Fiscal Note
The proposed resolution creates a President's Task Force on Critical Issues Affecting the Black Community. The Task Force will be staffed by the Council Office using existing resources.
Title
AMENDED - Creating a President's Task Force on Critical Issues Affecting the Black Community
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WHEREAS, the Madison Common Council has worked non-stop from 2015 to 2020 on the aftermath of the fatal shooting of Tony Robinson; and,
WHEREAS, on May 19, 2015, the Madison Common Council adopted RES-15-00477, “Declaring the City of Madison’s intention to review policies, procedures, culture and training of the Madison Police Department by hiring an expert(s) in community policing, law, problem oriented policing, racial disparities and implicit bias and the creation of an ad hoc committee”; and,
WHEREAS, on November 18, 2015 the Madison Police Department Policy & Procedures Ad Hoc Committee held its first meeting; and,
WHEREAS, on June 7, 2016 the Madison Common Council adopted RES-16-00436, “Amending the work timeline and funding amount for the City of Madison Police Department Policy & Procedure Review Ad Hoc Committee and amending the 2016 Adopted Operating Budget to appropriate $350,000 from the Contingent Reserve to the direct appropriation supporting the work of this committee”; and,
WHEREAS, on June 6, 2016 Madison Police Chief Mike Koval published a blog post lobbying against the additional expenditure of $350,000; and,
WHEREAS, on August 2, 2016 the Common Council Executive Committee created the Presidents Work Group on Police and Community Relations to:
Provide a forum for residents and members of the Council to discuss police and community goals, priorities, and interactions. Make recommendations to the Council on short-term policy, procedure and training while waiting or the results of the Ad Hoc Review of Police Policies and Procedures; and,
WHEREAS, on November 1, 2016 the Madison Common Council adopted RES-16-00838, “Accepting the recommendation of the Madison Police Department Policy and Procedure Review Ad Hoc Committee to select Michael J. Gennaco d/b/a OIR Group as the expert consultant to conduct the review of the Madison Police Department.”; and,
WHEREAS, the Presidents Work Group on Police and Community Relations (https://www.cityofmadison.com/Council/meetings/documents/CCECFinalReportV.2.pdf) and OIR Group and MPD Ad Hoc completed and submitted their final report on May 1, 2017, January 11, 2018 and January 21, 2020 respectively; and,
WHEREAS on August 6, 2019 the Common Council adopted RES-19-00578, “Accepting two recommendations from the Madison Police Department Policy and Procedure Review Ad Hoc Committee;
• Civilian Oversight/Independent Monitor Office and
• Comprehensive Internal Review and Root-Cause Analysis of Critical Incidents; and,
WHEREAS, on January 21, 2020 the Common Council adopted the final report of the Ad Hoc Committee including the recommendation that a new committee be formed to oversee the implementation of the report’s recommendations; and,
WHEREAS, the 177 recommendations from the Ad Hoc Committee report represent a major investment by the City of Madison and four years of work by dozens of residents and elected officials committed to improving the accountability and performance of the Madison Police Department; and,
WHEREAS, this investment of time and money may be fully realized if the recommendations are implemented in alignment with their original intent; and, even though implementing these recommendations are only one aspect of addressing racial disparities in Madison which disproportionally impact the African American community relative to other marginalized communities; and,
NOW, THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the President’s Task Force will review the City’s policies and initiative pertaining to policing, health, affordable housing, economic development, gentrification, and any other barriers that largely impacting the African American community; and,
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the President’s Task Force is hereby charged with working on the following logistics and operational details:
1. Identifying community organizations who will submit nominations for the Civilian Oversight Board members and individuals that represent communities that experience excessive policing.
1. Reach out to African American groups and community leaders for the purpose of discussing police reform.
2. Reviewing City policies and offering recommendations on areas that impact the quality of life of African Americans in the City of Madison
3. Creating a timeline, process for proposals and action items that relate to Civilian Oversight Board, Independent Monitor, as well as other policies coming before the Common Council where the African American voice needs to be elevated as the population that is most impacted.
3. Create a timeline, process for proposals and action items that relate to police reform and other policies coming before the Common Council where the African American voices need to be elevated as the population that is most impacted.
4. The task force will be staffed by the Common Council Chief of Staff; and,
BE IT FINALLY RESOLVED, that the members of the task force will include members of African American community groups and will be appointed by the Common Council President and confirmed by the Common Council but will not be limited to members of the community most impacted by policing practices such as young Black professionals, formerly incarcerated persons, a member of the NAACP, a member of the 100 Black Men organization, a representative of the Charles Hamilton Foundation, a representative of the African American Council of Churches, a representative from the Urban League, a representative of Blacks for Political and Social Action of Dane County and a representative of the Black Leadership Council with consultations with policing experts and academics. The said task force will finish its work by December 30, 2020.