Kirkland City Council Approves Black Lives Matter Resolution

KIRKLAND, WA — The Kirkland City Council on Tuesday passed a resolution, affirming the city's stance that Black lives matter and laying the groundwork for a more "safe, inclusive and welcoming community."

Resolution 5434 was written based on four guiding principles outlined by the council:

• Build on previous City work to become safe, inclusive and welcoming.
• Listen, learn and partner with the Black community and People of Color on actions and outcomes.
• Create broad community engagement to identify actions to increase the safety of Black residents and visitors and reduce structural racism.
• Create policy and program outcomes that are specific, measurable, timely and funded.

The resolution directs the City Manager to develop transparency measures that help residents measure the government's performance among several areas. That includes developing an online dashboard tracking police "use of force incidents," and similar dashboards for school resource officers, human resources and human services.

The city is also tasked with creating new accountability measures, including consideration of the "8 Can't Wait" use of force reviews, looking at options for civilian oversight, launching a police body camera pilot program and reviewing non-police options to help people experiencing homelessness, behavior health issues and drug addiction.

According to a news release, the council estimates early costs to begin funding staff and community outreach efforts will be approximately $380,000. Council members will take up a financial discussion during a meeting scheduled Sep. 1.

"The City Council recognizes that funding is required to make real change," Councilmember Kelli Curtis said in a statement. "Creating a community where Black people feel safe is going to take both an investment of dollars and a collective investment of time from all members of our community. "The Council has made a down payment on these efforts, and we strongly encourage everyone to get involved in this conversation as we move forward."

Community members who want to get involved in the process can contact Neighborhood Services via e-mail. The full text of the resolution can be found on the city's website.