Drafter
Clerk 09/24/2021
Title
AN ORDINANCE relating to the structure and duties of the Communities of Opportunity-Best Starts for Kids levy advisory board; and adding a new section to K.C.C. chapter 2A.300.
Body
STATEMENT OF FACTS:
1. Communities of Opportunity addresses the race and place-based inequitable health and well-being outcomes in King County by supporting communities in improving their health, social, and economic outcomes and does so by partnering with communities to shape and own solutions.
2. Communities of Opportunity, which was launched by Seattle Foundation and King County in March 2014, works in partnership with community leaders, community residents and coalitions or partnerships, community-based organizations, intermediary organizations and other funders and partners that share a common vision for change, as well as a shared agenda for measuring results, holding each other accountable and engaging in open communication. An interim Communities of Opportunity Governance Group, made up of King County and Seattle Foundation appointees and a cross-section of Communities of Opportunity partners, was established in October 2014.
3. In January 2016, Ordinance 18220 was enacted, relating to the composition and duties of the Communities of Opportunity interim governance group with respect to the Communities of Opportunity portion of the Best Starts for Kids levy proceeds.
4. In December 2016, Ordinance 18442 was enacted, relating to the structure and duties of the successor to the interim Communities of Opportunity Governance Group, establishing a Communities of Opportunity-Best Starts for Kids advisory board, with respect to Communities of Opportunity portion of Best Starts for Kids levy proceeds; and adding a new section to K.C.C. chapter 2A.300.
5. In April 2021, Ordinance 19267 submitted to the voters of King County a proposition to renew the Best Starts for Kids levy, providing for resident oversight and authorizing a property tax levy in excess of the levy limitation contained in chapter 84.55 RCW for a six-year consecutive period, for the purpose of funding prevention and early intervention strategies and a capital grants program to improve the health and well-being of children, youth and their communities.
6. Ordinance 19267 also directs the executive, by October 1, 2021, to transmit to the council for consideration and adoption by ordinance a Best Starts for Kids governance update report that describes and explains necessary and recommended changes to sections of the King County Code and applicable ordinances that describe the composition and duties of the Communities of Opportunity-Best Starts for Kids advisory board. Renewal of the levy also requires an extension of the existence of the Communities of Opportunity-Best Starts for Kids advisory board to coincide with the levy.
7. K.C.C. 2A.300.520 related to the Communities of Opportunity-Best Starts for Kids levy advisory board expired on December 31, 2021.
BE IT ORDAINED BY THE COUNCIL OF KING COUNTY:
NEW SECTION. SECTION 1. There is hereby added to K.C.C. chapter 2A.300 a new section to read as follows:
A. The Communities of Opportunity-Best Starts for Kids levy advisory board shall be structured as follows:
1. The board shall consist of a minimum of twenty members and a maximum of twenty-four members, as determined by the board;
2.a. Members of the board shall possess specific context or content experience related to improving health and well-being outcomes in communities with the greatest need for improvement, and shall be committed to the Communities of Opportunity section of the Best Starts for Kids implementation plan, as adopted by the council by ordinance. The commitment shall include a commitment to the principles of equity and social justice articulated in the Best Starts for Kids implementation plan as well as a commitment to evaluate and make potential decisions through the equity and social justice lens articulated in the Best Starts for Kids implementation plan. Members shall be committed to dismantling racism and assessing and rebuilding antiracist processes to be racially equitable. Members shall reflect the diversity in King County and shall reflect a range of backgrounds, including living in or working in affected communities, working in a community-based organization, nonprofit agency, intermediary organization, business or institution and having experience in the relevant subject matter areas of housing, health, social and community connection or economic prosperity. Members shall recognize that strategies may vary for different populations and in different locations of the county where there are inequitable health and well-being outcomes.
b.(1) The board membership is constituted as follows:
(a) two members shall be appointed by Seattle Foundation;
(b) one member shall be the county executive or designee;
(c) one member shall be the chair of the county council or designee;
(d) at least twenty percent of the advisory board members shall be community members who reflect demographic characteristics of the communities that qualify for funding in accordance with Communities of Opportunity funding guidelines and who are grassroots organizers or activists in those communities or who live in or have worked in those communities. Those members shall not be part of any Communities of Opportunity-funded groups. In addition, members shall possess lived experience and deep connection to communities with whom Communities of Opportunity partners;
(e) at least two members of the board shall be members of the Communities of Opportunity community-partnerships representatives group;
(f) at least two members of the board shall be members of the Communities of Opportunity systems and policy change representatives group;
(g) at least two members of the board shall be members of the Communities of Opportunity learning community representatives group;
(h) at least one member of the board shall be from an Indigenous or Urban Native community-based organization or tribe, who is familiar with the impacts of racism on Native people, communities, tribes and nations;
(i) four general members with system or sector knowledge of each Communities of Opportunity result areas, with one member from each of the following sectors: affordable housing; health; economic opportunity; and civic engagement or community connection; and
(j) one nonvoting member who is the Communities of Opportunity director or designee.
(2) the current board shall make recommendations to the executive regarding appointments of new board members.
(3) The executive shall create an open application process that would enable individuals interested in serving on the board to submit a letter of interest via the Communities of Opportunity website. The board shall review and take into consideration letters of interest received from individuals before making appointment recommendations to the executive.
(4) All members shall be appointed by the executive and confirmed by the county council, except for the representative who is the chair of the council or designee, the representative who is the county executive or designee and the two members appointed by Seattle Foundation.
(5) In addition to considering the recommendations from the board, the executive shall consider appointment recommendations from King County councilmembers of individuals who have applied for a board position through the open application process described in subsection A.2.b.(3) of this section and who have been determined by the board, as appropriate, to meet the membership criteria for service on the board outlined in subsection A.2.a. of this section. Members shall be appointed to the positions described in subsection A.2.b.(1)(d), (e), (f), (g), (h), (i) and (j) of this section by the executive within thirty days of receiving recommendations from the board for appointees and the council shall confirm appointments to these positions by motion;
3. A minimum of thirty percent of the members appointed to the board in 2022 shall be new members who have not previously served on the board;
4. The two members appointed by the county and described in subsection A.2.b.(1)(b) and (c) of this section and the two members appointed by Seattle Foundation shall each serve until replaced by a new appointee;
5. The community-based partnerships, the systems and policy change, and learning community representatives on the board specified in subsection A.2.b.(1)(e), (f) and (g) of this section shall have terms of at least one year and no more than three years. The community-based partnerships, systems and policy, and learning community representative groups, comprised of one individual from a funded entity participating in each of the funded partnerships or groups shall issue recommendations to the board regarding the potential appointees to fill the board positions specified in subsection A.2.b.(1)(e), (f) and (g) of this section and the term length of those potential appointees;
6. All other board members shall have two-year or three-year terms that may only be renewed one time, for up to three additional years;
7. The board shall either use a formal consensus process, in which a majority of all appointed members must participate and in which two or more members opposing a decision together may block it; or the board shall select and use another voting system. Meeting notes shall reflect all board decisions and the tally of members voting to accept or block a decision; and
8. The board shall have an established conflict of interest policy, requiring members to declare a conflict in advance of a board decision in which the members, their partners or spouses have a potential financial, fiduciary or employment conflict of interest, requiring members to recuse themselves from that decision and requiring members who represent entities with current Communities of Opportunity funding to declare a conflict in advance and to recuse themselves from board decisions related to those Communities of Opportunity-funded strategies or program activities.
B.1. The board shall make advisory recommendations to the executive and county council concerning the use of levy proceeds for the Communities of Opportunity element of the Best Starts for Kids levy, consistent with the council-adopted Communities of Opportunity section of the Best Starts for Kids levy implementation plan, make appointment recommendations to the executive as outlined in this section and evaluate letters of interest of individuals wishing to serve on the board to determine whether they meet the membership criteria under the requirements of this section.
2. The representative of the county council shall have the additional duty to seek input from all councilmembers before each meeting of the board on items known by this individual to be scheduled for discussion or decision at each board meeting.
C. Administrative support shall be provided to the board by the Communities of Opportunity staff team in the department of community and human services and public health - Seattle & King County.
D. Notice of meetings of the board shall be posted on the county Communities of Opportunity website and meetings of the board shall be open to the public to listen to and observe. In addition, when the board is considering or acting on determining the size of the board or making appointments to the board, it shall conduct its meetings in compliance with the Open Public Meetings Act of 1971, chapter 42.30 RCW.
SECTION 2. Section 1 of this ordinance expires December 31, 2027.