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HRC Retreat

Orange County · Human Relations Commission
Saturday, August 22, 2026

Retreat or planning session Civil rights and nondiscriminationBudget and appropriationsEthics and transparencyFaith and cultural communitiesHousing and affordabilityArts and public art

Agenda document Watch Meeting recap

What's on this agenda

A seven-hour Saturday retreat, 9:00 to 4:00, where the commission sets its own direction for the year and the decade. Morning: closing out the 2026 budget year and opening 2027, a keep-or-toss exercise on what the commission does, and subcommittee breakouts to write charters and priority statements. Afternoon: planning the year's events, then a three-year strategy and a ten-year vision.

Summarized from the published agenda. Read the agenda itself before acting on it.

Meeting recap

What happened, drawn from the records published after the meeting.

The deliverables are what make this more than a talking day. Each subcommittee leaves with a one-page charter defining the work it owns and a priority statement in a fixed form - in the coming year this subcommittee is focused on x, y and z, and will accomplish it by doing a, b and c, with deadlines. The commission as a whole leaves with a 2027 budget, a master calendar of every event, a list of proclamations to send the county commissioners, a mid-range strategy and a draft vision statement.

The long-term item asks for something concrete: where the county will be in ten years, and three or four core pillars defining the equity goals to be achieved in that time. The mid-range item is more practical - what to focus on through 2030, which partnerships to prioritise, and how to gather more community data and take regular readings of how residents are feeling.

The events calendar is already partly fixed. A marquee event is set for 16 May 2027 with placeholders for 2028 and 2029. Pre-approved are a Blackwood Farms event, a community conversation in February 2027, and three housing sessions - October 2026, April 2027 and June 2027. Proclamations for Black History Month and Women's History Month are on the table for the commissioners.

The budget item is framed unusually plainly for a public agenda: what was spent, what the next year holds, and successes, failures, what did we learn and what do we want to change.

Speaking at this meeting

Orange County's own rules for public comment — check them before you rely on anything here.

Jump to an item (17 on this agenda)
  1. 1Welcome
  2. 2Opening — Review Agenda & Deliverables
  3. 3Close Out of FY26
  4. 4Keep/Toss Activity
  5. 5Sub-Committee Strategy Session & Break-Outs
  6. 6Deliverables: Charters and Priority Statements
  7. 7Break
  8. 8Planning FY27 & Beyond
  9. 9Marquee Events
  10. 10Proposed Proclamations to be sent to BOCC for FY 27
  11. 11Deliverables: Budget, Master Calendar, Proclamations List
  12. 12Lunch
  13. 13Co-leads to Plan the Events
  14. 14Recap
  15. 15Mid-Range Strategy — 3 Years
  16. 16Long-Term Strategy
  17. 17Adjourn Retreat

Agenda items (17)

Discussion item · 11Procedural · 4Budget action · 1Proclamation or recognition · 1
  1. 1 Welcome
    Procedural
  2. 2 Opening — Review Agenda & Deliverables
    Procedural
  3. 3 Close Out of FY26
    Budget action Budget and appropriationsCivil rights and nondiscrimination
    What was spent and what the 2027 budget holds, alongside successes, failures, what the commission learned and what it wants to change. Fifty minutes.
  4. 4 Keep/Toss Activity
    Discussion item Civil rights and nondiscrimination
    An exercise, prepared in advance, on what the commission keeps doing and what it stops.
  5. 5 Sub-Committee Strategy Session & Break-Outs
    Discussion item Civil rights and nondiscrimination
    An hour: fifteen minutes on subcommittee charters with the full board, then forty-five in breakout on each subcommittee's 2027 priorities and events.
  6. 6 Deliverables: Charters and Priority Statements
    Discussion item Civil rights and nondiscriminationEthics and transparency
    A one-page charter for each subcommittee defining the work it owns, and a priority statement in a fixed form naming what it will focus on, how, and by when.
  7. 7 Break
    Discussion item Civil rights and nondiscrimination
    Ninety minutes on the event checklist and the process with office staff.
  8. 8 Planning FY27 & Beyond
    Discussion item Arts and public artCivil rights and nondiscriminationHousing and affordability
    A marquee event on 16 May 2027 with placeholders for 2028 and 2029. Pre-approved: a Blackwood Farms event, a community conversation in February 2027, and housing sessions in October 2026, April 2027 and June 2027. New events proposed by subcommittees and by individual members.
  9. 9 Marquee Events
    Proclamation or recognition Civil rights and nondiscriminationFaith and cultural communitiesHousing and affordability
    Black History Month, Women's History Month and others.
  10. 10 Proposed Proclamations to be sent to BOCC for FY 27
    Discussion item Budget and appropriationsCivil rights and nondiscriminationFaith and cultural communities
    A 2027 budget, a master calendar carrying every event, and a proclamations list.
  11. 11 Deliverables: Budget, Master Calendar, Proclamations List
    Discussion item Budget and appropriationsCivil rights and nondiscrimination
    Forty-five minutes in teams on each approved event: location, budget, communications plan and partnerships.
  12. 12 Lunch
    Discussion item Civil rights and nondiscriminationEthics and transparency
    What to focus on through 2030, which partnerships to prioritise, how to gather more community data, and how to take regular readings of how residents feel.
  13. 13 Co-leads to Plan the Events
    Discussion item Budget and appropriationsCivil rights and nondiscrimination
    A vision statement for where the county will be in ten years, and three or four core pillars defining the equity goals to be achieved in that decade.
  14. 14 Recap
    Procedural
  15. 15 Mid-Range Strategy — 3 Years
    Discussion item
    An hour on the FY27 through FY30 window: which topics to focus on, which partnerships to prioritize, how to increase community data gathering in Orange County, and how to take regular readings of how residents feel.
  16. 16 Long-Term Strategy
    Discussion item
    A vision statement for where the county should be in ten years, and three or four core pillars defining the equity goals to be achieved in the county over the next decade.
  17. 17 Adjourn Retreat
    Procedural

Agenda changes

What moved between published versions of this agenda. Item numbers shift constantly as things are inserted, so only genuine additions and removals are listed.

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