Staff Report.Equity
Reviewed by: Town Manager, Assistant Town Manager, Town Attorney, and Interim Finance Director
110 E. Main Street Los Gatos, CA 95030 ● (408) 354-6832
www.losgatosca.gov
TOWN OF LOS GATOS
COUNCIL AGENDA REPORT
MEETING DATE: 09/06/2022 ITEM NO: 11
DATE: August 23, 2022
TO: Mayor and Town Council
FROM: Laurel Prevetti, Town Manager
SUBJECT: Receive the American Leadership Forum Insights (ALFI) Discovery Report
Regarding Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (JEDI) and Direct the Town
Manager to Work with ALFI in the Development of a JEDI Plan
RECOMMENDATION:
Receive the American Leadership Forum Insights (ALFI) Discovery Report regarding justice,
equity, diversity, and inclusion (JEDI) and direct the Town Manager to work with ALFI in the
development of a JEDI Plan.
BACKGROUND:
On August 17, 2021, the Council unanimously voted to authorize the Town Manager to enter
into agreements for Justice, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion consultant services with two firms:
American Leadership Forum Silicon Valley Insights (ALFI) and ReadySet.
ALFI was selected to address the Town’s external JEDI goals through Town partnerships with
local organizations and the broader community. ALFI specializes in external engagement and
dialogue and leveraging community partnerships. Additionally, ALFI was contracted serve in an
advisory role to assist with community workshop/meeting design and other work. This report
focuses on the work of ALFI and potential next steps.
ReadySet was chosen to examine the Town’s JEDI context internally. ReadySet’s strength lies in
internal organizational assessment and roadmap development. ReadySet was expected to
design an internal JEDI survey, review existing Town processes and procedures, conduct
interviews and focus groups with staff, review and analyze the findings, and develop a robust
assessment of the organization. After ReadySet completed the first phase of its work, the Town
terminated the contract consistent with the provisions in the agreement.
PAGE 2 OF 4 SUBJECT: American Leadership Forum Insights (ALFI) Discovery Report and Future Work with ALFI in the Development of a JEDI Plan DATE: August 23, 2022
DISCUSSION:
Attachment 1 contains the ALFI Discovery Report documenting the approach, high level
findings/themes, and recommendations. ALFI engaged with community leaders and Town
partners, including the Chamber of Commerce, faith-based organizations, business owners,
local school districts, and others in a series of listening sessions to assess the level of
understanding of the current JEDI efforts and identify barriers and opportunities.
The high level findings/themes centered on:
• Opportunities for the Town’s continued commitment to JEDI work.
• The discovery process created a sense of hope for future involvement in this work.
• The importance of being an “inclusive Town” (defined differently by different
participants).
• Concerns and fears for the personal safety of participants in this work.
• Various levels of knowledge about the Town’s work and the need to engage in the
development of a plan with more specificity and accountability.
The recommendations were organized under the following topics: Collaborative on-going
engagement, develop safe spaces, build capacity for the work, connect this work to the
vibrancy of the Town economy, intentionally engage school districts and youth, and continue to
build affordable housing.
In considering the recommendations of the ALFI Discovery Report, some of them are already
being implemented:
• The 2040 General Plan has now been adopted with its Racial, Social, and Environmental
Justice Element. The Land Use and Community Design Elements will likely be subject to
a referendum (signatures are being reviewed now by the Registrar of Voters).
• The Housing Element is underway and will soon be circulating for public comment.
• The Town is considering collaborating with the School District on a social norms effort.
• The Town is providing spaces for members of the community to learn and be in
dialogue together, starting with programming through our Library on Affordable
Housing and the intersection of environmental sustainability and equity.
• The Town Council has adopted civility guidelines for all Council and Commission
meetings, being clear that:
o The Town embraces diversity and strongly condemns hate speech and offensive,
hateful language or racial intolerance of any kind at Town meetings.
o Town Council and staff are well aware of the public’s right to disagree with their
professional opinion on various Town issues. However, anti-social behavior,
slander, hatred, and bigotry statements are completely unacceptable and will
not be tolerated in any way, shape, or form at Town meetings.
PAGE 3 OF 4 SUBJECT: American Leadership Forum Insights (ALFI) Discovery Report and Future Work with ALFI in the Development of a JEDI Plan DATE: August 23, 2022
DISCUSSION (continued):
o All public comments at the Town Council meeting must pertain to items within
the subject matter jurisdiction of the Town and shall not contain slanderous
statements, hatred, and bigotry against non-public officials.
Though our policy does not speak to personal safety, this is our practice with our Police
Department.
Rather than implement the remaining individual recommendations on an ad hoc basis, staff
proposes that the recommendations be folded into a more detailed JEDI Plan with specific short
and long term goals, action items with timelines, and metrics. The Plan should include
definitions of “inclusivity,” “belonging,” and other terms to develop a common understanding
of these concepts. The Plan should identify gaps and overlaps with the equity work being done
by other organizations in Los Gatos.
Staff recommends continuing its contractual arrangement with ALFI for the development of a
JEDI Plan. The Plan would be put together with community involvement, including but not
limited to the stakeholders/institutions/organizations who participated in the discovery phase,
including Los Gatos youth. The effort should engage with every Town Commission, Town
employees, and people who have expressed concerns about the Town’s participation in equity
efforts.
CONCLUSION:
For the reasons discussed in this report, staff recommends that the Town work with ALFI in the
development of a JEDI Plan.
ALTERNATIVE:
Alternatively, the Council can defer consideration of the ALFI report and its recommendations
to its annual Strategic Priorities session in January 2023. Staff is not recommending this
alternative because equity, diversity, and inclusion is currently an ongoing Strategic Priority.
The development of a Plan with community engagement is the logical next step to develop
specific short and long term goals, action items with timelines, and metrics.
A Plan would also assist with the ongoing work occurring with the Town’s internal Equity Team,
consisting of staff from several Departments. Given the high degree of community interaction
by staff, it is timely to integrate the internal and external work into a unifying Plan.
PAGE 4 OF 4 SUBJECT: American Leadership Forum Insights (ALFI) Discovery Report and Future Work with ALFI in the Development of a JEDI Plan DATE: August 23, 2022
FISCAL IMPACT:
The Town is under contract with ALFI and there is $17,000 remaining in the agreement. The
planning effort is estimated to cost approximately $45,000. With the cancellation of the
ReadySet contract, the unspent $14,000 can be redirected to ALFI under the Town Manager’s
authority. The additional $12,000 is available from the Non-Departmental account for Special
Studies.
ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT:
This is not a project defined under CEQA, and no further action is required.
Attachment:
1. American Leadership Forum Insights (ALFI) Discovery Report