Earlier last month, the Hillsborough Board of Commissioners unanimously approved an equity plan to address racial equity outcomes by collecting data and community engagement.
Jenifer Della Valle, the Hillsborough town manager assistant and one of the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion team leads, said the Town is anticipating to begin the first stages of the plan in January and to be finished by the end of 2025.
The $34,000 plan will consist of three phases, including gathering data and community input, developing a plan and goals, and finalizing the plan’s timeline, steps and metrics. Following the three phases, the final plan will be presented for approval from the town council.
Della Valle said her team will be working with both internal groups and outside community members through surveys and listening sessions to develop the plan.
“I'm excited to work with other people in that engagement effort to really uncover, ‘What are those needs? What are the priorities that we should be doing in Hillsborough to advance equity?’” she said.
The plan was proposed by the Central Pines Regional Council, an organization that works with local governments in the Triangle area to provide technical assistance, collaboration on projects and support of regional policy.
Haley Thore, the Hillsborough human resources manager and a member of the DEI team, said the plan was proposed in alignment with other racial equity frameworks adopted by the Orange County government.
“Our intent — whenever we developed that framework under our One Orange group — is so all of our jurisdictions could use that framework to build our own jurisdictional-specific equity plan," she said. "That way, we're using the same language and doing our best to coordinate our efforts across jurisdictions."
Though the plan will implement ideas from various stakeholders, it will be specific to Hillsborough — a key aspect, Commissioner Matt Hughes said.
