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Regular City Council Meeting Monday, March 11, 2024 Page 10 members of the HRIEC,thoughtfully so and discussed at the previous joint meeting as well as some of the minutes from those discussions to help refresh conversations between the Council. Councilmember Schroeder explained when reviewing the minutes and reflecting on them, their environment has changed quite a bit since the beginning of this Commission when two Commissions were brought together. She wanted to remind people that Commissions are established for citizen input and are advisory to the City Council. She thought the Council needed to think about this in a bigger way because if they look at what is written, something to consider would be if there is a better way to do this other than just a Commission. Maybe something like the MAC would work and work on it like that. Her thought is maybe this should be looked at as something a little broader than just how to redefine the Commission versus what is the work the City wants to have done and what would be the most effective way to do it. Councilmember Schroeder thought it needs to be something that people want to get passionate about but then it also needs to be beneficial for the citizens and City as well. She stated,with all the feedback,how come this is not working, and there are so many changes, she was not surprised so many people are confused. She liked the idea that the Council is going to clarify this and come up with a way that would be very helpful for the City and Council, as well as give people worthwhile work and another way to support its DEI work. She would like to see the Commission go towards that direction to concentrate in that area versus going out and help human rights in general. Councilmember Groff indicated that he has come at this from a little different perspective because he has been involved in this work since 1989. He does remember times when the Commission did refer cases to the State, and it was a human rights issue. He also looks at the Commission as something that declares to people that Roseville is a welcoming and inclusive community. He explained if the City were to get rid of a Commission like this, the signal to people that are marginalized is that the City does not care about them, now whether that is the intent or not. It does not matter but that will be the message that is sent out. There are always people that are marginalized. He would say with the attacks on Transgender people, the City has to be very careful about making any changes that would make them feel excluded. He noted when the Council is making these changes, the Council needs to look at that aspect. Councilmember Strahan stated during the conversation at a previous meeting, she pulled up the State Human Rights Commission's page and focused on the fact that it says they are investigating and protecting civil rights. But part of the need or focus of why you would have a local human rights commission is to promote equity and inclusion. She thought it would be sad for the City to remove its name on the list of cities within Minnesota that have human rights commissions. She felt that