Pittsfield Council Approves Rename of DEI Office
PITTSFIELD, Mass. — After hours of testimony across multiple meetings, the City Council has approved a renaming of the DEI office.
Mayor Peter Marchetti's request to rename the Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion the "Office of Equity, Access and Opportunity" was approved on Tuesday.
This also merges the Human Rights Commission and Affirmative Action Committee into an "Equity, Access and Opportunity Commission."
"Everything that I've done so far for being mayor, what it comes back to is, ‘Well, if you can solve poverty, you can solve all the rest of the problems.' Well, here's our opportunity to begin that process," Marchetti said.
"I'm really now regretting not asking the former city solicitors to get the job done, because I don't know that we'd be even having this conversation if this ordinance was put forward two years ago."
The meeting adjourned just before 10 p.m., when councilors would have needed to take a vote to extend it for an hour, a limit that was put into place during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Basic facts about the Office of Equity, Access and Opportunity:
- Upon adoption of the article, the chief diversity officer became the chief equity officer, and the budget and personnel of the Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion were assigned and transferred to the Office of Equity, Access and Opportunity.
- The Office of Equity, Access and Opportunity will develop and implement policies, programs, and initiatives related to equity, access and opportunity.
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The chief equity officer will:
- Outline equity and engagement objectives for the next year, opine and provide input on city ordinances, rules, and policies upon the request of the mayor, city council, or department head.
- Be responsible for posting information regarding equal employment opportunity and nondiscrimination laws.
- Act as a liaison with employment sources and organizations serving protected groups.
- Share resources, reporting, and best practices with the Pittsfield Public Schools.
- The chief equity officer will annually file a written progress report with the commission, mayor, and the City Council, indicating the progress toward achieving equity and engagement objectives.
- Discrimination complaints can be filed with the chief equity officer or the director of human resources; the chief equity officer or mayor's designee will investigate the allegation.
- This also established the "Equity, Access and Opportunity Commission."
- One training per year is mandatory for all city employees.
The Ordinance and Rules Subcommittee supported the changes in August; in September, Ward 2 Councilor Cameron Cunningham delayed the vote with a charter objection, wanting more data and proof of impact.
The rename passed on Tuesday with Ward 7 Councilor Katherine Moody, Ward 1 Councilor Kenneth Warren, Ward 3 Councilor Matthew Wrinn, and Cunningham in opposition. Fourteen community members took the open microphone stand to speak in support of DEI.
"I strongly support the mayor's proposal. It's a better way forward than trying to dismantle something to diminish its power. We can make this something strong, and I don't think that we should try to save the city money off the backs of our most vulnerable people, the people who are struggling the most, and those who actually benefit from this," Councilor At Large Alisa Costa said.
"You may not feel like everybody benefits from it, and it's because we're not doing enough of it, and so diminishing it only diminishes its impact."
Cunningham used charter provisions to try and block the vote again, explaining, "I want DEI. I just don't want it like this. This is not helping people. So offsetting timelines, setting up for this meeting, and that's really it."
He submitted his own petition to replace the DEI Office and the Human Rights Commission with an equity, access and opportunity coordinator in the Department of Community Development.
"I'm not going to get deep into it. This is just a ploy to just cut the DEI department. We all see it. We all know it," President Earl Persip III said.
Chief Equity Officer Michael Obasohan pointed out that he has been in the job for three and a half years. With that, he said any good data would be collected at five years, as the department is still in its infancy stage.
He is also a part of the Massachusetts Coalition of DEI Directors, and reported others in his position are saying something also true for him: "Once we are in these roles, we become everything to everyone."
Obasohan also handles reports from people who feel they were discriminated against in the community and from students when it comes to cultural belonging, certain words being used and having safe spaces.
"The amount of work that we have asked this person to do for such a difficult problem to get your hands around when many people up here still don't even understand the words that we're using, even though there's a dictionary online in front of them and in the phones in their hands," Ward 6 Councilor Dina Lampiasi observed.
Warren said he found a "myriad of small but possibly consequential issues" with the ordinance he described as poorly written. He argued that everyone was happy with the old ordinance for five years, and it had 13 powers and duties rather than a handful.
Moody unsuccessfully motioned to table the item until Oct. 26. She has come up with her own proposal, which has not yet been brought forward.
"I believe this is a poorly written ordinance. I believe that we are spending too much money as a city on DEI. I believe that DEI is important, and it has affected my life positively. It's not yes or no; it's yes and," she said.
"... I believe there is a better way for all of us, and to not spend tax dollars that we do not have. I have a responsibility to the entire city, to all of our constituents, to be fiscally responsible, and I do not believe that spending this amount of money is correct. I believe that spending a smaller amount of money is correct. It's not either/or. It's yes and."
Marchetti said he needs a fresh start. Cunningham's proposal is a non-starter for him, he said, with the equity, access and opportunity coordinator earning between $60,000 and $80,000 per year, as opposed to $106,700 in the fiscal year 2027 budget.
"If your ordinance passes, I will veto it, because I don't think it accomplishes what we agree on that needs to get done here," the mayor told Cunningham.
He clarified that this has been in conversation for "a long time" with Obasohan and several city solicitors.
"This ordinance, as poorly written as it may be, has been bounced back and forth from three city solicitors," Marchetti said.
Tags: DEI, diversity, Pittsfield,
