Mayor Bill Peduto has been applauded for saying he would like to see the Department of Public Safety select someone with expertise in diversity initiatives as the manager/community outreach director of the Safer Together Pittsburgh public safety program during a Feb. 3 press conference. The $74,000 per year position is not the only such effort being undertaken by the administration.
Though the initiative is designed to improve relations to the point where the program can serve as a recruiting tool to improve the racial diversity of the police, fire and paramedic bureaus, Peduto is working to improve opportunities beyond public safety personnel.
It has been more than a year since former Equal Opportunity Review Commission manager Phil Petite died and he hasn’t been replaced.
And according to acting Manager Valerie McDonald Roberts, he may not be. But that doesn’t mean things haven’t improved for minority contractors and subcontractors seeking work on city projects.
“Of the 10 commissioners who held their first meeting in December, seven are new,” said Roberts. “And they tabled more than 50 percent of the applications because of their minority participation plans. They hammered applicants—how do we know these people will be used; how do we know they aren’t pass-throughs. The mayor wants accountability and so do I.”
The new commissioners are Ralph Bangs, PhD; Jessica Bellas, PE, PMP; Freddie Croce, RA; Paul Harper, PhD; Justin Laing; Tracey McCants Lewis, Esq; and Florence Rouzier. The incumbent commissioners are Erin Conley, Marvin Leibowitz, Esq. and Joann Monroe.
“The mayor has already submitted a nominee for the 11th and final commissioner, and we’ll announce that name shortly,” said Roberts.
Problems with the EROC were first revealed in a 2012 New Pittsburgh Courier story showing Black subcontractors listed as hired in the commission’s annual report never received the contracts claimed. Petite, the late EROC manager, said the office did not have the capability to monitor whether or not minority subcontractors were ever utilized.
After taking over as mayor, Peduto moved the EORC into his office and placed it under the authority of the Office of Neighborhood Initiatives, which Roberts ran, splitting duties with Curtiss Porter who oversaw neighborhood education initiatives.
Porter, the former Penn State McKeesport president who had come out of retirement to assist the administration, resigned last month after taking an extended leave.
“Bill Peduto is a visionary and creative public official. It has been my great professional experience to spend a year in concretizing aspects of his vision,” he said.
Roberts said the mayor is seeking a new individual to shepherd his education initiatives. She also said that a new manager for the EORC might have additional responsibilities, but that hasn’t been determined.
“Hey, I’m managing it now and I have other things to do. So we’ll see,” she said. “I’m excited about the direction the office is headed. The mayor wanted a diverse group of high-caliber people, not political appointees, as commissioners and we have that. And we’re evaluating how we can create equity and opportunity for minority contractors and how to expand the pool.”
Roberts said the administration is looking to employ new computer software that will track contract compliance. The board has also set stricter requirements for documentation and is requiring quarterly reports on minority- and women-owned business participation and payment.
Roberts said the office is working to coordinate data and employment efforts among all city departments and authorities, and collaborate directly with agencies like the African American Chamber of Commerce.
“We’re also putting an end to accepting paid-for MWDBE certifications. If it doesn’t come from (an agency of) the Pennsylvania Unified Certification Program, we won’t accept it,” she said. “The mayor wants the EROC to be effective, and it will because putting it under the his office gives it teeth.”
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