AKRON, Ohio — Akron Mayor Dan Horrigan has released the city’s responses to the Racial Equity and Social Justice Taskforce recommendations, which were received earlier this year.
The recommendations are focused on six key areas, which are listed as follows:
- Equitable Workforce Development and Job Creation
- Criminal Justice System
- Health Care / Public Health
- Housing
- Education
- Communications
“The RESJ Taskforce made a total of 117 recommendations that touch nearly every facet of city operations,” according to Mayor Horrigan’s office. “The City identified 92 recommendations to incorporate into government policy and practice. Of those, 43 have already been implemented or are already practiced. The City has firm plans to work towards the remaining recommendations in the coming years. The City’s response outlines timelines for each of these.”
You can see the city’s full response by exploring the document below:
The city also notes that 25 recommendations were found to be either “unsuitable or unrealistic” to implement at this time, but would be kept in mind for future opportunities.
“These recommendations are the result of 14 months of research, discussion and hard work on the part of the RESJ Taskforce members, and they have laid the foundation for important and necessary change here at the city,” said Akron Mayor Dan Horrigan. “I firmly believe that acting on these recommendations is just the first step. We will continue to listen, learn and work towards sustainable solutions to create a more equitable city for all. I once again thank all the members of the Taskforce and city staff for their dedication to this process.”
Mayor Horrigan’s office says the RESJ Taskforce began its work on Nov. 10, 2020. Their recommendations for policy change were outlined in a five-year strategic plan, which was delivered to the mayor on Feb. 28, 2022. You can read that plan in the document below:
Once the city received the strategic plan, Mayor Horrigan put a team together to review and issue a response.
“The team spent the next six months meeting with each department in the City and every Cabinet member to discuss all of the recommendations specific to their work,” according to a press release from the mayor’s office. “They determined which recommendations the city planned to incorporate. They also worked to review and research the feasibility of the suggested timelines and estimated funding allocations necessary to implement these changes.”
Editor's note: Video in the player above was originally published in an unrelated story on Oct. 4, 2022.
