CHAPTER 142
Community Relations Advisory Commission

142.01   Establishment; purpose.

142.02   Membership.

142.03   Terms.

142.04   Compensation.

142.05   Advisory.

142.06   Chairperson.

142.07   Mission statement; bylaws and general rules of operation.

142.08   Assistance from office of community relations.

142.09   Public records; reporting duties.

142.01 ESTABLISHMENT; PURPOSE.

   The Lakewood Community Relations Advisory Commission is hereby established to serve in an advisory capacity for the purpose of educating, informing and making recommendations to City officials, departments, boards and commissions on matters relating to community relations within the City of Lakewood in an effort to advance:

   (a)   Respect for Diversity: Acknowledge we live in a dynamic community with an ever- changing variety of group and individual experiences, and affirm values derived from the understanding of our differences (whether based on socio-economic class, culture, religion, race, ethnicity, age, gender, sexual orientation, or gender identity or expression).

   (b)   Bonds of Mutuality: Recognize the interdependence of our different interests as we work toward serving the common good, and ensure community relations have substantive meaning by acknowledging, as Martin Luther King Jr. stated, "Whatever affects one directly affects all indirectly.”

   (c)   Equity: Affirm our commitment to social justice, and assure all groups and individuals have the opportunity to participate fully in civic affairs with equal access to employment, community resources, and decision-making processes.

      (Ord. 1-16. Passed 6-20-16.)

142.02 MEMBERSHIP.

   The Lakewood Community Relations Advisory Commission shall be composed of thirteen (13) residents that broadly represent the social, economic, and cultural interests of Lakewood, Ohio. (Ord. 87-05. Passed 12-5-2005.)

142.03 TERMS.

   Commission members shall be appointed in accordance with the following:

   (a)   All Commission members shall be appointed by the City Council (7 appointees) and the Mayor (6 appointees). Each member of City Council shall appoint one (1) member to the Lakewood Community Relations Advisory Commission.

   (b)   Commission members’ terms of office shall expire on the first Monday in January following the last year of their term of office.

   (c)   Duly appointed commission members shall serve a term of three (3) years, except that initial appointments shall be so staggered that the terms of approximately one- third of the membership shall expire each year.

   (d)   Whenever possible, one member shall also be a member of the Lakewood Board of Education.

   (e)   Whenever possible, one member shall also be a member of the Lakewood Chamber of Commerce.

   (f)   Whenever possible, one member shall also be a member of the Lakewood Ministerial Association.

      (Ord. 87-05. Passed 12-5-2005.)