Affirmative Action & Advisory Committee

City of Schenectady Affirmative Action Advisory Board MINUTES City Hall, Room 106 October 16, 2014 MEMBERS PRESENT: Teneka Frost-Amusa, Acting Chair Dave Chetram Jennifer Eaddy-Garvin Kanema Haynes Adriel Linyear Randolph McGough Ellie Pepper Hector Ramirez MEMBERS ABSENT: Portia Alston ALSO PRESENT: Councilwoman Marion Porterfield Councilman John Mootooveran Councilman Ed Kosiur Carl Falotico, Corporation Counsel The meeting was called to order at 6:30pm by Acting Chair, Teneka Frost-Amusa. Welcome and Introduction of Members Ms. Frost-Amusa welcomed members and apologized to some of the members that were not getting information about the meetings due to wrong email information. A list was sent around for all members to indicate their correct contact information. Schedule of Meetings All Board members present came to a consensus that Board meetings will be held on the 3rd Thursday of every month at 6:00pm in City Hall, starting November 2014. Councilwoman Porterfield agreed to assist the Board in securing a room for future Board meetings. Training for Board Members Ms. Frost-Amusa and Mr. McGough will agreed to work on developing a training for all the Board members. The training will consist of the legal aspects of affirmative action programs such as, terminology, laws, MWBE compliance, etc… The Board also expressed a desire to hold a public hearing, once Board members are trained, to provide them with information on affirmative action and inform the public of the Board’s objectives. The Board agreed that it would be beneficial to invite Mariam Cajuste, who is the Affirmative Action Manager, to attend the Board training. 1 Creation of Bylaws The Board established a committee to create its Bylaws. Members of the committee include Ms. Haynes, Ms. Pepper, Mr. Chetram and Ms. Frost-Amusa. Ms. Pepper agreed to lead the committee and stated that the committee should review online templates of Bylaws and those from other municipalities with affirmative action boards to get an idea of how to structure Bylaws for the Board. Nomination of Officers The Board agreed to table this item until Bylaws are adopted to address this issue. Possible Committees The Board agreed to table this item until Bylaws are adopted to address this issue. Update on Document Requests Ms. Frost-Amusa provided an update on the documents the Board requested by email dated September 3, 2014. The list of documents requested included:  Contract between City and County regarding provision for affirmative action services  Most current version of the City’s Affirmative Action Plan  Copies of the City’s Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO-4) reports submitted to the EEOC (Equal Employment Opportunity Commission) for the years 2009, 2011 and 2013.  All AA/EEO/Diversity policies/procedures adopted by the City  All recruitment/selection/hiring policies and procedures adopted by the City and/or those currently being implemented by the City’s human resources and affirmative action offices (with exception of those mandated by civil service)  Boilerplate MWBE contract language adopted by the City, including MWBE goal setting policies/procedures Ms. Frost-Amusa indicated that the Board received the contract between the city and county for provision of affirmative action services and noted that the AA/EEO director’s salary is funded by Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) grant money from the federal government. However, the contract the Board received expired September 30, 2014 and the Board requested the new contract. Mr. Ramirez also requested that the City’s Corporation Counsel provide a legal interpretation on the parameters of the CDBG funds. Ms. Porterfield and Mr. Falotico agreed to work on getting the requested documents, including the new contract, to the Board in the next few weeks. It was also suggested that the Board Chair follow up with the Mayor on the requested documents, if necessary. Monthly Reports from AA/EEO Director The Board requested that Ms. Cajuste provide it with reports on a monthly basis, to include information on recruitment, hiring and other statistical employment data as well as data on contracting such as requests for bids, contracts and MWBE compliance and reporting. The 2 Board also indicated that it desired to see information on quarterly trends/reporting and details on the number of hours per week that is spent by the Director working on affirmative action related activities. Public Awareness of Board Activities Ms. Frost-Amusa indicated that it is important to ensure that the public is aware of the Board and its activities. It was suggested that a webpage be created for the Board on the City’s website, where it would list members, regular meeting times, meeting minutes, and link to the city code that established the Board. A calendar of community events for the public as well as for Board members who would like to be more involved in the community was also suggested. Ms. Haynes agreed to follow up with David Fronk in the Mayor’s office regarding the creation of the webpage. It was also mentioned that using Facebook and Twitter may also be useful for communication with the public and keeping them aware of Board activities. New Business None Announcements Mr. Chetram mentioned the Festival of Lights parade on Pleasant and 6th Avenues in Schenectady at 4:30pm on October 18, 2014. Ms. Frost-Amusa mentioned that the Albany District Chapter of the Links, Inc. will be having its Annual Fundraiser, Cooking with Jazz, on October 19, 2014 at the Hilton Garden Inn in Troy. Mr. Ramirez mentioned that he would be singing in the men’s choir of Macedonia Baptist Church in Colonie on October 25, 2014. Adjournment There being no further business to come before the Affirmative Action Advisory Board, the meeting was adjourned at 8:00 p.m. Submitted by Kanema Haynes and Teneka Frost-Amusa 3