§ 324-49. Economic Inclusion Advocacy and Accountability Board.

(a)

Mission, duties of Board .

(1)

The mission of the Economic Inclusion Advocacy and Accountability Board shall be to promote economic inclusion, serve as a public advocate for the Department of Economic Inclusion, assist the Department of Economic Inclusion in fulfilling the recommendations of the Economic Inclusion Advisory Council and measure the impact of the economic inclusion programs and initiatives within the City of Cincinnati.

(2)

The Economic Inclusion Advocacy and Accountability Board shall have the following functions and duties associated with economic inclusion and the programs set forth in this Chapter:

(i)

Recommending policies to implement the City's economic inclusion programs and services;

(ii)

Recommending strategies to implement recommendations of the Economic Inclusion Advisory Council or its successor advisory group;

(iii)

Measuring the community impact of the City's and the Department of Economic Inclusion's economic inclusion programs and initiatives;

(iv)

Preparing and distributing to the community an annual report on the City's inclusion efforts; and

(v)

Ensuring that minority- and women-owned business inclusion programs and initiatives continue in the future.

(b)

Board members; appointment. The Economic Inclusion Advocacy and Accountability Board shall consist of up to twenty-five (25) members appointed by the Mayor of the City of Cincinnati with the approval of City Council. The following organizations may each recommend three members to the Mayor: Urban League of Greater Southwestern Ohio, African American Chamber of Commerce, Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, and Asian Chamber of Commerce. The members shall be diverse in terms of race, ethnicity, gender and age, shall have knowledge of minority-owned or women-owned business growth and development issues, and shall be residents of Hamilton County, Ohio.

(c)

The Director of the Department of Economic Inclusion shall be an ex-officio board member and shall not count as one of the fifteen appointed board members required in paragraph (b) of this Section, above.

(d)

Term. In the Economic Inclusion Advocacy and Accountability Board's first year, up to eight members of the board shall be appointed for a term of one year, up to eight members shall be appointed for a term of two years, and up to nine members shall be appointed for a term of three years. Upon the expiration of the initial term of each member, each member's appointment may be renewed for one additional three-year term. The terms of the board members shall be staggered so that each year, up to eight or nine members will be eligible for either renewal of their terms or replacement by a new board member.

(e)

Frequency of meetings. The Economic Inclusion Advocacy and Accountability Board shall meet on a quarterly basis, or more frequently as needed.

(f)

By-laws. The Economic Inclusion Advocacy and Accountability Board is authorized to pass by-laws or other regulations governing the board as long as such by-laws or regulations do not conflict with any provision of this Section 324-49.

(g)

Committees . The Economic Inclusion Advocacy and Accountability Board, through its bylaws, shall establish a structure of standing committees with specific areas of responsibility for accomplishing the mission and duties of the Board.

(h)

Severability . The provisions of this Section 324-49 are severable from the other provisions in Chapter 324. If any other provision is held invalid, this Section 324-49 shall not be made invalid as well.

(i)

Board to exist indefinitely . The expiration of the provisions of Chapter 324 shall not apply to the provisions of this Section 324-49. This Section 324-49 shall remain in effect indefinitely. It is the intent of this ordinance to create an Economic Inclusion Advocacy and Accountability Board that shall continue in existence regardless of the status of the other provisions of Chapter 324.

(Ordained by Ord. No. 271-2016, § 2, eff. Sept. 3, 2016; Emer. Ord. No. 357-2016, § 1, eff. Dec. 7, 2016)