ln
fr1
Copyright 2006 The News and Observer
By JOSH SHAFFER
The News & Observer (Raleigh, North Carolina)
RALEIGH, N.C. — With a new fire station going up this year, the city plans to aggressively recruit minority firefighters and improve its record on racial diversity.
Raleigh officials hope to hire 25 to 27 recruits for the 2006 academy, 15 of them for the new station in North Raleigh.
Blacks hold about 12 percent of all uniformed positions in the department, a figure that has drawn criticism from Triangle civil rights groups.
Mayor Charles Meeker said Tuesday that those groups can help the city find applicants. Before he retired this month, Fire Chief Earl Fowler challenged the department’s minority members to encourage friends to apply.
City Manager Russell Allen said Tuesday that the city’s recruitment efforts since 2003 show minority hiring close to 16 percent.
At a meeting Tuesday of the City Council’s Budget and Economic Development Committee, though, some city firefighters said they want to see more effort.
Wayne Burton, who recently retired from the department after 30 years of service, said he wants Raleigh’s fire ranks to mirror the city’s racial breakdown.
Blacks make up about 27 percent of Raleigh’s population, according to the 2000 census.
“I think that applicants are being turned down,” he said. “I wish I knew why.”
Black leaders gathered at the state Capitol last week to criticize Raleigh’s hiring practices.
Their news conference came several weeks after Assistant Chief Larry Stanford, who is black, complained about being passed over for a promotion in favor of John T. McGrath, who is white.