PEORIA, Ill. — Peoria Council members don’t seem to agree on the issue of growing the diversity, equity and inclusion office in the city.
A proposal to add a management analyst to assist the city’s current Diversity and Inclusion Officer attracted significant debate at Tuesday night’s city council budget discussion.
Council members Zach Oyler, Elizabeth Jensen and Chuck Grayeb voiced opposition to the move.
“We’ve never discussed growing this into a department,” said Oyler, “We discussed creating this person with a set of responsibilities and not one time have I heard that they’re overworked or on the verge of burnout.”
Council members Elizabeth Jensen and Chuck Grayeb echoed those concerns earlier in the meeting.
The city of Peoria hired Melodi Green as the Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer in November, 2021.
City Manager Patrick Urich suggested it is sensible to add more staff to help Green with a workload that is only likely to increase over time, especially when it comes to administrative support, data processing and intake.
District 4 Councilman Andre Allen, also appointed Peoria County’s new DEI officer agreed, “If you’re expecting to have stability in this role you’re going to need people who have help,” he said.
Prior to 2011, the City had an Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) department comprised of an EEO Manager, two EEO specialists, and an administrative support position.
Urich says this newer Diversity, Equity and Inclusion department’s responsibility would largely mirror those traditional EEO functions, but with some less traditional responsibilities added on.
In supporting documents, Urich points out how several other cities similar in size to Peoria have half a dozen or more staffers for their diversity, equity and inclusion departments.
Council members are slated to continue budget discussions in the coming weeks before a final decision is made.
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