[Adopted 10-14-2020 by Ord. No. 20-302]
[1]
Editor's Note: This article was originally adopted as Article V. As the Code already contained an Article V, this material was renumbered as Article VI.
[Amended 5-28-2025 by Ord. No. 25-157]
A. 
There is hereby established the Advisory Committee on Racial Equity, Inclusion, and Human Rights. This Committee shall consist of nine regular members and four nonvoting members.
B. 
Regular members of the Committee shall be appointed by the City Council. All members shall be at-large members. The Council shall work to include members with a wide variety of perspectives and interests on the Committee, such as, but not limited to, perspectives and interests of the following:
(1) 
The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP).
(2) 
The Penobscot Nation or Wabanaki interests.
(3) 
Bangor Chamber of Commerce or Bangor business interests.
(4) 
Local educational institutions or medical service providers.
(5) 
LGBTQ interests.
(6) 
The Maine Multicultural Center.
(7) 
Religious or spiritual interests.
(8) 
Labor or worker interests.
C. 
There shall also be four nonvoting members of the Committee. These nonvoting members shall include:
(1) 
The City Manager, or designee, as an ex officio member.
(2) 
The Superintendent of Schools, or designee, as an ex officio member.
(3) 
A student residing in Bangor, currently enrolled in a secondary or post-secondary education.
(4) 
A Bangor City Councilor, designated by the Council Chair annually, to act as a liaison between the Council and the committee.
In order to assist in fulfilling the missions and goals of the Committee, the membership of the Committee should reflect a diverse array of perspectives, including diversity of race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status, age, physical ability, religious belief, political belief, and other characteristics and beliefs.
Regular members of the Committee shall be selected primarily on the basis of the guidelines outlined above, but preference may be given to appointing members who are residents of the City of Bangor. Regular and student members shall receive no compensation for their service.
[Amended 5-28-2025 by Ord. No. 25-157]
A. 
The term of each regular member shall be for three years or until their successor has been appointed and has qualified.
B. 
Any vacancy shall be filled in the same manner for the unexpired term.
C. 
No regular member shall serve more than two complete consecutive terms.
[Amended 6-12-2023 by Ord. No. 23-154; 5-28-2025 by Ord. No. 25-157]
The Committee shall annually elect a Chair, a Vice Chair, and a Secretary from among its members.
[Amended 5-28-2025 by Ord. No. 25-157]
A. 
The Committee shall meet at least six times annually, but more frequent meetings may occur.
B. 
Prior to February 1 of each calendar year, the Committee may prepare and submit to the City Council an annual report outlining its activities during the preceding calendar year.
C. 
A quorum shall consist of five of the nine regular Committee members.
D. 
Attendance. To maintain good standing, regular members of the Advisory Committee on Racial Equity, Inclusion, and Human Rights are expected to actively participate in the Committee's work through consistent attendance. Recognizing the importance of continuity, members shall adhere to the following attendance guidelines within their three-year term:
(1) 
Annual attendance. Members shall not be absent from more than four regularly scheduled meetings within any twelve-month period unless excused under Subsection D(3), Absences.
(2) 
Three-year attendance. Over their three-year term, members shall attend at least 75% of the regularly scheduled meetings, and shall not be absent from more than three consecutive regularly scheduled meetings within any twelve-month period unless excused under Subsection D(3), Absences.
(3) 
Absences.
(a) 
Notice of absence. All absences will be excused provided that the Committee Chair and the City Manager or designee receive notification of the absence before the scheduled meeting.
(b) 
Unexcused absences. Absences without prior notification to both the Committee Chair and the City Manager or designee will be considered unexcused.
(4) 
Record keeping. The Committee Secretary shall maintain a record of all absences.
E. 
Notice and cause for removal.
(1) 
Violation warning notice. If a member is absent from three regularly scheduled, or two consecutive regularly scheduled meetings, within any twelve-month period, unless excused, the Secretary shall then alert the City Clerk who shall provide written notification to the member, outlining the attendance policy and the potential consequence of further absences.
(2) 
Hearing notification. In the event a member fails to attend meetings as established in § 23-44A, the Committee Secretary shall notify the City Clerk of meeting dates missed. The City Clerk shall notify the member via certified mail of their perceived violation, and hearing date no sooner than 14 days.
(3) 
Hearing and decision. The Personnel Committee shall hold a hearing and determine if a) an attendance violation has occurred and b) whether or not to remove the member. Decisions to remove members for cause shall require an Order on the following Council agenda.
The Committee's mission is to:
A. 
Develop ideas and information to educate individuals, within the organization as well as in the community, focusing on topics of (but not limited to) awareness, sensitivity, equity, inclusion, and diversity.
B. 
Review and advise City staff regarding policies and practices to recruit, hire, on-board, promote, and retain a diverse and inclusive workforce. Specifically, the Committee's work will focus on mitigating the potential for bias in the hiring and retention decisions through consistent, evidence-based tools, procedures and trainings.
C. 
Review applicable ordinances, policies, and programs to ensure that they promote the goal of accepting, respecting, and valuing differences, including attributes such as age, race, gender, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, gender expression, sexual identity, ability, language, family circumstances and cultural backgrounds. These efforts will assist Bangor's community in developing diversity and inclusion.
D. 
Create greater awareness about opportunities to advance issues of age, race, gender, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, gender expression, sexual identity, ability, language, family circumstances and cultural backgrounds, to ensure concerns are heard and considered when creating City policy and ordinances.
The goals of the Committee are as follows:
A. 
Promote ideas and information to further the spirit of diversity and inclusion.
B. 
Provide City staff with input on administrative policies that impact employee, recruitment, hiring, on-boarding, promotional opportunity, and retention of a diverse workforce.
C. 
Engage and be a resource for the community in ways to incorporate diversity, inclusion, and equity into our community through development of ordinances, policies, and programs.
D. 
Engage the community in ways that incorporate the development of diverse and inclusive K-12 school curriculum.
E. 
Educate community members about and refer community members to other potentially useful resources.
A. 
In the course of its duties, the Committee may from time to time address matters in which some related materials are confidential and therefore not accessible by the Committee, such as employee records or discipline or police investigations. Committee members shall respect the confidentiality of such records.
B. 
The Committee is not intended as a replacement for, or to prevent community members from going to, the Maine Human Rights Commission, Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, or other legal bodies.