Augustus Earns High Praise from City Council for Worcester Diversity Plan

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Wednesday, April 29, 2015

GoLocal Worcester News Team

On Tuesday evening, the Worcester City Council praised City Manager Ed Augustus for his plan to improve the city government's approach on diversity and inclusiveness in the community.

Augustus, working with communities of color throughout the city, the Mayor's Office, and representatives from city departments including the Worcester Police Department, Human Resources Department, Election Commission, Office of Human Rights and Disabilities, Division of Public Health and Office of Economic Development, presented a report and proposal to the City Council that would better serve and represent people of color in Worcester.

"It (the report) really talks on five different areas about things that I think we can do as a city to be more representative of the population we are all here to serve," said Augustus to the Council. "We've looked at other communities to look at what could inform us here in the city of Worcester to see how we can do things better. There was a lot of community input and a lot of good folk came forward with a lot of good suggestions."

For a full look at the report, click here: Augustus Report.

The five areas the report look at include :

 

• Enhancing Economic Development Opportunities (Promote Business Ownership in Worcester, Continue to expand the Worcester Jobs Fund, Continue to Fund Non-Profit Organizations Serving Racial, Cultural, or Ethnic Minorities, Ensure people of color and vulnerable populations are able to access the career services offered by Workforce Central and the CMWIB)
• Expanding Efforts to Educate and Engage the Public on the Electoral Process (Increase voter education efforts and involvement, Reestablish the Mayor's Civic Academy, 
• Providing Opportunities for Young People (Establish a Summer Youth Corp program to provide youth employment opportunities)
• Improving Public Safety Relations with the Community (Reconstitute the Worcester Clergy and Police Alliance, Reinstate the Clergy/Civilian Police Academy, Install Cameras to Capture Police Encounters with the Public, Monitor and remove abusive, hateful, and insensitive comments on WPD Facebook page)
• Creating a More Diverse and Culturally Competent Workforce (Hire a Dedicated Chief Diversity Officer, Restructure and rename the Affirmative Action Advisory Committee, Update the Affirmative Action Policy and Plan to reflect the current demographics of our community, Develop training and development opportunities for City employees across each level of government, Improve Access to Services of Persons with Limited English Proficiency)

 

Council Gives Proposal High Marks

One by one the members of the City Council stood up and praised Augustus for his work over the past two months putting this plan together. Councilor Konnie Lukes said she didn't vote for Augustus to be City Manager because, at the time, she believed the city needed someone with an understanding of minority issues. 

"I stand here and say thank you to the City Manager for addressing the issues that I thought needed to be addressed," said Lukes. 

"What we've put in place is a City Manager who is a good listener," said Councilor Rick Rushton. "This report comes to us in black and white. It came from listening to all the good sources of leadership we have in this city."

"When I read this report, it just validated why I'm proud of this city and why I call this city home, said Councilor Sarai Rivera. 

Michael Gaffney, who is making a run at Mayor this fall, is the only one who didn't precisely agree with Augustus' report. Gaffney quoted statistics from the Harvard Business Review in which he claimed Diversity Training did not work in the workplace.

"I'm hoping what we are going to have is a discussion of subcommittees for whatever program we choose to utilize, is a program that's going to work," said Gaffney.

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