Involving more of Chattanooga and increasing ease of access when it comes to serving in the city’s government was addressed during Tuesday’s City Council agenda session.
The Chattanooga City Council’s Education and Innovation Committee discussed ways of diversifying the voices within various city boards and leadership positions in the government. Administrator Chris Anderson said there are currently 39 boards and commissions used by the city of Chattanooga.
“These various boards and commissions are responsible for the way our city grows and how rules are interpreted and forced,” Mr. Anderson said. “The makeup of these boards is obviously very important, and we want them to look like the rest of Chattanooga.”
He said that according to information the city has collected, 50 percent of board members are male, 26 percent are female, and 24 percent has not been collected yet. He said 53 percent of these members are Caucasian, and 13 percent are African-American, and the rest are unknown yet. Mr. Anderson said data collection is ongoing.
He said the city is 31 percent African-American, and they make up only 19 percent of the Commissions. He said Hispanic people make up around nine percent of the population, but only make up one percent of board members. Last week, Councilwoman Demetrus Coonrod expressed her concern over what she called a lack of “diversity and equality” when it came to appointing people of color and women into government roles.
“We’re in situation where we have these boards that don’t reflect the communities they serve,” Mr. Anderson said. “And by extension, they don’t reflect what people look like or identify with who come before them to be heard.”
Mr. Anderson said the E&I committee will be working with the office of equity and inclusion to “expand and diversify the recruitment pool.” He said the two committees will work to create material that is easily shared in Chattanooga’s communities.
“For anybody who might be interested in serving the city on a board or commission, you the council members will be able to get that info out there to them,” Mr. Anderson said. “Hopefully we’ll be able to pull from a larger pool of Chattanoogans, and we get boards and commissions that look more like the city we serve.”
Councilman Darrin Ledford said that some boards and commissions require what he called background experience, which is something that can limit who would be qualified to serve on that board. He suggested that the boards that need people be in contact with the council, so they know what kind of candidates they need to reach out to.
“I’m thinking of the process more than anything,” Councilman Ledford said. “I think some people jump on these boards thinking it’s one thing, and then jump off once they realize it’s a lot of work and is volunteer and it takes time away from their families.”
Anderson said the boards need to do a better job of explaining what they do, and what they require when it comes to candidates. Certain boards, such as Form Based Code, will only consider candidates with a background in that area.
Councilwoman Carol Berz said that a notable issue in the past is having people who simply apply for a board or commission position in order to fill out their resume, and then having those people simply be absent after getting the position. Mr. Anderson said the city’s managers now have the ability to track attendance for their boards and commissions.
“If we find out someone missed something like eight of 12 meetings, most boards have bylaw language that allows us to remove that person for inactivity and replace them with someone who will consistently be there,” Mr. Anderson said.
Councilwoman Jenny Hill said there will be a “clarified description of the job” that a candidate can get, and he said that Chris will be available for consultation.
“If we all keep this at the front of our minds as we do this work, we will chip away at this imbalance and build a better Chattanooga,” Councilwoman Hill said.