BOZEMAN — A little over a month ago, the Black Lives Matter Rally took over the streets of downtown Bozeman, with more than 2,000 people showing their support for the nation-wide movement.
Later, the Bozeman City Commission met and said they hear Bozeman residents, and they’re ready to show they’re listening.
“What are we doing now? What are we doing well? And most importantly, what do we need to improve?” said Bozeman Mayor Chris Mehl.
Those were the question city commissioners asked the city manager to investigate when it comes to city-wide diversity, anti-discrimination and inclusion.
On Monday night, city commissioners will hear a special presentation of the City Manager’s findings.
“There are 24 specific suggestions, and some of them were broad to make sure we’re going to come back every quarter and give the public an update,” said Mehl.
“We’re going to talk about what we have learned, what are we doing well, maybe there’s a new idea.”
The report also reviews the Bozeman Police Department’s use of force policies.
“The police department and its approach to de-escalation, it’s a pretty good job. But even there with the de-escalation, there are some clear errors where we can do a better job. For example, the recommendation is that we speed up the process that was already underway to wear police cameras,” said Mehl.
The report also dives into how other city employees and commissioners can promote inclusion from within.
“Training across the board, not just for police officers but all the city employees. How we hire, who sits on our advisory boards of citizen volunteers, things like that to make sure we’re as inclusive as possible so we’re a welcoming community.”
City Commissioners will make suggestions on how to proceed after meeting on Monday night. The Mayor says it’s a perfect time for public engagement.
“So I think there will be a definite impact from public comment on what they like, what they like to see more of in terms of how we instruct the city manager to go forward,” said Mehl.
You can attend the meeting at 6 pm by accessing this link: https://cityofbozeman.webex.com/mw3300/mywebex/default.do?nomenu=true&siteurl=cityofbozeman&service=6&rnd=0.9269007106504076&main_url=https%3A%2F%2Fcityofbozeman.webex.com%2Fec3300%2Feventcenter%2Fevent%2FeventAction.do%3FtheAction%3Ddetail%26%26%26EMK%3D4832534b000000041df12032d0acdd2852813ba2c5b35af5e41588689572ba909f60f31017363be8%26siteurl%3Dcityofbozeman%26confViewID%3D166688900871387487%26encryptTicket%3DSDJTSwAAAARr0YK9-MCjiGWD5J4uF_Ie7Br5rpkDGH8a_HONvMmi_g2%26
