Commission on Human Rights

CITY OF ALBANY COMMISSION ON HUMAN RIGHTS CITY HALL 24 EAGLE STREET, ALBANY, NY KATHY M. SHEEHAN MAYOR MEETING MINUTES Meeting Date: Monday, May 20, 2024 Meeting Time: 6:00pm Location: Mayor’s Conference Room & YouTube Meeting Facilitator: Aaron Moore, Chair - Excused Invitees: Thomas Mueller, Vice Chair - Present Kate Shelly, Secretary - Present Valerie Alexander-Moseley, Commissioner – Present Natisha Alexander, Commissioner – Absent Richard Conti, Commissioner - Present Celia Evers, Commissioner - Present Rosie Love, Commissioner - Present Kimberly Young Wilkins, Commissioner - Present Ann Marie Salmon, Commissioner of Administrative Services - Present Melanie Woodward, EEO Compliance Officer - Present Raisi Mobele, Assistant Corporation Counsel – Present Tatiana Diaz, Human Resources Director – Present Marissa Tuszynski, Deputy Human Resources Director – Present Autumn Thorman, Executive Assistant – Present Meeting called to order by Vice Chair Mueller at 6:06 PM I. Approval of April 18, 2024 Minutes a) Vice Chair Mueller requested a motion to approve April 18, 2024 meeting minutes by general consent of the Commission on Human Rights (“CHR”). Motion moved by Commissioner Conti and seconded by Commissioner Alexander-Moseley. CHR voted unanimously to pass the motion. II. Public Comment (limited to 5 minutes per person) a) No comments were made during this period. III. Presentation by Tatiana Diaz, City of Albany Human Resources Director a) City of Albany recruitment and retention strategy:  o Join Albany - In 2023, the Department of Administrative Services launched the City’s Join Albany campaign, a municipal employee recruitment and retention initiative seeking to attract and develop future city employees from diverse backgrounds o Joinalbany.com was designed to create a dynamic, modern and easy-to-access website, allowing the City to reach a wider pool of candidates. o Commitment to filing vacancies by rethinking how the story of Albany is told, by demystifying civil service through workshops and using clear, concise language in websites and job postings, creating a physical, on-site presence within communities at monthly job fairs, reaching out to entities such as Shop Rite and St. Rose to aid in employment transition. o Youth opportunities: created the Student Assistant position that has an employment track in order to grow summer youth participation forward into permanent employment with the City. Participation in NYS Retirement Plan is highly encouraged for Summer Youth Employees o There is now dedicated recruitment personnel within HR; civil service exam fees have been waived; expanded job opportunities for workers with disabilities by including more job titles in the City’s 55A program; Albany County is interested in partnering in recruitment activities; the NYS Department of Labor is promoting our hiring workshops and has provided guest speakers o 2024 Hiring focus: public safety – Lateral Transfers and Police/Fire Exams. Join Albany has launched a digital ad campaign in NYC to recruit NYPD officers to Albany – we are beginning to see responses. More information to come about Lateral Transfers. o Human Resources Department also heavily involved in retention, for example – expanding employee benefit programs, drafting legislation for Paid Family Leave program (launching 2025), facilitating DEI training for all City employees, leading employee and supervisor workforce development trainings, planning the City’s participation in the CDPHP Workforce Team Challenge, which had a record turnout of City employees in 2024, at around 60 participants. o Submitted City’s participation in NYS HELPS Program (250+ titles) b) Questions o Commissioner Love: Can we (the Commission on Human Rights) participate in the CDPHP Workforce Team Challenge? Tatiana Diaz: Yes! o Commissioner Alexander-Mosely: Are you receiving feedback about interviews/are interviews being monitored? Tatiana Diaz: There is a need to enhance interviewing skills of hiring managers; a training session is anticipated for July 2024. Ann Marie Salmon: It is encouraged that panel-style interviews are conducted. Most hiring staff at the City Hall have adopted this format. o Commissioner Conti: Which departments are the most challenging to hire? Tatiana Diaz: Public Safety (Police) and mid-career specialized professionals such as IT. o Commissioner Young Wilkins: Is the Department of Human Resources reaching out to schools for the youth workforce? Tatiana Diaz: Yes, HR reaches out to Albany High School, public colleges and churches. An intern program is also in the pipeline. IV. Old Business  a) 2024 Human Rights Recognition Reception and Forum  Commission on Human Rights entered into Executive Session to vote on award winners for the 2024 Human Rights Recognition Reception, which will take place on Thursday, June 13, 2024. b) Commission on Human Rights Bylaws  Raisi Mobele has tracked changes and presented CHR with the latest edited copy. There is no deadline for CHR to adopt the bylaws but changes need to be sent to Raisi to update the document. c) Proposed legislation amending end dates for the terms of Commissioners  Raisi Mobele provided proposed legislation. The next step is to present proposed legislation to the Common Council and a CHR representative will need to be in attendance for that meeting. V. New Business a) Equity Agenda Report Draft and Appendix  All commissioners were provided with their own copies of the report, which will be uploaded to the CHR OneDrive folders. Report must be submitted to the Common Council by December 21, 2024.  Commissioner Young-Wilkins moved to set an internal deadline of September 19, 2024 to review and comment. Commissioner Love seconded. Motion passed.  Commissioner Salmon offered to schedule meetings with various City Departments if the Commission on Human Rights has questions about specific work areas covered in the draft report. VI. Updates from Commission on Human Rights Subcommittees a) Community and Non Profit Engagement and Events  Tulip Festival tabling was deemed successful by the commissioners, with 101 engagements from the public. Tabling at future events is of interest to all.  Other Community Events o Upcoming community events of interest to CHR, suggested by the commissioners: In Our Own Voices parade is June 8, 2024; Capital Region Pride parade is June 9, 2024; African American Heritage parade is June 15, 2024; Women’s March is May 15, 2024; Albany Land Trust event is June 19, 2024. The shared drive will be updated with these events. b) Investigations  EEO Compliance Officer Melanie Woodward reported that she has been looking into training at the state and local level for the CHR. Commissioner Salmon recommended a meeting with Corporation Counsel’s Office and Investigations Committee to discuss roles and responsibilities with respect to investigations. c) Communications and Social Media  No updates – still have not heard back from Meta regarding access to the CHR’s Facebook account. d) Other Announcements and Discussion   Awardee notification to the recipients prior to the reception will come from the Commission’s email account. Details of the awards order for the reception will be discussed with Commissioner Mueller on a call.  There is upcoming legislation to be drafted around the Fair Housing officer to give the office more influence. e) Adjournment  Commissioner Love made a motion to adjourn the meeting at 7:32pm. Motion seconded by Commissioner Evers. The CHR voted unanimously to pass the motion. Minutes Approved on: June 20, 2024