OGDEN — Adjustments have been made to an Ogden City board in order to come into compliance with new legislation.

During a special meeting Tuesday, the Ogden City Council voted unanimously to rename the Ogden Diversity Commission to the Ogden Community Engagement and Opportunity Commission. Further, the council also voted unanimously to amend the mission of the commission.

The changes were made to bring the commission into compliance with H.B. 261, which was passed during this year’s legislative session.

The amendments, according to the executive summary of Tuesday night’s action, include:

• Removing the requirement for diversity relating to personal identity characteristics
• Limiting the time a board member may serve beyond the date of the expired term

Council Chairperson Ken Richey said, beyond the ordinance, there really isn’t a difference between the Ogden Diversity Commission’s charter and the Ogden Community Engagement charter being considered Tuesday night.

“It’s important to note that there’s no language that’s been changed in the charter,” he said. “It’s the same charter, which goes to maybe underscore the thought that went into it originally.”

Councilperson Marcia White said, while hesitant to make changes at first, she sees a potential opportunity.

“When I first understood what was coming down from the legislators with the Senate bill, it really bothered me,” she said. “As I’ve been able to be around a council, this administration and what we’re doing today, (I’m able) to really say, ‘This is really important.’ We’ve done the technicalities of what we needed to do, it’s given us an opportunity to change the ordinance and, maybe, even expand and broaden and be able to be even more diverse and inclusive in what we’re doing.”

Ogden Mayor Ben Nadolski said division has become too rampant.

“Our nation and our world right now have become far too focused on one or the other,” he said. “Me against you. Us against them. Left versus right. We are not all demons. There’s a lot of really, really good people in this world.”

He added that what gets lost in partisan politics is the people that city officials are obligated to serve.

“There’s a reason that local politics is not partisan,” he said. “It’s not partisan because we are tasked, and responsible for, serving people, people that have a D or an R or nothing in between or an I — whatever it is. And the same can be said for whatever church you pray in, whatever nation you come from, whatever abilities or disabilities you may have. If you live in this city, we as elected officials are responsible for serving, loving and caring for you. It’s our jobs.”

After voting to adopt the Community Engagement Charter, the board held a ceremonial signing of the charter.

Ahead of its name change, Aracely Warner was unanimously appointed to the Diversity Commission by the City Council.