The Sioux City Council voted unanimously Monday to create a committee that will advise it on issues of diversity, equity and inclusion.
City Manager Bob Padmore said after protests began in late May over the killing of George Floyd by Minneapolis police, the city and the local NAACP chapter started talking. They thought about how Sioux City could move forward and not fall into “the same pattern that Minneapolis had,” Padmore said. Then the idea for a committee called the “Inclusive Sioux City Advisory Committee” that, according to city documents, would "increase equity, diversity, and inclusiveness in City government and [the] community" was born.
“The goal is to create economic development opportunities, employment opportunities, cooperation among the various communities,” Padmore said, “just in an effort to make sure that everyone who lives in Sioux City feels that they’re a valued member of our community in both work, play and social activities.”
Mayor Pro Tem Dan Moore said the city will work to encourage engagement between people in the community.
“The key words to this advisory committee to the mayor and city council, the key words are equity, diversity and inclusiveness. Not only in city government, but in our community,” Moore said.
The committee will have nine appointed voting members with four-year terms, a city council member and the city manager. According to city documents, the nine voting members “will represent the broad makeup of the community.” That includes a representative from the NAACP, Unity in the Community, someone from the Native American Community, religious community, Latino community, Asian community, LGBTQ community, and two residents at large from Sioux City.
A timeline for filling the positions or the date of the first meeting were not mentioned during the council meeting. In a text message to a city council member that was passed along to IPR, Padmore said “it will probably be a little while” before the first meeting, because the city still has to recruit, interview and appoint the board members.
