More diversity on City Hall staff urged
The city could diversify its hiring practices so there are nonwhites working at City Hall and on the police force if it wants to make newcomers feel more welcome in Peterborough, a citizen suggested at a municipally run brainstorming session on Wednesday.
Kim Zippel was one of 19 people who attended an all-afternoon workshop at the Peterborough Lions Community Centre on Burnham St. as part of the city’s Community Wellbeing Plan.
The city is developing this new plan in 2018; the idea is to provide a series of recommendations to city and county councils to improve the quality of life for residents over the next three to five years.
Zippel said that as people move here from areas such as the GTA, it would be ideal to have a diverse staff offering policing and municipal services.
“When people are being welcomed here, they will feel more welcome when they see themselves reflected in the city’s services,” Zippel said.
For several months, a team of city staff members has sought public feedback as they develop the Community Wellbeing Plan: they’ve done this through community surveys, online comment cards, pop-up kiosks in public places and workshops.
On Wednesday, project manager Nancy Fischer, a senior program analyst in social services at City Hall, led the 19 citizens through several brainstorming exercises.
People came up with ideas to improve people’s wellbeing in the city such as developing a code of conduct for city councillors and creating a new municipal website that is more easily searchable. Ian Attridge, an environmental lawyer in Peterborough, said the city could engage Indigenous communities more.
He said the city could observe land acknowledgements more often, for example, but also fly First Nation flags or hold band/ city council meetings jointly, on occasion.
That’s already done in Selwyn Township, he noted: Curve Lake First Nation’s band council is regularly invited to hold joint meetings with Selwyn Township council.
“Why do this? Because we’re on Treaty 20 territory,” Attridge said.
Coun. Diane Therrien was the only member of city council at the gathering on Wednesday.
She heard citizens float ideas such as inviting city councillors public gatherings more often rather than expect citizens to come to ward meetings, creating a YouTube channel where people could learn about the city or reviving the participatory budgeting program.
Participatory budgeting – or PB – was introduced in 2016 as a program that set aside $20,000 in tax money in each ward for citizens to use on community improvement projects.
Many projects such as pollinator gardens were implemented, but then the program was suspended after few citizens voted online for their favourite projects and much city staff time was devoted to PB.
Cheryl Lyon, who championed PB at City Hall in the first place, was at the workshop on Wednesday and suggested the program be revived.
Lyon said PB should be tried again because it gives people a sense of “respect and agency.”
“In other words, wellbeing,” she said.
NOTE: For more information on the Community Wellbeing Plan, visit http://www.peterborough.ca/Living/City_Services/ Community_Wellbeing.htm