Portland Charter Commission 2021

Community Agreements

Purpose: Through these Community Agreements, members of the Portland Charter Commission will collaborate and build mutual trust, open communication, and equitable practices for our work and public proceedings. This agreement, while not a binding legal document, helps hold each of us accountable for ensuring a fair, inclusive, and democratic process. While not exhaustive, the contents of this agreement are aspirational in nature and may require improvements and updates throughout the Review Process.

Draft Agreements: 

1. All Are Welcome. The Commission will work to ensure, to the extent practicable, that public meetings and proceedings are accessible to all Portland residents and stakeholders, regardless of race, ethnicity, national origin, religion, socio-economic status, gender, sexual orientation, or physical or mental ability. 

   1. We will strive to host hybrid remote and in-person meetings when available and safe.

   2. We will strive to meet Portland residents where they are (neighborhood schools, churches, synagogues, etc.) and provide creative and accessible ways for residents to join us in the conversation. 

      1. For example: Prioritizing wheelchair accessibility when picking meeting spaces, designating gender-neutral bathrooms, utilizing  digital to engage broad audiences platforms.

      2. (And provide translation if feasible?)

      3. We will explore captioning for public meetings: Meeting transcription and subtitles.

   3. We will strive to conduct outreach to communities and organizations led by members of marginalized communities and make meetings welcoming and accessible to marginalized communities. 

   4. We will provide meeting minutes, agendas, and other Commission Communications in plain language. 

      1. If budget allows, we will try and provide captioning or meeting transcription.

   5. We will display or otherwise make available community agreements and other rules/procedures that will help commissioners or the public best engage at meetings. 

   6. Additional measures to increase accessibility?
      
      

2. We respect people’s identities and call people what they want to be called. This includes:

   1. Names. We pronounce and spell each other’s names correctly.  

   2. Pronouns. Members of the Commission and city officials and staff participating in the Review Process will use and display pronouns and make reasonable efforts to address each person, including the public, using their pronouns. 

   3. Honorifics. The Commission will decide as a group how we wish to address each other, whether using first names, last, titles or otherwise. We will strive to address each other uniformly and with respect throughout the process. 

      1. Commissioner {Last Name}

1. We Listen to All Voices, especially those that are quiet or often go unheard.

   1. Speaking Time. The Commission will work to ensure that each person has an opportunity to speak and be heard, this includes both commissioners and the public. 

      1. We strive to be deep and brief. 

      2. A useful device for speakers and facilitators: Ask yourself/others: “W.A.I.T. Why Am I Talking? or Why (Aren’t/Am I Not) Talking?”

   2. We pay attention to silences and seek out perspectives from voices not in the room. 

   3. We both honor individuals and know there is strength in the collective, therefore we will collaborate and co-facilitate with other commissioners on research, initiatives, and projects whenever possible.

1. Expertise takes various forms. Throughout this process we will be seeking input from experts of all kinds. As such, we acknowledge:

   1. Thorough and broad research. We will strive to cast a wide net in our research and seek input from diverse sources.

   2. Lived and personal experiences matter. Just as we value the expertise of researchers, academics, professional staff, and lawyers, we value people’s lived experience as important data in our decision making process.

   3. Everyone is an expert in their own experiences. 

   4. Everyone should understand what’s going on. Asking for help or for clarification does not make anyone less qualified, capable, or able to contribute to this process. 

1. The Commission will work to foster a space for empathy and learning by encouraging humanizing dialogue. 

   1. Intent vs. Impact. 

      1. We strive to work in the best interests of the community

      2. We understand that we may all bring different visions for that change to the table. And acknowledge that we may have differing views on what those best interests are or how to achieve them.

      3. We acknowledge that while folks may operate with good intentions, we understand that words and actions may have a different impact and be felt, heard, or understood differently. 

         1. We will own when our actions or words cause conflict or harm, regardless of intent.

   2. As best we can, we will try to disagree with ideas, not people.

      1. Example: “Commissioner XYZ, I have some questions about the idea you brought up about putting ice cream stands on every corner downtown. I believe this is not enough ice cream stands. Can you explain your thinking on this?” As opposed to, “Commissioner XYZ I believe you are delusional in thinking one ice cream stand per street corner is possibly enough ice cream for our city.”

   3. We acknowledge that disagreement and discourse are necessary tools in this process, and conflict is inevitable. We will strive to work through conflict, not avoid it.

1. We will strive to resolve and work through conflict. 

1. Use of Plain Language. The Commission will work to minimize or explain jargon and acronyms and allow opportunities for clarification.

1. Additional Meeting Norms. 

   1. Start on time. 

   2. Out of respect for people’s families, health, and personal lives: We strive to end on time, and commit to checking in prior to meeting going over-time about extensions.

   3. If a violation of an agreement is taking place, we will address concerns or questions through the Chair.

---------

RESOURCES & REFERENCES:

National Equity Project: Developing Community Agreements

UMaine Cooperative Extension: Working Agreements

Seeds for Change: Group Agreement Short Guide
AORTA Anti-Oppressive Meeting Guide

Educators for Consent Culture Community Agreements

Conflict is Not Abuse by Sarah Schulman
Stanford’s Lighting the Way Project

ROOTS Community Agreements

“When we are in the realm of Conflict, we can move from the Abuse-based construction of perpetrator and victim to the more accurate recognition of the parties as the conflicted, each with legitimate concerns and legitimate rights that must be considered in order to produce just resolution.” ― Sarah Schulman, Conflict is Not Abuse: Overstating Harm, Community Responsibility, and the Duty of Repair