Oshkosh Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee 9/28/26

The City of Oshkosh Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Committee met on September 28, 2026, primarily to discuss community engagement and accessibility issues, particularly focusing on language access for non-English speakers. A significant portion of the meeting was dedicated to a presentation by Jim Bame, Executive Director of Father Carr's Place to Be, a local nonprofit providing food security, healthcare, and housing support to homeless and vulnerable populations. The committee also deliberated on a recommendation to city council to hire multilingual translators for the city website to improve accessibility for Oshkosh's diverse linguistic communities, including Mong, Spanish, Swahili, and Arabic speakers. They discussed the feasibility and potential need for a consultant to audit the website and communication services before implementation. The committee planned to invite city communications staff to a future meeting to better understand current initiatives and to prepare for a formal recommendation vote. No direct procurement or contract awards were made during this meeting, but the discussions could influence future city budget allocations and contracting related to language services and digital accessibility improvements.