Countywide : Board OKs Study of Racial Tensions in Fire Department

The Ventura County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday approved a $57,400 contract with a race-relations consultant after Fire Department officials said they wanted an outside mediator to examine racial tensions in the predominantly white department.

The supervisors hired a Vacaville firm, Kenneth Hawkins & Associates, to interview firefighters, write a program that teaches them racial sensitivity and mediate cultural-awareness seminars.

Supervisor John K. Flynn said the contract is a waste of money, especially in such tight budgetary times. He said the county Personnel Department should handle the evaluation.

“We have the skills to do that without someone coming in and telling us how to behave,” Flynn said.

But Fire Chief George Lund told the board that some minority firefighters would not trust the recommendations of another branch of county government.

“The credibility for some of the minorities is just not there,” Lund said.

Minority firefighters asked the supervisors 15 months ago to appoint an affirmative-action officer to determine why the department has fallen far short of minority-hiring goals set in 1986.

Although no formal complaints have been filed, Capt. Charles Merrick, the highest-ranking black in the department, said that minorities are being passed over for promotions andthat administrators overlook racial slurs.