Norwich — The City Council will consider a resolution declaring racism a public health crisis with 13 action points to ensure equal access to health care, employment, vendor selection and city services.

The two-page resolution, submitted by Alderman Derell Wilson, is co-sponsored by the council’s four majority Democratic Party members and will be considered at Monday’s meeting at 7:30 p.m. at City Hall.

“In addition to having an independent influence on the social determinants of health, racism in and of itself has been proven to have broad-reaching and direct negative impacts on individual health comes,” the resolution states.

It calls for city agencies, boards and commissions to “recommit to addressing the impact that racism has had” on residents’ lives and health. In the 13 action points, the resolution calls for the City Council and city administration to examine policies, spending and strategies “through a racial equity lens” and to partner with Uncas Health District to address health disparities among people of different ethnic groups.

It calls on the city manager and city Human Resources Department to review vendor selections and grant management activities with a racial equity lens, including reviews of policies and practices on hiring, promotions, leadership appointments and funding.

Wilson said the language in the resolution was derived from similar measures considered in other Connecticut cities and towns and by the state.

“The overall goal we’ve said for a lot of initiatives is to increase accessibility, opportunity and equity across the board,” Wilson said. “... Sometimes, when we make decisions and give funding to certain areas, we leave out some groups that can be marginalized. For me, it’s about setting standards and goals and as we create budgets and have grants, taxpayers want to know why we fund certain things at certain levels.”

Wilson said addressing the issues would take time. He said some city departments already have staff and obligation to ensure equity access. The resolution asks for half-year reports from groups on the progress of meeting the stated goals.

Mayor Peter Nystrom said he has concerns about the potential cost of the actions called for in the resolution, but said some departments already are working on issues outlined in the list.

Nystrom asked city Comptroller Josh Pothier to estimate potential costs of the recommendations. In an email response, Pothier wrote that a "guess," based on the list, was that it could require “up to an additional three full-time equivalent positions worth of work between the City Manager, Finance, Human Resources and Human Services-related activities.”

Pothier estimated the added employees could cost up to $300,000 with salaries and benefits.

Nystrom, a Republican, said he tried to request more information from the resolution’s sponsors but did not receive a response.

“It will be a good, healthy discussion,” Nystrom said of Monday’s council meeting. “I don’t have an opinion yay or nay.”

Shiela Hayes, president of the Norwich branch of the NAACP, said advocates for diversity and equity have been lobbying city leaders for improvements in hiring practices, program funding and city staffing for decades with disappointing results. City leaders in the past have started initiatives, she said, including a Diversity Committee on city hiring, but the efforts waned over time.

“Nothing in the resolution talks about reparation,” she said. “We’re asking for an honest evaluation, discussion and new systems being put in place to address the long-term systemic racism, because it is a public health crisis.”

Hayes said agencies that provide a myriad of services to the city’s ethnic minority residents and neighborhoods have been decimated over the years, including Human Services and Recreation departments. At a time when the city was losing key nongovernment services, including the YMCA and the Martin Luther King Center, the city was cutting Human Services and Recreation Department funding, programs and staff.

When COVID-19 hit, the health care access disparities became evident, and services to thousands of city residents thrown out of work and unable to pay utility bills and rent were strained, she said.

“That’s why this resolution is important and necessary in order for us to show the city is serious about addressing the long-term issues of systemic racism,” Hayes said. “We’ve tried, many groups have tried to reach out and work with the city.”

c.bessette@theday.com