Number
201294
Version
SUBSTITUTE 1
Reference
Sponsor
ALD. HAMILTON AND JOHNSON
Title
Substitute resolution approving executive fellow partnerships between the City of Milwaukee and FUSE Corps.
Analysis
This resolution approves two executive fellow partnerships between the City of Milwaukee and FUSE Corps.
In addition, the resolution expresses the Common Council’s support for an additional partnership between FUSE Corps and Employ Milwaukee. The executive fellows will be hosted by the Department of City Development, Office of Early Childhood Initiatives and Employ Milwaukee for one year and will design and institutionalize an action-oriented strategic plan for affordable housing and home ownership.
Body
Whereas, The affordable housing crisis has continued to impact residents across the United States; and
Whereas, The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated the housing crisis along with the many of the other inequities that impact the lives of low-income and minority Americans; and
Whereas, In Milwaukee, the homeownership rate has fallen by 14% over the past decade; and
Whereas, According to the U.S. Census Bureau, just over 7 percent of African Americans in the Milwaukee metropolitan area own homes; and
Whereas, Milwaukee’s Black-White homeownership gap is higher than all but 8 of the country’s 100 metro areas; and
Whereas, 40% of Milwaukee’s Black renters spend more than half of their incomes on rent; and
Whereas, According to a 2017 meta-analysis on the impacts of early childhood education, participation resulted in statistically significant reductions in special education placement, better grade retention and increases in high school graduation rates; and
Whereas, According to U.S. Census data, low-income families who pay for childcare spend 30% of their incomes on care, compared to 8% for families not in poverty, making it less likely that lower-income families will send their children to formal childcare; and
Whereas, According to the Pew Research Center, the majority of adult Americans have used the internet to look for job information; and
Whereas, Of those American’s actively looking for employment, 90% have used the internet to search for jobs and 84% applied for jobs online; and
Whereas, The same survey found that 28% of Americans who are currently not employed indicate that it would not be easy to create professional resumes if they needed to do so, compared with 14% of those who currently have jobs; 22% would have a hard time filling out online job applications, compared with 10% of those who are currently employed; and 19% would have a hard time contacting employers via email, finding lists of jobs online, or looking up services available to job seekers; and
Whereas, Creative and comprehensive solutions are needed to meet the housing, early education and employment needs needs of Milwaukee residents; and
Whereas, FUSE Corps is a national nonprofit organization that has partnered with local governments across the United States to develop plans to address local challenges; and
Whereas, FUSE Corps designs and implements year-long executive fellowship programs that recruit knowledgeable and experienced professionals to develop plans for strategic action; and
Whereas, Since 2021, FUSE Corps has placed more than 160 executive fellows in over 100 local government agencies throughout the country; and
Whereas, 70% people of fellows placed by FUSE Corps within public sector positions have been people of color; and
Whereas, FUSE Corps has proposed a year-long executive fellow partnership within the Department of City Development that will focus on the creation of a strategic affordable housing and homeownership plan for the City; and
Whereas, FUSE Corps has proposed a second executive fellow partnership within the Office of Early Childhood Initiatives that will focus on literacy efforts and will devise a strategy and implementation plan to increase access to quality early childhood education and work on linkages between schools and neighboring early childhood providers; and
Whereas, FUSE Corps has proposed a third executive fellowship with Employ Milwaukee, which will assess and design new ways enhance the workforce development board’s efforts to connect employers and workers digitally; and
Whereas, FUSE Corps FUSE will pay all salary and employee costs for the first year of the proposed fellowships, and will be the employer of record for the term of the fellowship; and
Whereas, These executive fellowships are set to begin on May 1, 2021; now, therefore, be it
Resolved, By the Common Council of the City of Milwaukee, that the Common Council approves the proposed executive fellow partnerships between the City and FUSE Corps; and, be it
Further Resolved, That the Common Council supports the proposed executive fellowship between FUSE Corps and Employ Milwaukee; and, be it
Further Resolved, That the Common Council directs the Department of City Development and the Office of Early Childhood Initiatives to work with and support the efforts of the FUSE executive fellows; and, be it
Further Resolved, That the proper City officials are authorized to execute the agreement between the City and FUSE Corps in a form substantially similar to the example provided in this file.
Requestor
Drafter
LRB 176521-3
Christopher H. Hillard
1/21/2021