Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout10/17/2017 04Aiii Final Report and Recommendation to Council – Ethics and Equal Rights Exploratory Committee Final ReportITEM TITLE: SUBMITTED BY: BUSINESS OF THE CITY COUNCIL YAKIMA, WASHINGTON AGENDASTATEMENT Item No.A.iii. For Meeting of: October 17, 2017 Ethics and Equal Rights Exploratory Committee Final Report and Recommendation to City Council Joan Davenport, Community Development Director/Staff Liaison Maria Rodriguez, Committee Chair SUMMARY EXPLANATION: Maria Rodriguez, Chair of the Committee, will present the final report and recommendation from the Ethics and Equal Rights Committee (EERC) to City Council. The purpose of this exploratory committee to evaluate the terms, goals, vision, and structure of an Equal Rights Committee is to review and evaluate other jurisdictions' committees which address equal rights, human rights, discrimination and other similar social justice issues and make a recommendation to the City Council as to whether the EERC should be created as a permanent committee. ITEM BUDGETED: NA STRATEGIC PRIORITY: Neighborhood and Community Building APPROVED FOR SUBMITTAL: City Manager STAFF RECOMMENDATION: BOARD/COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION: Accept final report. ATTACHMENTS: Description Upload Date EERC Final Report wAttachnlerrts 10/10/2017 Type Backuu Material Purpose Ethics & Equal Rights Committee Final Report & Recommendation Determine the need to make the Ethics and Equal Rights Committee a permanent committee based on other comparable cities and research done by the exploratory committee members. Quarterly Reports Summary Quarter 1: The committee developed an "elevator speech" that encapsulated our perceived purpose. "The Yakima City Council cares about residents and seeks our insight and perspective on ethics and equal rights issues. We have one year to assess needs in Yakima and provide some thoughtful recommendations. Do you have thoughts or concerns about fairness in Yakima?" After committee research and presentations from city staff, the committee identified 15 priorities as follows: 1. Landlord/Tennant Issues 2. Minimum Housing Codes 3. Code Enforcement 4. Police/Criminal Justice 5. Gender/Race/Pay Equity 6. Education about Issues 7. Wage Theft 8. Funding to Support Program 9. Distribution of Resources 10. Website Development (mobile apps) 11. Community Engagement 12. City Investments 13. Diversity City/Workforce 14. Perception of Racism 15. Welcome City Resolution Quarter 2: The committee was broken into three groups to do research on the top three topics as follows: 1. Housing- (Attachment 1) 2. Wage Theft- (Attachment 2) 3. City of Yakima Equity Study- (Attachment 3) After the research was complete, it was evident that this type of committee be a permanent committee within the City to address these issues. As an exploratory committee, the depth of the research was limited as these issues take time and resources in order to determine a pathway to a solution. 3 Further discussion and staff guidance identified that the Equity Study done by the City is an issue being considered and further resources have been allocated to start addressing the disparities within the City. Quarter 3: Once recommendation was made to the council to make a permanent committee, it was given to the Neighborhood & Community Building Committee for further questions and research on the ethics component of the committee. After further discussion it was determined that the issues presented did cover ethics, however, there was no mention of it during the reports. During this time, a draft of policies and procedures (Attachment 4) were developed to be a starting point for the permanent committee should the City council move forward with accepting the EERC recommendations. Recommendation Based on the limited research done by committee members of the exploratory committee, it was determined early on that this would be beneficial to the City to have as a permanent committee. Based on the many topics identified and only looking at three to begin with, there is much work to be done to establish a 'one stop shop' where residents can go to if they have questions. These issues are tough and there is no overnight solution. Having a permanent committee to do the ground work, the research and develop a plan not only helps the residents, but will assist the City in making better decisions in coding and enforcement to name a couple. Therefore, the Ethics & Equal Rights Committee recommends to the City of Yakima that this exploratory committee become a permanent committee to the betterment of the community. Page 2 of 2 4 Attachment 1 Basic Characteristics' The City of Yakima is estimated to have 93261 persons living in it right now. Of these, 67, 724 are adults. This is based on the 2015 American Community Survey. In terms of diversity, 45.0 percent are "Hispanic or Latino" and 49.4 percent are "white alone." Yakima has 1.0 percent African American population, 1.1 percent Native American„ 1. Percent Asian, and 2.2 percent of persons list more than one "race." Of the 67724 adults, 56099 are US citizens. There are 30697 persons who speak Spanish at home. In terms of our households, the most recent data is from the 2010 US Census. That data shows that there are 33,074 households in Yakima, 64.7 of which are "family households" and 35.3 percent are non family households. About 9,496 persons live alone in the City. There are 9749 persons who live in two person households and 4981 persons who live in three person household. Our average household size is 2.68 and our average family size is 3.30. In terms of family composition, there are 21411 families, 5,187 of which are listed as "female household, no husband present families," and 14127 are listed as "husband -wife" families. The Housing Stock of Yakima. Of the 33.081 housing units in Yakima, 60.7 are detached, 4.6 percent are attached, 29.5 percent are apartments and 5.2 percent are mobile homes. Hour housing skews to older for the most part. 71.2 percent was built before 1980. Only .5 percent has been built since 2010. The vast majority, 73.6 are in the 2-3 bedroom range. 97.8 percent have kitchens, 99.4 percent have plumbing. 96.3 percent have telephone service available. In terms of heating, 37.4 percent receive gas, 58.2 percent receive electricity. Nine percent of households do not have a vehicle. One of the most concerning thing that stands out is that there is a discrepancy between the 2010 census numbers and the 2015 ACS averages, it looks as if the amount of housing units without kitchens or telephone service has been increasing. There are many renter households. Roughly a little below half, 15,238 households, are renters. The "median rent" in Yakima is 771 dollars, with structures built in the last 20 years commanding over 900 dollars while most structures built between 2000 and down command an average rent in the 700+ range. In terms of a percentage of households, about 45.8 percent pay over 35 percent of their income towards rent, and 8.4 percent between 30-35 percent. Somewhat concerningly, about 4 percent of renter households in any given month are behind in rent. There is a correlation between income and percentage of income paid in rent, with 87 percent of households earning less than 20k paying more than 30 percent in rent, and 71 percent of households earning between 20k and 30k paying more than ' These numbers can be generated using the factfinder.census.gov website. 5 30 percent in rent. By comparison only 3.8 percent of households earning more than 75k pay more than 30 percent in rent. The majority of housing units, 17843, are owned by the occupant. Of these, 11219 hove mortgages. The median mortgage is about 1184 dollars per month in Yakima. The average value of a home in Yakima is 156,700 dollars. On average, home owners are not as stressed as renters, only 31 percent pay more than 30 percent of their household income on housing, with 25.4 spending 35.0 percent or more. In terms of tenure, 1.6 percent of households have moved to their current location within the last year, 35.7 percent have moved in between 2010 and 2014, 37.3 percent moved in between 2009 and 2000, and 25.4 percent moved in before 2000. Taking a look at the mobile homes in our community, the median value of a mobile home is 31500 dollars. The mobile home market seems to have two spikes in terms of value in the overall distribution, one large group is located in mobile homes that sell between 15000 and 20000 while another large group is located in homes that sell between 100000 and 250000. There are practically no mobile homes in between. Finally, considering the internet connectivity of our community, only 22,410 of our 33,290 households have internet. The majority of those who get internet use cable modem. Less than one percent have fiber optic. DSL is the second most popular choice for internet access. Oddly enough, the amount of households with a computer, 27547 exceeds those with internet by over 5,000. Most persons with a computer have a desktop or laptop. Income does seem to have an affect on internet connectivity, of the 6606 households with less than 20k in earnings, more than half do not have internet households. While about a third of the households earning between 20k and 75k do not have internet, and 11 percent of households that earn 75k or more. Rental companies in Yakima. There are various companies/firms that own or manage rental properties in Yakima. Wilson Real Estate Management, Landmark Management Services, Jevons, Graft Investments, and Megaladon Property are the largest. Common Issues in the Housing world of Yakima Equity stealing. This is usually a financing scheme that allows lenders to take a complete ownership interest in a home where the house is used as collateral. There are many examples of this, but usually, a home owner who has come into money troubles calls a lending agent. The lending agent connects the individual with an "investor" who will give a personal loan to the home owner in exchange for a high interest rate (think above 10 percent) and place the home as collateral. The loans are designed to fail, with staggered payment structures, so that when the home owner can't come up with the money, the investor or the agent will capture the whole house and foreclose on it. There are also examples of outright fraud in the these types of schemes. 6 "Eastern Washington Land Deals." These are usually off -the -books oral contracts. Usually a person will be told that they can own a house, or part of a house (think — "you can own that house but not the field behind it"), if they pay an individual, likely someone they already trust, a certain amount over time. The occupant will proceed as if they have a mortgage and pay over a long period of time and then the owner of the property will pretend that he occupant made up the story and was a renter all along. Oral contracts for property and mobile homes are very common. Mobile home schemes. Because mobile homes can be affixed to property as real estate or be considered movable personal property, they are often the subject of creative purchasing agreements. I will not get into all of them, but examples include oral contracts that do not materialize in real ownership, promises to workers that they will get the home and not actually giving it to them, selling the land with the mobile home as affixed while a family thought they owned it as personal property, and purchase prices that are 4-10x as expensive as the actual assessed value of the mobile home. Additionally, because mobile homes from the 1970s and before are not movable under the law, many people who buy mobile homes find that they have no value or can't be moved and have to be scrapped. Private Mortgages. Many persons in Yakima lack the credit history or large down payments to buy a traditional home. As a result, a large sector of rent -to -own mortgages has arisen in Yakima. Usually a private lender or owner will make a contract with a family to purchase the home for a super low price at the end a long term (20-30 year) contract to pay rent. These are not illegal per -se but there are examples of exorbitant rents being charged, of the owner selling the property halfway through the contract, and other shady dealings. The most important thing to recognize is that the renter does not have the same protections they would under normal mortgages.' Common issues in the rental world of Yakima There is very little available housing in general. Our vacancy rate for the county is 2.2 percent, in line with major cities like Seattle and NYC. Evictions without proper notice- While the Residential Landlord Tennant act and other statutory schemes specify the proper procedure for unlawful detainer and eviction actions, it is often the case that landlords still do not do things properly. This could range from unlawful detainer actions that are not reasonably calculated to give proper notice to the tenant to complete self help evictions, i.e., taking the law into your own hands. Another improper way of evicting someone is making their life difficult until they decide to move, this is called constructive eviction and is against the law. 2 More information is available at: http://www,washin tonlawhelp.ora/resource/know-Your-rights-rent-to-own-in- washington-st 7 Refusal to accept section 8- Section 8 is a Federally funded housing program that provides vouchers for low income people to live in rental housing at the market rate. It makes up the difference between what the person is able to pay and what the market rate is by giving them a voucher that the land lord can turn into cash. While many cities have made it illegal to refuse to accept Section 8 vouchers, most cities have not. They normally call this "source of income discrimination." Often, however, refusal to accept section 8 vouchers is code for racial discrimination, as Section 8 is associated with some minority groups in some part of the country. There have been examples of NJP opening up investigations into whether refusal to accept Section 8 is discriminatory either as hidden purposeful discrimination or disproportionate impact. Those cases are usually settled quickly. Section 8 vouchers are very difficult to obtain and there is usually along waiting list (10 years in some places), thus a person has to be continuously poor for a long time in order to benefit. Warrantee of Habitability- every tenant, whether a tenant in common law, under the mobile home landlord tenant act or the residential landlord tenant act is owed a "warrantee of habitability." This basically describes keeping the housing in such shape that it is livable. The common responsibilities include available heating and water. Under the statutory residential landlord tenant act a landlord must "keep the premises fit for human habitation at all times during the tenancy" and keep the premises in a way that complies substantially with all state and local laws substantially affecting your health and safety. While ideally no rental housing would fall below standard, many do. This is probably the number one issue for low income tenants. Retaliation- where a person reports an issue or uses their statutory rights to make the landlord fix something, it is usually assumed that any evictions or other bad actions that happen to the tenant are related to the first event. It is illegal to retaliate against tenants. Nevertheless, it happens in a variety of ways- eviction, enforcement of strict rules, the sudden refusal to landscape the property, raising the rent, cutting off water or heating, and many other ways. Code Enforcement- a landlord cannot rent a property that has existing code violations. The result is that if housing is below code and was rented anyway, the tenant can bring a case against the landlord. Code enforcement is controversial because often if the city shuts down an existing housing site, the tenants will have nowhere to go but the streets. Where people are evicted for code violations the landlord owes them damages, but this is difficult to collect at the exact moment when it is needed. There is statutory authority to create what is known as a Relocation Assistance Fund. The RAF gives 3x rent or 2000 dollars to a tenant where their housing has been shut down by the local government for code violations. The city would collect it's loss by placing a lien on the property. The city of Yakima does not now participate in the RAF program. RCW 59.18.085. There is also a mobile home version of this set up by the Department of Commerce that applies where a mobile home park has to close, either because it was sold or because of code violations. Mobile home landlords are required to pay into the mobile home relocation assistance fund. 8 Attachment 2 Wage Theft: the illegal practice of not paying workers for all of their work including; violating minimum wage laws, not paying overtime, forcing workers to work off the clock, misclassifying them as exempt or independent contractors, and much more. Wage theft is a major problem nationwide but it affects women and all workers of color at higher rates than the average.1 You May Be a Victim of Wage Theft If: nn *,� , ___clii • .:° 4, 1 \1 IS 0 ( _____A"r - You work piece rate or off the books. You're clock out & keep : forced to early working_ You've had your tips stolen. You don't receive meal or rest breaks. Key Findings2 • Discrimination and wage theft go hand in hand. Women were significantly more likely than men to experience minimum wage violations (and sexual harassment) • Foreign -born workers are nearly twice as likely as their U.S.-born counterparts to have a minimum wage violation o Foreign -born Latino workers have the highest violations of any racial ethnic group. Blacks also experience wage violations triple that of their white counterparts. o Higher levels of education, longer tenure, and English proficiency offer some protection from violations • NELP's data shows that 26% of workers (LA, New York, Chicago) are paid less than required by the minimum wage laws o Minimum wage violations are significant as 60% of workers were underpaid by more than $1 per hour • About a quarter of all workers worked overtime the previous week, yet 76% were not paid the legally required OT rate (workers putting in an average of 11 hours of OT) • Nearly a quarter of the workers came in early and/or stayed late after their shift during the previous work week. Of these workers, 70% did not receive any pay at all for the work they performed outside of their regular shift. • About 86% worked enough consecutive hours to be legally entitled to at least one meal break during the previous week. Of these workers, more than two-thirds, 69%, received 1 http://www.nelp.org/publication/broken-laws-unprotected-workers-violations-of-employment-and-labor-laws- in-americas-cities/ 2 See note supra 1, "In Los Angeles alone, low-wage workers lose $26.2 million in wage theft violations every week—making it the wage theft capital of the country." 9 no break at all, had their break shortened, were interrupted by their employer, or worked during the break—all of which constitute a violation of meal break laws • In California, Illinois and New York, workers are required to receive documentation of their earnings and deductions, regardless of whether they are paid in cash or by check. However, 57% of workers in our sample did not receive this mandatory documentation in the previous work week o Generally, employers are not permitted to take deductions from a worker's pay for damage or loss, work-related tools or materials or transportation. But 41% of workers reported these types of illegal deductions from their pay in the previous work week • 30% were not paid the tipped worker minimum wage (which in Illinois and New York is lower than the regular state minimum wage) o 12% of these workers experienced tip stealing by their employers Additional costs: systems meant to protect are failing workers i.e. workers' compensation programs are not adequate for low-wage workers and those limited rights lack enforcement. • When workers complained about their working conditions or tried to organize a union, employers often responded by retaliating against them. Many workers never made complaints in the first place, often because they feared retaliation by their employers • 1 in 5 workers reported that they had made a complaint to their employer or attempted to form a union in the last year. Of those, 43% experienced one or more forms of illegal retaliation from their employer or supervisor. For example, employers fired or suspended workers, threatened to call immigration authorities, or threatened to cut workers' hours or pay o Another 20% of workers reported that they did not make a complaint to their employer during the past 12 months, even though they had experienced a serious problem such as dangerous working conditions or not being paid the minimum wage. Half were afraid of losing their job, 10% were afraid they would have their hours or wages cut, and 36% thought it would not make a difference. Workers in Washington State who are injured on the job or who suffer an occupational disease have the right to receive workers' compensation for their injury or illness. This is true whether a worker has legal work documents or is an undocumented worker.' However, workers in low- wage industries are less likely to receive any relief from such protections. • Of the workers in the sample who experienced a serious injury on the job, only 8% filed a workers' compensation claim. When workers told their employer about the injury, 50% experienced an illegal employer reaction—including firing the worker, calling immigration authorities, or instructing the worker not to file for workers' compensation o Half of workers injured on the job had to pay their bills out-of-pocket or use their health insurance to cover the expenses. Workers' compensation insurance paid medical expenses for only 6% of the injured workers in our sample Discussion and Recommendations 3http:,!www.washi ngtonlawhelp.orgjresouroe[work-injuries-and-your-rights?ref=XsYR 10 There is hope because not all employers violate the law. NELP found a range of workplace practices—offering health insurance, providing paid vacation and sick days, and giving raises— that were associated with lower violation rates. This suggests that employers' decisions about whether or not to comply with the law are part of a broader business strategy shaping the workplace. No business strategy should deprive workers of their earned wages. ➢ Consider adopting civil or criminal penalties for violations including evaluating those already set out by other jurisdictions ➢ Set mandatory registration or administrative requirement (for businesses) and/or fee for training and education to employees on regulations and reporting ➢ Increase monitoring and enforcement of current laws Background Summary: Seattle has adopted two4 separate local ordinances intended to address the wrongful withholding of wages or denial of benefits owed to an employee.' One of those sets out an administrative process for addressing employee complaints of nonpayment of wages and tips, in addition to the civil and criminal liability already imposed by existing state- wide statutes. An employer found in violation of either of the two new ordinances may be liable for unpaid earnings and civil penalties that would escalate for repeated violations. If an employer fails to comply promptly with the remedy defined in a final order, the City may refuse to issue, refuse to renew, or revoke a business license. Any successor to the business of the employer also becomes liable for the full amount of the final order, including payment of unpaid wages and tips and civil penalties. Charges can be filed up to three years after an alleged violation. The criminal violation states that employers can be criminally prosecuted for failing to pay wages promised to their workers. If an employer is convicted of the gross misdemeanor, the City can also revoke the employer's business license.' SPD will investigate and forward its report to the Criminal Division for a decision on whether to file the charge. The Criminal Division attorneys will work with the victim toward making a provable case. "Enforcement of wage theft crimes is much more than just recovering money owed to the worker who earned it," City Attorney Pete Holmes says. "Holding employers accountable for wage theft is a matter of preserving human dignity and protecting those who are most vulnerable in our community." 4https://www.municode.comilibraryiVa/seattle/codes/mun 4.20.C1CDE (civil code violation Ch. 14.20) htt�xs:: www.munrcode.com:librar.Awa. Seattle. codes. muni 22wake%2Ctheft%2 2, %22 • a:eN u m%22:1. %22r 22:true.°l°2Z z 22:f se °r022s-non .: m%22:fa s Pe rY" o22con pal code?nodeld=TIT14HURI CH14.2CWATICORE 1 code?searchR est=°l°73%22searchText%22:% Ce%22:25, °%02 2bool e a n;ea rc h %2 2:fa Ise. %22ste m m i nk entT'•es%22:%`B%2ZCODES%22%SD.°l022rroductlds %22:°-a5B%5D%7D&nodeld=TIT12ACRCO SUBTITLE ICRCO CH12A.08OPAGPR 12A.08.C6CTH (criminal code Ch. 12A.08.060) Shap'://www'cattle.govjcityattorneyicrime-victim-assistance/wage-theft 6!d. 11 Attachment 3 Equity Study Review 1. Sidewalk comparison • Based on City infrastructure the sidewalks on the east side are more, however, the maintenance is not kept compared to the west side where there are less sidewalks. • City is currently doing surveys through volunteers of the lack of maintenance • City is currently working on updating lights to LED to be more cost effective 2. Lighting • There seems to be enough lighting, however the types of lights seem to be an issue. • Most city blocks have 2 lights, but further research should be done to see if adding more lights is appropriate • There are many types of lights that could help, but it all depends on budget. 3. Vacant Homes • Housing is a problem, but this needs to be taken up by code enforcement • How do you change the policy? How far can the City intervene? • It's a tenant vs. owner issue, too many insecurities, too many unknown variables. • City support of the construction of new homes, affordable housing 4. Transit Issues • Too many questions, where do they stop, how long are they going, would it be better to have smaller buses to run more frequently? • Recommendation to do a survey of riders if one has not been done yet • Invite Transit Manager to make a presentation These were just a few of the items that were looked at and there were more questions than answers. This is definitely something that will require more time than the exploratory committee has. 12 Attachment 4 POLICIES AND PROCEDURES FOR COMMITTEE TO EVALUATE THE TERMS, GOALS, VISION, AND STRUCTURE OF AN ETHICS & EQUAL RIGHTS COMMITTEE 1. Purpose. The purpose of this committee to evaluate the terms, goals, vision and structure of an Ethics & Equal Rights Committee (the name of which may change as part of the evaluation), is to review and evaluate other jurisdictions' (both within and outside of Washington) committees which address equal rights, human rights, discrimination and other similar social justice issues and report to the City Council as to whether such a committee should be permanently formed within the City of Yakima, and the parameters of such committee, as further outlined herein. 2. Membership. a. Qualifications. Members of the committee shall be residents of the City of Yakima. The members of the committee should reflect the diverse backgrounds of residents within the City, including, but not limited to, ethnic and socio-economic backgrounds. b. Number of members. There shall be seven (7) members on the committee. Members shall apply for appointment using the application provided by the City, and appointment shall be made by a majority vote of the City Council. At least two members should have a background in the law, one member with city policy experience, two members with experience in working with residents in a leadership capacity (e.g. non-profit experience, community organizer, or religious leader). No city employees, elected or appointed officials may serve on the committee, but can serve as advisory members (ex -officio w/no voting rights) c. Length of appointment. The term will be staggered two-year terms or longer as determined by the committee. d. Removal. Committee members may be removed from the committee for any reason upon a majority vote of the City Council. e. Vacancies. The Chair shall report any vacancy to the City Council, who will then appoint a new member to the Committee. EERC— DRAFT POLICIES 9/14/17 Page 1 of 4 13 3. Internal organization. a. At the committee's first meeting, which should be held within thirty (30) days of the effective date of creation of the committee and appointment of the minimum number of members, the committee members shall choose a Chair by majority vote. b. The Chair's role is to effectively and efficiently run the meetings of the committee, using Robert's Rules of Order, or any other meeting rules or procedures agreed upon by the committee. c. The Chair shall also provide a proposed agenda before each meeting, which will be distributed to the committee members, the public, and any person making special request for meeting notice. d. The Chair shall be the official spokesperson of the committee and shall make and sign all necessary reports to the City Council. e. At the committee's first meeting, it shall also appoint a Secretary by majority vote. The Secretary shall be responsible for taking notes and all other administrative duties associated with the Committee. 4. Meetings. a. Meeting conduct. Committee members shall conduct themselves in a respectful manner towards other committee members and the public during meetings. The Chair should maintain order and ensure that respect is provided to all those in attendance. b. At the first committee meeting, the committee members shall determine their meeting schedule. The committee should meet monthly, at a minimum, during the term of the committee. c. Robert's Rules of Order should be used during meetings. It is understood that in some circumstances these rules will not be advantageous to facilitating discussion among community members and committee members. In those cases, the committee can move to suspend the rules for purposes of discussion, or move into study session to facilitate more open discussion. Respect should still be shown during these more informal situations. d. A committee member at any time can move to create additional rules of procedure, which must be approved by a majority of the committee members. e. Meetings shall be open to the public and occur in the City Council chambers or other room open to the public at City Hall. EERC - DRAFT POLICIES 9/14/17 Page 2 of 4 14 f. If any resident needs the services of an interpreter, a request shall be made to the City Clerk's Office a minimum of 24 hours before the start time of the meeting. 5. Staff Assistance. A City Staff member will serve as a liaison between the committee and the City. Copies of all documents, including, but not limited to email related to the business of the committee, shall be provided to the staff liaison for Public Records Act and retention purposes. Other than serving as a liaison with the duties outlined herein, the staff liaison will have no other role in the committee. 6. Actions to be taken by the committee. a. The committee is tasked with providing a final report to the City Council with its recommendation on whether or not a permanent committee should be created to address equality, discrimination and other similar matters in the City of Yakima. b. Background Information. The committee is tasked with exploring and evaluating what issues are occurring in Yakima that would fall under such a committee, as well as what other jurisdictions, cities and counties in Washington State and elsewhere are doing to address these issues. Some issues for consideration include: wage theft, tenant rights, and discrimination in the City of Yakima. This list is not exclusive and is intended to give the committee some ideas and starting points to evaluate. The committee is encouraged to speak with community members to determine what other issues may be affecting residents that would fall under the purposes of this committee. c. Reporting. The committee is required to provide a written report to the City Council on a quarterly basis, the first of which will be due three (3) months after the committee's first meeting. The report shall contain a summary of the action items taken to date, a list of action items that are pending, and a summary of the findings made as of the date of the report. The report will be disseminated to the City Council in their council materials. The Chair of the committee is responsible for writing the report and the Secretary is responsible for forwarding it to the staff liaison. d. Report. Upon completion of research, evaluation and discussion, and when a decision has been made as to what the committee will recommend to the City Council, the Chair shall draft a Report. This Report should provide Findings of Fact, with details of how those findings were made, examples of code sections or procedures from other jurisdictions that the committee found most useful or should be used as a model, a summary of the public comments made during the process, and the committee's conclusions regarding the committee's EERC — DRAFT POLICIES 9/14/17 Page 3 of 4 15 findings. e. The Chair shall present the reports to the City Council during a regularly scheduled City Council meeting. The City Council may accept it for consideration, or may send it back to the committee with additional questions to be answered or issues to be addressed. 7. Termination. This committee shall terminate at the end decision of the City Council. 8. Transparency. a. All meetings of the committee shall be open to the public. b. All documents formulated by the committee or committee members are considered public records. Committee members shall follow the Public Records Act rules and regulations of the City of Yakima. EERC— DRAFT POLICIES 9/14/17 Page 4 of 4