Issaquah staff outline equity action plan and community engagement; committee urges careful outreach

Issaquah city staff presented a proposed equity visioning and evaluation project to the Services, Safety and Parks Committee on May 5, asking the committee to advise on engagement goals, priority groups and methods before drafting formal goals to return later in the year.

Management analyst Jillian Straub said the project responds to gaps in translating broad equity language in the comprehensive and strategic plans into measurable goals. She said the city allocated $50,000 in the 2024 budget for professional equity services, selected a consultant with equity-board participation, and plans three phases: define an equity vision and goals, develop an evaluation tool and pilot audits of city programs, and adopt an equity action plan to guide resources and implementation. "We say in a lot of our planning documents that equity is a priority, but we don't give a definition that allows for comparison to where we are, or how to get there," Straub said.

The staff-proposed engagement strategy centers on a public survey to run from May through July (online and paper), targeted outreach to faith and cultural organizations and historically underrepresented groups, tabling at community events and a small community leadership workshop of up to 20 participants to draft the vision and goals. Straub said materials will be professionally translated and that the consultant (Equity Matters) recommended multiple methods and demographic priorities; one recommended tactic — hiring community liaisons — would require additional staffing and budget and was identified as delaying.

Committee members broadly praised the effort but asked for guardrails to prevent the tool becoming a checkbox exercise and urged that the work be designed to be useful to staff and elected officials. Councilmember Nichols asked participants to "try to think big," noting that policies ranging from affordability to mobility can affect equity and should be considered. Members signaled a preference to keep the item in the Services, Safety and Parks Committee for refinement rather than advancing directly to a committee of the whole.

A member of the public, Michelle Kenny, asked whether the plan grew from community feedback that some residents feel unrepresented and how outreach would address trust concerns; staff offered follow-up conversations outside the meeting. Straub said staff will prioritize in-person and lower-barrier engagement and consider focus groups when helpful to build trust.

Next steps: staff will refine the engagement plan with equity-board and consultant input, prepare a draft vision and goals for additional committee review in September and anticipate returning to full city council for action in October 2026. The committee did not take a formal vote but provided direction on outreach priorities and committee touch points.