Onondaga County Executive Ryan McMahon proposed creating an office focused on diversity as part of his 2020 budget.

The county would combine its Purchasing Division and Commission on Human Rights to form the new Office of Diversity and Inclusion, said Brian May, the county legislature’s majority leader. As part of McMahon’s proposal, the office would also hire additional staff to support its goals, he said.

Working together under one roof instead of in different departments would increase the accountability of the two offices, making them more effective and successful, May said. All the diversity office employees would report to a chief diversity officer. The officer has not yet been appointed.

“These workers are not volunteers. They are hired by the county to make sure we are doing a proper job representing everyone,” he said.

The office will support the county’s goal of having 22% of its workforce made up of minority workers by 2022, said David Knapp, chairman of the legislature. The county’s percent of minorities in the workforce is already in the upper teens, Knapp said.

One goal of the diversity office is to make sure the county is encouraging diversity throughout the workforce by evaluating candidates equally, said Miles Bottrill, a county legislator. The office would also make different groups and individuals aware of certain job openings in the county, he said.

The Youth Law Enforcement Academy program is helping to achieve the county’s 22% goal, said Julie Abbott-Kenan, a county legislator. Through the program, county representatives visit local high schools with low income populations and run a two-week police boot camp, she said.

The younger generation will make up the workforce in just a few years, so it’s important to support them, Abbott-Kenan said. Not all of the students can afford college, but the county can still give them opportunities for success in the future, she said.

“Our experiences — whether you’re male or female, black or Caucasian—are different, and those experiences need to be represented in the workforce. Though you still have to be qualified to do the job,” said Abbott-Kenan.

The office will take an all-inclusive approach to ensuring the county is hiring correctly, said Linda Ervin, the legislative minority leader.

“It is well past the point where we should’ve been doing this, but I’m glad we’re doing this now,” Ervin said.

After the budget process is over, the preliminary search for a chief diversity officer will begin, Knapp said. Abbott-Kenan said there has been overwhelming support from all the county legislators on McMahon’s diversity office proposal.

McMahon’s $1.3 billion budget, announced last Friday, also includes proposals for a new foster home for teenagers and for the country to take control of local sewers, according to Syracuse.com. He proposed allocating $350,000 for cybersecurity and $254,000 for municipal senior centers.

The budget would raise spending by less than 1% and decrease the county tax rate, Syracuse.com reported.

Published on September 26, 2019 at 12:07 am

Contact Mira: mlberenb@syr.edu