Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, February 20, 1991 TAG: 9102200473
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JOEL TURNER MUNICIPAL WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
"I hope you know that council is behind you," Councilman Beverly Fitzpatrick Jr. told city officials Tuesday as they outlined plans for seeking more black officers.
Kenneth Cronin, the city's personnel manager, briefed council on the stepped-up recruitment program that had been disclosed earlier by Herbert.
Cronin said the city will become more aggressive in recruiting at black colleges and universities by contacting guidance counselors and heads of criminal justice programs.
Personnel officials also will make more recruiting trips to separation centers at military bases, he said.
Cronin said the city also has formed a recruitment task force - composed of police officers, personnel officials and citizens - to help attract more applicants locally.
"We will try to talk to presidents of minority fraternities, guidance counselors and coaches at high schools," he said. "We are refocusing our efforts locally and trying to have more personal contact."
Councilwoman Elizabeth Bowles said black churches would be a good place to recruit applicants.
Herbert said last week that the small number of black police officers was "not acceptable" and the city would aggressively recruit more.
The city has nine blacks on its 244-member police force, less than 4 percent. Blacks make up about 24 percent of Roanoke's population.
In an interview Tuesday, Herbert said the city's effort to hire more black officers has been complicated by the fact that it hasn't had enough qualified applicants - black or white - to fill all vacant police jobs.
He said there has been no instance of the city's rejecting qualified black applicants and instead hiring white applicants to fill vacancies.
Councilman William White said he believes city officials are moving in the right direction.
"I think we are on the right track," White said. Overall, the city has made progress in hiring more black employees, he said, but "we still have some progress to make in the quality of jobs."
The city's annual affirmative-action report, presented to council Tuesday, shows that blacks make up 24 percent of the city government's work force of 1,903 employees, the same percentage that has existed for five years. Blacks are represented in all job categories, but they tend to be concentrated in service, maintenance and clerical jobs.
Of 300 black males employed by the city, 197 are in service and maintenance jobs. Of 134 black females, 45 have clerical and office jobs.
White asked Herbert for a report on the city's efforts to use minority-owned contractors and small businesses for projects and services. White said he wants to make certain the city has a policy to ensure that minority-owned and small businesses are treated fairly.
Herbert said the city is required to use minority-owned contractors on some federally funded projects. The city's Purchasing Department also keeps a list of minority-owned contractors and businesses to make sure they have the chance to bid on projects and goods that are funded with local tax money, he said.
Mayor Noel Taylor, who recommended the affirmative action plan more than a decade ago, said city officials must make sure the plan is implemented and doesn't exist in name only, he said.
According to the affirmative-action report, the city "continues to maintain a total work force composition" for blacks in all job categories that is "equal or higher" than their availability in the labor force in the metropolitan area.
by CNB