Diversity, equality inclusion initiatives

City staff directed to set a calendar of cultural celebrations

In a conversation that most councilors praised as “constructive,” the Loveland City Council directed city staff to collect additional diversity data and set a rolling calendar of city cultural celebrations, but put the brakes on forming a new commission focused on diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) for now.

At a study session on Tuesday, many members voiced support for such a board, but leaned towards consolidating two or more of the 26 existing city bodies, instead of forming a 27th.

“We have a lot of them out there, and 42% have member shortages, based on the email we just received from Delynn,” Councilor Pat Mcfall said, referring to City Clerk Delynn Coldiron. “I’m not for creating another board or commission, until we take a look and figure out if we want to decrease the amount we have right now.”

A comprehensive review of 26 city boards and commissions is underway in the city manager’s office, and Steve Adams said that many of them will be presenting reports to council in the coming months. That includes the two boards under consideration for potential consolidation — the Senior Advisory Board and the Disabilities Advisory Board, which have overlapping duties and struggle with membership, according to city human resources director Julia Holland, who led the DEI presentation at the study session.

Discussions are underway with both bodies about the proposed reform, but council agreed to wait until after hearing from members of the two boards directly before taking any action.

Before that decision, what that potential DEI board would look like, how it would function, and even its name was also the subject of considerable debate among the group.

At least two council members were in favor of creating a new board immediately, including Richard Ball, who said that he’s been in support of the measure since 2019, when DEI issues first came before council, after a “Rule of Four” motion sponsored by Andrea Sampson.

Ball argued that “a great city” like Loveland needs a “full-blown” commission to address problems that many in the city might not fully understand.

“I think we would be remiss if we didn’t do that,” he said of forming the board. “This is a very lily white community, and I think we lack appreciation of many of the diversity issues.”

Ball also said that the lack of a DEI board could harm economic development opportunities for Loveland, as new employers seek out cities that have “vehicles to address diversity.”

Sampson, another councilor in favor of immediate action, added to Ball’s business development point, saying that DEI measures are especially important to “millennial and tech” employers. She

said she is also happy that the council is still considering this issue, even if there are still some “hang-ups” to be worked out.

The economic development point resonated with other councilors, Jon Mallo among them, though he also argued for forming the board by consolidation.

Other councilors rejected the premise of a board focused on issues that impact “very small segment of the population,” including Councilor Steve Olson, who said he was more in support of a “Citizens Advisory Board” that represents all Loveland residents, “not just 6%.”

“It’s a commission that’s open to all citizens of the community, to advise City Council on some of the issues that are facing the communities that cross ethnic lines, racial lines, preference lines, whatever,” he said. “I think diversity should be encouraged, but not to create a mandate that you have to have a certain number of people of any particular group.”

As for the potential name of a Loveland diversity and inclusion board, there was disagreement over the use of the word “equity,” which Councilor Don Overcash said has an ambiguous definition, especially as it relates to the similar word “equality.”

Those comments were echoed Councilor John Fogle, who called the term “too much of a hot button,” to include in a city body.

“Equality I completely support, but equity, some of us think we know what it is, then there’s some that really disagree with that,” he said. “That’s a classic example of why I don’t think we want to bring it into our city culture.”

Sampson countered by saying that it is important to include “equity” in the name of the board, as it’s an important idea among community members.

Holland also offered examples of how the city might include equity in its practices, as opposed to equality.

“An example that I’ve found that I think makes a lot of sense and explaining it is: equality can be demonstrated through an example of offering different schools computer lab equipment and being open during regular hours,” she said. “Equity is if, in a lower income area, you had more equipment and were open longer because people in that area of your community or those lower income families don’t have the at-home Wi-fi or at-home computers.”

Those issues are hypothetical for now, as the final decision on a DEI board is probably several months away.

In the meantime, the City Council has agreed to participate in a DEI training program lead by CPS Consulting, a group already conducting internal city staff training.

Council also agreed to further data collection efforts by city staff, including outreach to local businesses.

A proposal to conduct “listening sessions” to collect further data is still on the table, as no consensus was reached during the study session.