MILLENNIAL TASK FORCE

200 E. Wells Street City of Milwaukee Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53202 Meeting Minutes MILLENNIAL TASK FORCE CHAIR: MARQUAYLA ELLISON Nick Carnahan, Nicole Behnke, Jordan Donald, Tenia Fisher, Jeremy Fojut, Adam Gabornitz, Michael Hostad, Amelia Kegel, Noel Kegel, Kacee Ochalek, Jason Rae, Ger Thao, Tiffany Henry and Sam Woods. Staff Assistant: Chris Lee, 414-286-2232 Legislative Liaison: Alex Highley, 414-286-8661 Monday, October 26, 2020 10:00 AM Virtual Meeting This will be a virtual meeting conducted via GoToMeeting. Should you wish to join this meeting from your phone, tablet, or computer you may go to https://global.gotomeeting.com/join/436049741. You can also dial in using your phone United States: +1 (872) 240-3212 and Access Code: 436-049-741. 1. Call to order. Meeting called to order at 10:03 a.m. 2. Roll call. Present 12 - Ellison, Fisher, Gabornitz, Behnke, Henry, Thao, Hostad, Donald, Ochalek, Woods, Rae, Carnahan Excused 3 - Kegel (Amelia), Fojut, Kegel (Noel) Also present: Alex Highley, Legislative Reference Bureau 3. Introduction of new member(s). Member Behnke was introduced as a new member replacing Angela Damiani. Member Behnke said that she has been with Newaukee for 9 years and serves as the Client Experience Director. 4. Review and approval of the previous meeting minutes from September 28, 2020. The meeting minutes from September 28, 2020 were approved without objection. 5. Assessment, analysis, and setting of priority goals, objectives, outcomes, and recommendations. City of Milwaukee Page 1 MILLENNIAL TASK FORCE Meeting Minutes October 26, 2020 A. Task force priorities 1.) Education 2.) Housing 3.) Workplace 4.) Apprenticeships 5.) Other B. Reasons Millennials and Generation Z leave or stay in Milwaukee C. Review of City legislation, existing programs, or initiatives 1.) Earn and Learn program Mr. Highley commented. The Earn and Learn program is a City program that began in 2012. It is a summer youth internship program that places summer teens to City work. This year was virtual due to the COVID-19 pandemic. 2.) Social responsibility measures Mr. Lee said an example of Common Council legislation used to address social responsibility was forwarded to task force members. Mr. Highley said that the example pertained to giving higher points, as an incentive, to contractors for employing persons with felony convictions when making procurement bids to the City. 3.) Other D. Any research, speaker, or presentation requests? 1.) MPS student surveys 4.) College student enrollment Mr. Highley commented. MPS student surveys from spring 2018 on outgoing high school seniors showed 66% planned to go to a 2-4 year college, 9% were unsure, and the rest planned for other alternatives such as apprenticeships or employment. For those going to college 48% planned to stay in Milwaukee, 36% planned to stay in Wisconsin outside of Milwaukee, and 16% planned to go out-of-state. The top two reasons for students' choice for their college were close proximity to home at 21% and costs at 17%. Not much information was obtained from UW-Milwaukee, and he is awaiting a response from UWM. There was some data from Marquette University; however, that data was only state-based and showed flat numbers. He was not able to find data from MATC but will continue to search. 2.) Restructuring City departments Mr. Highley commented. The most cooperative approach to restructure a City department is for the Common Council to pass legislation directing that a City department come up with a plan to change its structure and staffing. The City department would make that evaluation and respond back to the Common Council with a plan. Should the task force make a recommendation to restructure a City department, it would be important for the task force to provide a clear vision and solutions to the Common Council to follow through with the recommendation. City of Milwaukee Page 2 MILLENNIAL TASK FORCE Meeting Minutes October 26, 2020 3.) Anti-segregation peer city programs Cincinnati was mentioned previously as a successful city to have combated segregation; however, upon research (which there was not much found) it was shown that Cincinnati had removed itself only from being a hyper-segregated city into a segregated city. There does not seem there has been any one city to have significantly addressed segregation. Some common strategies among cities used to combat segregation have been economic development and housing assistance initiatives. 5.) Other E. Other Members commented. Students should be able to have easier access and pathways to higher education and employment. The Earn and Learn program needs to be elevated. To attract local students there should be more strategies to lower costs and promote local institutions better. The City needs to invest more, be forward thinking, and create other pathways. The pandemic has created a new abnormal where location may not be a selling factor anymore due to the emergence of remote work. Physical location is still important for essential workers, and there should be investment in them. Improving workplace culture is important. Those working remotely from home also need help with the transition and having adequate resources. Members said that a Universal Basic Income (UBI) program, as proposed by the Common Council led by Ald. Chantia Lewis, should be further explored by the task force. The program would be based on a successful Stockton, California model. Under the proposed program, selected families would receive $500 a month through private funds (not through City funds). The UBI program would help lower-income families, should to pay out directly to recipients, and UBI money should not be diverted elsewhere such as to satisfy debt, obligated expenses, or to a middle man (usually a third party administrator for the program). Members said that recreating the wheel may not be necessary. Existing initiatives, programs, and institutions should be supported. More resources should be given to local precollege programs, apprenticeship programs, and talent pipelines in areas such as scholarships, grants, ACT prep, and training. Members said that the City needs to brand better and be a better storyteller of itself. The City needs to add dedicated capacity and funding to better promote the City, all its programs, and all its resources. Perhaps a dedicated position can be placed in the City's Public Information Division in the City Clerk's Office. Perhaps the task force can be involved with the storytelling by the City in some capacity. There needs to be a central hub to talk about the City. Too many different providers of information about the City, such as the news, are being relied upon. Members said that the City should provide more funding and support to the Direct Connect Milwaukee app, which is a digital interface connecting people (including youth talent) to workforce programs, employers, and pathways. The app is primarily based on private funding. Perhaps the app can be expanded to be nationwide to link and attract out-of-state persons. It could also be expanded beyond employment purposes to link people to other City programs and resources in areas such as home buyer assistance and grants. Chair Ellison requested for research on mental and physical health and wellness. City of Milwaukee Page 3 MILLENNIAL TASK FORCE Meeting Minutes October 26, 2020 6. Next steps moving forward. A. Task force meeting schedule and structure Mr. Lee questioned extension of the task force deadline. Members said that they wanted to review a draft recommendation report prior to making a determination on proposing another extension. B. Agenda items for the next meeting(s) Discussion on health and wellness, presentation from the Health Department Office of Violence and Prevention, presentation on UBI, and review of a task force recommendation report draft. C. Set next meeting date(s) and time(s). Next meeting for early November. D. Other 7. Adjournment. Meeting adjourned at 11:21 a.m. Chris Lee, Staff Assistant Council Records Section City Clerk's Office Meeting materials from past and present meetings can be found within the following file: 191649 Communication relating to findings, recommendations and activities of the Millennial Task Force. Sponsors: THE CHAIR City of Milwaukee Page 4