[B]URLINGTON — The city will be creating a senior administration position to oversee its diversity, equity and inclusion efforts.
The City Council unanimously approved a resolution Monday night to create the position and set up a council committee dedicated to diversity, equity and inclusion. The new position will report to the mayor and be part of the city’s leadership team.
Councilor Ali Dieng, a sponsor of the resolution, said it was important to continue to focus on diversity, which he said was a strength of the community.
“We must work diligently to ensure that everyone, regardless of race, religion, gender, identity, age, ability or country of origin is fully included in our community,” Dieng said.
Mayor Miro Weinberger supported the creation of the position and said having an individual dedicated to diversity and inclusion would help ensure those issues remain a priority.
The committee that drafted the 2014 Diversity and Equity Strategic Plan considered creating an administrative position leading diversity and equity initiatives, but decided instead to create a core team of city officials and community members dedicated to diversity and equity.
The current structure relies too much on work from the mayor’s office, he said.
“We need the discipline, rigor and capacity of someone waking up every morning, saying, ‘How do we move the city forward today?’ ” he said. “I think that’s what this resolution, this position is going to do, and I’m excited it appears to have such broad support tonight.”
Weinberger said he believed the city has made progress on issues of diversity since approval of the plan in 2014.
For example, Weinberger said the city has done a better job reaching out to communities of color to encourage applicants for city commissions, and the police department has studied disparities in outcomes between white recruits and recruits of color.
The city also released its first-ever equity report in 2018, which revealed that only 7% of city employees are people of color, compared to 15% of city residents. The report also revealed that higher percentages of African American and Hispanic or Latino residents live under the poverty line than white residents in Burlington.
The Burlington Police Department has also been under scrutiny after body camera footage showed officers pushing and tackling black men in downtown Burlington, interactions that are now the focus of two federal lawsuits.
The resolution asks the administration to develop a job description for the position for council approval on or before Sept. 23, with the goal of filling the position before the start of 2020.
Mark Hughes, executive director of Justice for All and a recently appointed police commissioner, praised the effort as a “proud moment” for Burlington during the meeting’s public forum.
Hughes also praised the council for working across party lines to pass the motion.
“We reach our collective full potential when we embrace those who are different, not fear them or try to control them,” he said. “And our best ideas happen when folks that don’t agree with one another have the difficult but necessary discussions, not avoid them.”
Dieng said he decided to draft the resolution after a discussion with Hughes about racial justice work at the state level.
“The state was making some progress, and he wanted to duplicate what the state was doing here while responding to diversity and equity strategic planning that the city has done,” Dieng said.
Rachel Siegel, executive director of the Peace & Justice Center, expressed support for the creation of the position but encouraged the council to consider adding support staff for the position and to continue working on racial justice issues.
