How best to advance diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) in Greenbelt was the subject of much of the May 11 meeting of the Greenbelt City Council, it being raised during the public hearing on the budget and during the announced agenda item Discussion of DEI Position Proposals. Tyra Smith currently holds the position as the city’s DEI officer.
While the proposed budget document presents no changes to the DEI officer position, the administration proposed restructuring it at the April 8 budget worksession. Currently the DEI officer is a GC-15 level position in the city manager’s office. A GC-15 position is one level down from that held by assistant department directors. The proposal, as laid out by Assistant City Manager Timothy George, is to eliminate the DEI officer position and transfer the responsibilities to a GC-11 position in the Human Resources (HR) Department. This position would have additional responsibilities such as employee engagement. City Manager Josué Salmerón told the News Review that he did not present the change in the budget document since the position was created by council and thus any restructuring should be handled by them during the budget discussions.
George said that putting the DEI position in HR would create synergy and eliminate some duplication of effort. DEI is still important, George said, and moving the position to HR would provide support as it would no longer be one person looking for people to help.
McKinney Proposal
Councilmember Danielle McKinney presented her thoughts on the “next phase of the culture and equity work” in an eight-page document where she laid out her thoughts on where the city currently is with DEI, four possible ways of restructuring the position, contrasted the roles of an HR specialist vs. an equity and culture leader role and the goals of the DEI effort with pros, cons and budgetary impact.
McKinney said that equity and inclusion needs skilled dedicated leadership to guide it along with strong champions throughout the entire city organization who carry defined equity responsibilities within their own departments.
In her paper, McKinney reviews the various options, their pros, cons and budget implications. She asked that five commitments be part of the Fiscal Year 2027 budget process: 1) a written Justice, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (JEDI) implementation plan, 2) every city leader having defined equity and inclusion responsibilities with accountability built into their performance plans, 3) the establishment of a Greenbelt Equity and Belonging Subcommittee that meets regularly and reports directly to council, 4) an annual public progress report on JEDI implementation and 5) equity and inclusion should remain core Greenbelt values not contingent on any one budget cycle.
McKinney asked for a worksession to look at implementation by September.
Public Comments
Comments about the possible DEI restructuring were made both during the public hearing and after McKinney laid out her proposal.
Resident Bob Rand asked council not to restructure the DEI office. He expressed concern that council and the public were not hearing from Smith about her experiences after three years in the position and her vision for the future. Her absence, he said, speaks volumes.
Resident Lois Rosado objected to the possibility of DEI becoming part of the Human Resources Department. Such work dies, she said, when placed in HR. The success of DEI efforts rests upon a renewed commitment from council to receive updates from department heads and provide oversight whenever dysfunction is identified.
Rosado charged that five African American employees have been “chased out” of administrative positions in the city and suggested that council conduct an exit interview with Smith, which may be revealing about the environment in city administration and take action to stop that pattern.
Rosado said that the councilmembers never really spoke to Smith or allowed her to present her plan. “The woman was sabotaged,” she said.
In response to questions, Salmerón confirmed that Smith is still on the city’s payroll and that the position is funded through the end of the current fiscal year on June 30. Salmerón told the News Review that it is city policy to not comment on personnel issues so that he could not comment on Rosado’s characterization of the situation.
Rosado, Rand and others laid out their thoughts regarding the DEI position in a letter in the May 7 issue of this newspaper.
Resident Michael Hartman said the department must be kept independent as there is an inherent conflict of interest if the DEI function is moved to the HR department.
Council Discussion
Mayor Emmett Jordan disagreed that putting DEI in Human Resources would kill the DEI effort and suggested that it might be time to have an outside consultant review where the city is and how to move forward.
Councilmember Jenni Pompi suggested that the DEI role may not have been thought through completely. This is not about the person, she said.
Councilmember Amy Knesel said that she is not sure the city is ready to have one person trying to steer the ship. We need a pro, she said, to give us a list of what we need to do.
Councilmember Frankie Santos Fritz said that DEI is not a place where he would try to save money.
Salmerón said there is $150,000 for DEI in the proposed budget but reminded council that the budget is balanced only by transferring $2 million from cash reserves. In addition, the city has been notified of an additional increase in abatements of about $1 million, which exceeds the budget’s allowance for the abatements.