Community members who agree to serve on Concord’s diversity and equity committee deserve a stipend for their time, members of the public argued Friday.
About a dozen people who attended the Friday morning meeting asked Mayor Jim Bouley and councilors Byron Champlin and Zandra Rice Hawkins to consider compensating future committee members who offer lived experiences and different perspectives in addition to their time and sacrifice.
Instead of allocating $140,000 to hire a consultant, which they said would be unnecessary given the expertise within the community and the ground work that’s already being done, some of that money could be directed back toward committee members.
“Why should they get a stipend?” Champlin asked. “There are a lot of people who serve committees.”
“It’s about equity – we’re asking marginalized people to put themselves in danger by speaking about these things,” replied Jessica Livingston. “The people that you want to be on this committee are the people who represent the people you want to help in the community, and they don’t have the resources.”
To attend the meeting during regular business hours on a Friday, Charm Emicko said she had to suspend her summer camp for New American youth. Former school board member Kate West said she was 30 minutes late due to the lack of available public transportation. Others said they missed work to attend. Many of the people who could serve on the committee, like New Americans, refugees, the unhoused population and single income families are often reliant on hourly jobs and will lose income to serve their community.
They deserve stipends, committee members were told.
Rice Hawkins made a motion suggesting councilors discuss allocating a $50-an-hour stipend, which would leave around $68,000 for a consultant, or other diversity efforts of their choice.
Champlin and Bouley shot down the motion and requested the community be patient while they educate themselves on the policies, procedures and logistics of issuing stipends for committee work.
Concord City Councilors receive a stipend of $1,000 a year, while the mayor’s stipend is $2,000. If councilors put in 10 hours a month, that works out to about $8 an hour for their time.
Though some progress was made to establish short term goals and identify who might serve on the committee, it was overshadowed by the frustration and confusion surrounding the decision.
After denying the motion, the committee was accused of creating more barriers for marginalized communities.
“Eliminating barriers is a big piece of this work and just talking about the stipend would eliminate it,” Emicko said. “It’s a simple thing that we can do to get more people across the barrier and find a way to work together and build that trust that we need to keep talking and educating each other. Once that’s eliminated, more people can come to the table.”
Livingston was more direct with committee.
“We’re all here and we are the ones who have been doing this work for years and we are asking you to participate in this work,” Livingston said. “These are tenants of white supremacy that you are upholding through these procedures and policies and we’re asking you to change it and be more inclusive of those here.”
Rice Hawkins redirected the conversation to discuss what type of people should serve on the standing committee and short term goals the committee could quickly establish, including ongoing diversity training for city staff, enhanced website accessibility, dedicate a multicultural room at the City Wide Community Center, create a universal application for city boards and committees, publicly advocate against racism and involve the school districts in discussions.
“We have been asking for community space in the Heights for years and it would be incredibly impactful because it would demonstrate to the community that you’re listening and allowing groups, like Project S.T.O.R.Y and Overcomers, to do their work and empower the people who work with them,” Livingston said.
Once names of potential members have been suggested, the committee will define roles, responsibilities and expectations. Appointments will then be made by Bouley during City Council and accepted or denied by councilors.
To recommend a specific person or group of people to be considered for the standing committee, send an email to the city clerk at cityclerk@concordnh.gov.