For Immediate Release: Tuesday, April 17, 2018
Council Vice President Navarro and Councilmember Elrich
introduce resolution to develop an equity policy
for Montgomery County Government
Resolution calls for partnership with the
Government Alliance on Race and Equity
and County residents to establish equity policy
to be used in future budget and policy decisions
ROCKVILLE, Md., April 17, 2018—Today the Council introduced a resolution, sponsored by Council Vice President Nancy Navarro, chair of the Government and Fiscal Policy Committee, and Councilmember Marc Elrich, chair of the Public Safety Committee, to create an equity policy for County government. The goal of this resolution is to begin collecting the data needed to develop an equity policy framework that would be used in future budget and policy decisions. A Council vote on the resolution is scheduled for April 24.
“Montgomery County’s diversity is one of our greatest assets,” said Council Vice President Navarro. “As our County continues aging and growing more racially and culturally diverse, we need to ensure that we are taking a targeted approach towards eliminating disparities that affect many in our communities. County government plays a vital role in dramatically improving outcomes for low-income people and people of color. Developing an equity policy framework will enable current and future legislators to conduct a systematic examination of how a proposed action or decision will likely have an effect on different racial and ethnic groups. Whether you have children entering the school system or a parent that is aging in place, we want to make sure that policymaking responds to our demographics.”
“This resolution asserts Montgomery County’s commitment to fairness and justice in creating policies and processes,” said Councilmember Elrich. “If we are going to close the achievement gap, get rid of health disparities and effectively confront other disparities, we must use tools and systems that help us examine how communities of color will be impacted by policy and budget decisions. Using a racial equity lens informs and empowers County officials to make the best allocation of resources and respond to the needs of residents effectively.”
While the County is known for embracing its diversity, disparities in education, employment opportunities, health care and housing persists across ethnicities, income levels and genders. Racial and linguistic diversity generally compounds these disparities and exacerbates inequity.
The resolution calls on County leaders to look at disparity data and work with community leaders and the Government Alliance on Race and Equity (GARE), which is a national network of government representatives working to achieve racial equity, to establish an equity policy framework that will be used to make future decisions. The sponsors of the resolution believe that local government leaders, working in concert with community stakeholders, are ideally situated to implement the policy changes needed across multiple departments and agencies to ultimately drive systemic change.
The Council will provide additional resources to its Office of Legislative Oversight to develop a report describing the current scope and breadth of the disparities that exist in the County by May 31, 2019. After this data is received the Council will introduce legislation to develop an equity policy for County services.
The complete resolution can be viewed at:
https://tinyurl.com/ycqhvx76 .
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