ICRC_20210409_Approved_Minutes.pdf — original pdf

Approved Minutes

Independent Citizens Redistricting Commission (ICRC) April 9, 2021 at 2:30 pm VIA VIDEOCONFERENCING CURRENT COMMISSION MEMBERS: Brigham Morris Dr. Sterling Lands Erin Dempsey Errol Hardin Eugene Schneider Hoang Le Luis Gonzalez Prabhu Kannan Members in Attendance Brigham Morris Dr. Sterling Lands Erin Dempsey Errol Hardin Eugene Schneider Hoang Le Luis Gonzalez Prabhu Kannan Place holder Place holder Place holder Place holder Place holder Place holder Staff in Attendance Matthew Dugan MINUTES CALL TO ORDER ICRC Liaison, Matthew Dugan called the meeting to order at 1:06 pm with 8 members present. CITIZEN COMMUNICATION: GENERAL The first three speakers who register to speak no later than noon the day before the meeting will be allowed a three-minute allotment to address their concerns regarding items not posted on the agenda. Representing the NAACP Austin Chapter, Mr. Young introduced himself to the ICRC and indicated interest in providing a presentation once all seats of the commission have been filled. The City of Austin is committed to compliance with the American with Disabilities Act. Reasonable modifications and equal access to communications will be provided upon request. Meeting locations are planned with wheelchair access. If requiring Sign Language Interpreters or alternative formats, please give notice at least 2 days (48 hours) before the meeting date. Please call Matt Dugan at the Housing and Planning Department, at 512-974-7665 and matthew.dugan@austintexas.gov, for additional information; TTY users route through Relay Texas at 711. For more information on the Independent Citizens Redistricting Commission, please contact Matt Dugan at 512-974-7665 and matthew.dugan@austintexas.gov or Lisa Rodriguez at 512-974-3119 and lisa.rodriguez@austintexas.gov.  1. APPROVAL OF MINUTES On Commissioner Lands’ motion, Commissioner Kannan’s approval, the March 11, 2021, minutes were unanimously approved. 2. STAFF BREIEFINGS Adjustment to selection process. Jason Hadavi with the Office of City Auditor discussed adjustments to the selections process including: • On March 31, 2021, the Auditor’s Office discovered unique errors that occurred with the data download on the applications received for the Independent Citizen Redistricting Commission. • 5 applicants that met the minimum qualifications were not included in the pool of 284 applications received/submitted and were not sent to be reviewed and considered for the final 60 most qualified by the Applicant Review Panel. • 5 applicants that did not met the minimum qualifications were included to the 284 applications received/submitted and sent to be reviewed and considered for the final 60 most qualified by the Applicant Review Panel. • The Auditor’s Office immediately contacted those 10 applicants affected to let them know about this unique error. • The process has progressed to a point where the Auditor’s Office cannot rectify the matter due to the timeline for the work of the Commission to redraw the Council district maps. • Out of the 60 most qualified applicants that were selected by the Applicant Review two were included that did not meet the minimum qualifications. One of these applicants was a result of the download error. The other applicant had a misrepresentation on their application that allowed them to appear as qualified, though they were not eligible to be on the ICRC. • These Two applicants were selected by the randomly selected 8 ICRC members that did not meet the minimum qualifications. • The Independent Citizen Redistricting Commission is moving forward with selecting two new members from the Applicant Review Panel most qualified. The pool is now at 47 members to select two new members from. • The Auditor’s Office regrets and apologizes for the data error that resulted in applications not being considered and to those two that were selected that did not meet the qualifications. The City of Austin is committed to compliance with the American with Disabilities Act. Reasonable modifications and equal access to communications will be provided upon request. Meeting locations are planned with wheelchair access. If requiring Sign Language Interpreters or alternative formats, please give notice at least 2 days (48 hours) before the meeting date. Please call Matt Dugan at the Housing and Planning Department, at 512-974-7665 and matthew.dugan@austintexas.gov, for additional information; TTY users route through Relay Texas at 711. For more information on the Independent Citizens Redistricting Commission, please contact Matt Dugan at 512-974-7665 and matthew.dugan@austintexas.gov or Lisa Rodriguez at 512-974-3119 and lisa.rodriguez@austintexas.gov.  • The Auditor’s Office encourages individuals interested in the redistricting process to consider all the ways to participate in the process including providing public input and participating in ICRC meetings. TECHNICAL Description: • The online application system stored all application data so the public could view as much or as little detail as they wished. • When it came time for the Applicant Review Panel to complete their assignment of selecting the 60 most qualified applicants, the Auditor’s Office needed to provide them with the application data in a form they could manipulate. • To do this, we downloaded the data from the website into an Excel spreadsheet. This is where the error occurred. • For 10 applicants, the information in the column that flagged whether the applicant was qualified or not was changed. • For 5 qualified applicants, the status changed to "No." • For 5 unqualified applicants, the status changed to "Yes." 3. OLD BUSINESS BREIEFINGS Selection of remaining commissioner. Following discussion and deliberation, on Commissioner Lands’ motion, Commissioner Gonzalez’s second, Commissioner Yee was unanimously selected. FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS ADJOURNMENT The meeting was adjourned at 1:59pm without objection. The City of Austin is committed to compliance with the American with Disabilities Act. Reasonable modifications and equal access to communications will be provided upon request. Meeting locations are planned with wheelchair access. If requiring Sign Language Interpreters or alternative formats, please give notice at least 2 days (48 hours) before the meeting date. Please call Matt Dugan at the Housing and Planning Department, at 512-974-7665 and matthew.dugan@austintexas.gov, for additional information; TTY users route through Relay Texas at 711. For more information on the Independent Citizens Redistricting Commission, please contact Matt Dugan at 512-974-7665 and matthew.dugan@austintexas.gov or Lisa Rodriguez at 512-974-3119 and lisa.rodriguez@austintexas.gov.