THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, April 11, 1995 TAG: 9504110319
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY TONI WHITT, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: PORTSMOUTH LENGTH: Long : 137 lines
Janet McDaniel spends her spare time visiting universities and high schools in search of young minorities willing to put their lives on the line for little pay.
As the only black female firefighter for the city, McDaniel wants to promote more diversity in the Police and Fire departments, but it's a constant struggle.
First there's the pay. Minorities on the college track, like most of those in higher education, hope to earn more than the $20,000 the city pays its beginning police officers and firefighters.
Then there's always the danger of chasing criminals or fighting fires - few folks want to risk their lives for a job. And those willing to take that risk often head to neighboring cities where they can earn more money.
Even when McDaniel can persuade the students to consider public safety careers, she has one last hurdle. She can't hand them information on the Portsmouth departments or even give them a phone number to call for information.
Portsmouth doesn't have a budget for recruiting minorities to the Police and Fire departments, even though the city has had problems hiring them.
``We have the manpower (to recruit) but we haven't had the funding to supply us with anything as far as business cards and fliers,'' McDaniel said. ``People want something that's tangible when we come ask them to consider this as a career. Word-of-mouth isn't felt to be as reliable.''
McDaniel hopes that will change in the coming budget. She intends to lobby for a few dollars in the city budget to pay for business cards and materials that will help her help the city pull in more minorities.
The city manager's recommended budget already contains a request for 21 new police officers, which presents an opportunity for Portsmouth to add to its minority ranks.
The city manager is seeking the officers as a tool to bolster Portsmouth's image. He'd like folks to consider Portsmouth as safe as any other Hampton Roads city and believes the additional police will help with that goal.
The City Council is holding a public hearing on the budget tonight, beginning at 7 p.m. in City Hall. Members of the Portsmouth NAACP are planning to turn out to urge the City Council to change its hiring policies and to encourage more minority hiring.
Local representatives from the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People say that the city's hiring system actually discourages minority applicants. The application process can take between six and nine months, they point out, and many minorities can't afford to wait that long before taking a job.
The NAACP wants to see improvements in personnel practices that go beyond hiring and into promotions.
The Rev. Joe B. Fleming, president of the Portsmouth branch of the NAACP, and Shirley Hines, a vice president, said the organization is prepared to ask the council to disband Portsmouth's civil service commission, which tests and rates all recruits. The NAACP prefers that the police and fire chiefs do the hiring. Portsmouth is one of the last cities in the region that relies on a civil service commission for hiring its police and firefighters.
A City Council committee is studying minority hiring for the two departments and is supposed to make recommendations to the full council at its June 13 meeting.
According to a city report completed on March 27, the city has a police chief and a staff of 233 in the Police Department; two-thirds are white males; there is one black female and 37 black males. Of the 38 black officers, only one is above the rank of police officer, while 36 white males have reached the rank of sergeant or above. Four of 30 white female officers are ranked at sergeant or above.
In the Fire Department, which includes a fire chief and 208 firefighters, there is one black female; one white female; 35 black males; 167 white males; and four males classified as ``other.''
McDaniel and her peers are willing to volunteer their time to recruit minorities because they think it's important both to the city's future and for race relations in Portsmouth to have minority officers. It's also important that minorities have role models in those departments, McDaniel said.
``They haven't seen firefighters in their families,'' McDaniel said. ``There hasn't been minority firefighters that have been established long enough for that tradition to start up.''
McDaniel said she believes that there are opportunities for promotions in the Fire Department, where six of the 29 black males are either lieutenants or captains.
``The recruitment process is where we're failing,'' McDaniel said of the Fire Department. ``If the city can provide us with the funding, then we're happy to provide the recruitment and the time to find these people.'' Points to discuss
Here are some questions that Portsmouth citizens might want to consider before tonight's City Council hearing on the operating budget.
Will hiring more police officers make Portsmouth a safer city?
How will adding minority officers affect the city's image and race relations, which have been named as two of the city's top priorities?
As a taxpayer, are 21 new officers worth a 4-cent increase in the property tax rate?
If 21 more officers improved the city's image, would that be worth a tax increase?
If hiring more minority officers improved race relations in the city, would that be worth the 4-cent tax rate increase on your homes?
Are there better alternatives to hiring 21 more officers? ILLUSTRATION: TAKING ACTION
Firefighter recruits without a budget
[Color Photo]
GARY C. KNAPP
Janet McDaniel, the only black woman firefighter in Portsmouth, is
urging the city to budget money to help recruit minorities.
NAACP pushes for minority promotions not just hiring
[Color Photo]
MARK MITCHELL/Staff
Shirley Hines is vice president of the Portsmouth branch of the
NAACP. The group wants to see improvements in personnel practices.
Citizens can get involved
The City Council is holding a public hearing on the budget tonight
beginning at 7 p.m. in City Hall.
Numbers tell the story on diversity
STAFF Graphic
[For a copy of the graphic, see microfilm for this date.]
POLICE DEPT. STAFF
FIRE DEPT. STAFF
SOURCE: City of Portsmouth report March 27, 1995
KEYWORDS: PUBLIC JOURNALISM MINORITY HIRING RECRUITING MINORITIES by CNB