Ontario city councilors on Tuesday will consider the fate of Ontario’s Diversity Advisory Committee that could include disbanding the volunteer group.
The city council is scheduled to meet at 6 p.m. Tuesday, April 6, at Ontario City Hall. Each meeting includes opportunity for citizens to address the council.
Some councilors have been concerned that the Trump administration might stop federal funding for Ontario. They worried that President Donald Trump’s recent executive orders forbid government action on diversity, equity and inclusion.
But councilors got a private briefing from city attorneys last week that cast doubt on that.
They heard a legal analysis in an executive session closed to the public. However, City Manager Dan Cummings on Friday issued a staff report that provided a glimpse into the advice.
The city’s focus has been one executive order – Executive Order 14151 – that bars federal funding for programs that advance diversity causes. Cummings’ report also noted a second presidential order – Executive Order 14173 – intended to “end illegal preferences an discrimination.”
“There are several court cases pending that may affect the enforcement of the legitimacy of the executive orders,” the staff report said. “Given those uncertainties, the council’s most conservative option is to dissolve the diversity committee.”
READ IT: City manager’s memo
The council considered doing so last month but relented when members of the committee and other citizens urged councilors to leave the committee in place.
The committee was established in 2017 by the council. The seven-person committee, created in 2017, makes no decisions on city policies and has no city funding.
“Based on information received to date, staff doesn’t believe the committee’s mere existence violates the executive orders,” Cummings said in his staff report.
Cummings made no recommendation on what the council should do. He said the council could leave the committee alone, disband it, or amend city laws governing its mission and functions. The seven-person committee, created in 2017, makes no decisions on city policies and has no city funding.
He provided draft changes to city ordinances governing the committee, apparently requested by the councilors in their closed-door briefing.
READ IT: Comparisons side by side
The current ordinance that set up the committee states: “The committee shall be reflective of the city’s diversity.”
The revision states: “Committee membership is encouraged among all citizens.”
The current mission for the committee declares that Ontario is “committed to diversity, equity and inclusion as a core value.”
Under the revision, Ontario is described as “a community that values, supports and develops people of all backgrounds and experiences.” The committee in the revised ordinance would “serve as a liaison” between citizens and the city council “on issues concerning diversity, equity and inclusion.”
Language charging the committee to advise the council regarding “promoting diversity and equity issues in the community” would be stripped out. Instead, the city would declare the committee would have “no power, control and/or authority” over the city’s hiring practices.
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