Holyoke, Massachusetts, Mayor Joshua Garcia said he disagrees with state officials' request to phase out court-ordered hiring rules aimed at diversifying the city's police and fire departments.
The consent decree, roughly 50 years old, still governs police or fire department hiring in Holyoke and five other Massachusetts communities. They have to follow the rules until the demographics of entry-level officers or firefighters reflect the communities they serve.
Springfield's fire department and Brockton's police department were recently released from the consent decree, since the court found they reached workforce parity.
However, in Holyoke, the percentage of Black and Latino officers and firefighters remains well below the city's population, which is more than 54% Hispanic, according to the Census.
"Any opportunity we can leverage to continue to reach that goal, including this tool here, the consent decree, is a plus," Garcia said.
Garcia said the city already recruits more applicants of color than white applicants for those jobs, but wants the consent decree to stay in place as a safety net until the departments reach the demographics of the city.
As of the end of 2021, 34.1% of Holyoke's entry-level police officers identified as Black or Hispanic, with a court-set parity rate of 49.8%. The percentage of Black and Hispanic firefighters is 43.1%, again well below the target of 55.5%.
Under the state's proposal, Holyoke would be released from the court-ordered hiring preference for Black and Hispanic applicants at the end of 2024, regardless of whether those percentages have increased. In their filing to the court, the state said Holyoke's departments "will not be able to achieve parity under the Court-approved benchmarks."
"While Holyoke Fire Department ... and Holyoke Police Department ... have made significant strides towards parity, the historic shift in Holyoke’s demographics prevents the departments from meeting those goals," the filing said.
State officials did not respond to a request for comment on Garcia's statements.