City Council Agenda – Boards and Commissions (Council to determine who, if any, to interview) (List of potential appointees)

City Council will consider applications for the following Boards and Commissions:

• Alcoholic Beverage Control Board (5 applicants, 1 vacancy) (Applicant List)
• Audit Committee (3 applicants, 2 vacancies) (Applicant List)
• Civil Service Board (0 applicants, 1 vacancy)
• Homeless Initiative Advisory Committee Documents (12 applicants, 1 vacancy) (Applicant List)
• Mountain Community Capital Fund (1 new applicant, 1 existing member applicant, 1 vacancy) (Applicant List)
• Neighborhood Advisory Committee (1 applicant, 1 vacancy) (Applicant List)

We raised questions about the racial makeup of the City’s Boards and Commissions in our 3/13 GAP Report last month, and then shared an initial followup in our subsequent 3/20 report. The problem we flagged then persists with this latest round of applications: Out of 23 applicants for open positions, there is only one Black person. What’s more, out of the eight vacancies, two of them are the result of the departure of Black members. Regardless of who is appointed from this current pool, the overall number of Black people serving in these roles will decrease.

In that 3/20 report, we shared Assistant City Clerk Sarah Gross’ report on how staff is addressing the challenge of limited Black participation in Boards and Commissions. Council Member Kim Roney also responded. The only concrete remedy both pointed to was to slow down the appointment process, which would allow for more time to identify and recruit members from communities that are underrepresented. We don’t object to this approach, but think it’s insufficient to adequately address the problem, and are looking to City Council to take some additional leadership here. We wonder how they are working, collectively or individually, to recruit and retain Black community members to serve on Boards and Commissions.

Follow Up: Community Responder Pilot Program

Last week, we raised questions about this pending program, based on a presentation by Asheville Fire Department Assistant Chief Captain Patrick Crudup at the most recent Environment and Public Safety meeting. The stated goal of the program is “to focus collective efforts to assist persons that are unsheltered and/or experiencing addiction or experiencing behavioral health issues.” We asked whether the folks being placed in these new positions were going to receive any racial equity training, and if so, how that training would be implemented.

GAP subscribers received similar responses from Council Members Sandra Kilgore and Maggie Ullman, and also from Chief Crudup, all asserting that the Community Responders would be receiving the same racial equity training from the City’s Office of Equity and Inclusion. We’d still like to know more about the nature of this training, and will reach out to the Equity and Inclusion Director Brenda Mills for more information.