a
commitment
to
equity
and
inclusion
that
clearly
demonstrates
that
our
strategic
priority
of
making
bloomington
a
more
equitable
and
inclusive
community
and
making
the
city
a
more
equitable
and
inclusive
organization
is
progressing.
I
am
so
grateful
to
our
staff
for
their
dedication
to
this
work.
The
bloomington
community
outreach
and
engagement
division,
also
known
as
coed,
is
coordinating
a
process
improvement
effort
for
the
city's
boards
and
commissions.
A
We
want
to
provide
clarity,
consistency,
equity
and
transparency
with
respect
to
the
recruitment
and
appointment
of
board
and
commission
members.
Coed
has
collaborated
with
staff,
liaisons
and
other
employees
who
support
boards
and
commissions.
They've
talked
with
current
board
and
commission
members
with
folks
in
legal
administration
and
others
to
develop
recommendations
for
city
council
consideration.
A
A
key
component
of
the
recommendations
is
a
city
of
bloomington
board
and
commission
policy
that
specifically
defines
consistent
procedures
and
guidelines
pertaining
to
the
recruitment,
the
application,
selection,
appointment
and
onboarding
of
boards
and
commission
members
on
monday
night
staff
shared
information
about
the
policy
development
process
and
an
overview
of
the
draft
contents.
They
answered
questions
from
the
city
council
and
we
had
a
very
good
discussion
about
ways
to
improve
the
process.