Here’s what Mecklenburg County’s first equity action plan will focus on

Mecklenburg County approved its first equity action plan this week in its most recent and targeted effort to address systematic inequality in the Charlotte area.

The plan was the county’s first budget priority, commissioner Susan Harden said.

It has two main objectives: addressing disparity within the county as an employer, and improving equity and understanding for residents in the greater Charlotte area.

The plan is meant to ensure that employees feel good about where they work and residents feel they have a voice, said County Equity and Inclusion Manager Phin Xaypangna. The provisions within the plan are part of the county’s $8.1 million investment for next year in reducing racial inequity.

The equity plan is the second phase of the county’s Equity and Inclusion Initiative, which came in response to civil unrest following the Keith Lamont Scott shooting in 2016, Xaypangna said.

Harden said the county is responsible for providing human services to the community, so they feel an obligation to address these issues.

“Every area that Mecklenburg County touches, we see racial disparity,” Harden said.

And addressing these disparities means the county can be more efficient — if everyone is on a level playing field, the county can provide fewer services, she said.

What’s in the plan

The plan seeks to ensure that all residents in the county have the tools they need to understand and respond to inequity. Its main focus areas are within economic prosperity, health and criminal justice, and it outlines specific goals to be completed over the next three years.

For example, the county spells out specific goals to increase the number of minority-owned businesses to match the county’s demographics.

Now, a team composed of people from each county department will assess the best way to reach these goals and formulate a plan over the next few months. This process will include getting community feedback too, Xaypangna said.

Until then, she said one of the county’s main focuses is equity within hiring. On the surface, she said, the staff is diverse and reflects the county’s demographics.

“However, when we started looking at the racial breakdown in terms of the salary plans and our leadership positions, we’re not as representative,” she said.

The county’s 6,000 employees will also undergo equity training, including implicit bias training, by December 2020, she said.

Charlotte has recently taken its own steps to combat inequity. The city passed a new minimum wage in its budget for next year, and the city council unanimously approved an immigration compact this week.

But all eight municipalities need to work together to make progress, Xaypangna said.

“It cannot be just Mecklenburg County government alone; it can’t be the city of Charlotte,” she said. “We need other towns, other jurisdictions to be involved.”

The city has been enthusiastic so far, she said, but she hasn’t talked to the other jurisdictions yet.

“This is just a starting point,” Xaypangna said. “So we have a long way to go.”

She emphasized that the process of achieving these goals won’t be a “one-time thing,” and the timeline may change. But Harden said departments’ plans should be formed in time for when the budget process begins for next year a few months from now.

“We can’t just create more programs to address the disparity,” Harden said. “We have to address the systems and the underlying unfairness that creates the problem.”

This story was originally published June 28, 2019 at 12:11 PM with the headline "Here’s what Mecklenburg County’s first equity action plan will focus on."