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Over the course of FY24, assess all of the Public Health Division’s regulations, permit applications, and fining/ticketing procedures against the HHS Racial Equity lens to assure all of our practices are free from bias and structural barriers.

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Needham Parks & Forestry Division strives to help Design, Build and maintain safe and accessible spaces for all.  Connectivity of open space amenities that will provide access in proximity to underprivileged areas of Town.  Looking at fields in general to make sure we are balancing our citizens needs and desires.  Making sure we are mindful with strategic  planting of new Street trees in proximity to our Urban Downton areas.     

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Needham Parks & Forestry Division strives to help Design, Build and maintain safe and accessible spaces for all.  Connectivity of open space amenities that will provide access in proximity to underprivileged areas of Town.  Looking at fields in general to make sure we are balancing our citizens needs and desires.  Making sure we are mindful with strategic  planting of new Street trees in proximity to our Urban Downton areas.     

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As we navigate getting out of civil service the policies are in place to attract a more diverse candidate pool. The recruitment phase will be important to accomplish this goal as we reach out to communities that historically would not have been eligible to apply for civil service position within the police department. We will also focus on recruiting diverse candidates from within our Needham community.
The police department will continue to engage in yearly training that will address DEI principals.

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Work towards supporting staff members as we continually foster this moral imperative and collaborate best approaches to navigate this road as we shape this into a business imperative.

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Work towards supporting staff members as we continually foster this moral imperative and collaborate best approaches to navigate this road as we shape this into a business imperative.

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Make an intentional effort to maintain a comfortable and safe work environment for a multi-cultural staff within our suite. This includes keeping open communication between members of the office as well as the public we serve, utilizing the skills we have learned and continue to learn through training. All parties should feel respected, heard and valued.

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In FY24, work with staff and Friends to plan and implement an accountability system to ensure library offerings are reflective of the community: from posts on social media to programming to displays, an effort should be made to provide mirrors and windows to all. 

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In FY24, work with staff and Friends to plan and implement an accountability system to ensure library offerings are reflective of the community: from posts on social media to programming to displays, an effort should be made to provide mirrors and windows to all. 

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Create and sustain options for different languages for all employee related written documents and materials, including job postings, and work to include options for sight and hearing-impaired employees and job applicants.

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Prioritize efforts to improve the diversity of external candidate pools, particularly for leadership positions. Prioritize this through the use of the Management Fellow or recruiting agencies to establish connections with non traditional groups (colleges, trade schools, workforce development agencies, community groups) to identify new pipelines of candidates. Identify starting point metrics for benchmarking through applicant tracking system, and evaluate progress on a quarterly and annual basis. Make significant progress by end of year.

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Evaluate RTS communications, with a goal of including translation options for web page and signage. |  I want our informational messaging to reach all residents, regardless of their language or means of communication, to help them use the facility properly and efficiently.  This effort will involve RTS, DPW Admin, ITC and the support of senior management.

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DPW Admin aims to ensure hiring, promotional opportunities, and onboarding practices are equitable to all. Conversations around personnel policies will identify and remove existing barriers that may be counterproductive to equitable practice. This will include evaluating job opportunities on an individualized basis.

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Improve our website, marketing and hiring techniques to make Needham a welcoming (and fun!) place to work.

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Simplify and centralize the Financial Aid Request system. Right now a family/person needs to fill out forms in numerous departments, schools, organizations, etc. Work to make this a one stop request and have the centralized office distribute the information to all of the groups. Take the burden away from our residents.

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All playgrounds to be 100% PIP. In addition to get at least 1 of our public playgrounds to be 100% inclusive.

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Create more cultural programming and work on better marketing to increase participation across all populations.

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Work to make our spaces safe for all. Lower barriers and increase participation across all events, programs and facilities.

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Will work to improve existing pedestrian access and to create bike path networks. There has been more community demand for alternative transportation methods as well as state initiatives that encourage the complete street philosophy.  We will identify transportation improvements in underserved locations focusing on densely populated areas of town.  Understanding that some residential areas rely on transportation methods other than motor vehicles, we will commit to improve at least one right of way project each year.  This will be achieved by working with other DPW divisions, our consultants, and community and incorporated to the 5-year capital improvement plan.

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Needham DPW's Water Sewer & Drain Division is committed to providing safe, quality drinking water to all residents, businesses and visitors in our community. Our Division will serve all people equally and treat them with respect and dignity. We will respond to all water, sewer & drain issues or concerns throughout every neighborhood in Needham in an efficient, polite, professional and timely manner.  We will provide training and opportunities to all staff, increase the representation of a diverse, inclusive work force in both the represented (Union) Working Foreperson, managerial and non-represented roles in our Division. 

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Needham DPW's Water Sewer & Drain Division is committed to providing safe, quality drinking water to all residents, businesses and visitors in our community. Our Division will serve all people equally and treat them with respect and dignity. We will respond to all water, sewer & drain issues or concerns throughout every neighborhood in Needham in an efficient, polite, professional and timely manner.  We will provide training and opportunities to all staff, increase the representation of a diverse, inclusive work force in both the represented (Union) Working Foreperson, managerial and non-represented roles in our Division. 

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Offer more cultural education programs to educate participants about diversity and have these programs be well - attended.

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Establish a Diversity Council/Advisory Board that includes both staff and town residents. The Council/Board will meet in regular intervals to ensure equitable access to healthy aging resources and supports for all older adults in Needham.

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Utilize expert resources in DEI training to provide regular training for town clinicians on the topic of DEI sensitivity in providing clinical services. This training should held at least once a year for all town clinicians. Access to regular training is essential for practicing clinicians. Surveys should be implemented following each training to assess the impact of the training and understand both successes and opportunities for improvement.

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Get a better understanding of what the barriers are to attracting BIPOC-owned, women-owned and veteran-owned businesses to Needham, identify the resources and support systems available for them and then develop and implement a strategy to bring more of these types of businesses to town.

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The Fire Department will build a program for future recruitment to attract candidates from communities that might feel there are barriers to gaining employment here. We hope to accomplish this by aggressively recruiting from other metropolitan cities. We will use marketing and education to further this goal.

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Building Design & Construction Department - Designing all new buildings and major renovations to be fully accessible to people of all abilities.  The Emery Grover building reconstruction will make this building fully accessible for the first time in it's 125-year history.
Also as a staff advisor to the Climate Action Plan Committee assist the Needham Housing Authority to make affordable housing in Needham more energy efficient and strive toward net zero new buildings to help reduce operating costs and equity for a diverse population.

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Hire and work with a consultant to create a 3- 5 year town-wide DEI strategic action plan to include desired outcomes, annual tactics and milestones, and strategies for how to measure progress and establish accountability structures for achieving the goals.

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The Fleet Division of the Public Works Department is committed to creating a diverse, equitable, and inclusive work environment. We recognize the unique challenges that come with an aging workforce and strive to make provisions to accommodate such situations, and we understand that welcoming female technicians would contribute to a unique, enriched work culture. The DEI policy outlined above serves as a framework for creating an open, inclusive, and supportive work environment that values differences and promotes a sense of belonging for all employees.

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DPW will work to identify barriers in our existing infrastructure that make Needham less equitable and work through our capital planning and maintenance plan to remove those barriers when performing work. 

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Promote community and a sense of belonging within the Needham staff that identifies as a minority. Prioritize the restructuring of affinity groups that are more appealing and convenient to staff, that are better structured and that contribute to the dismantling of systemic exclusion and influence Townwide inclusion philosophy and goals.

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The Planning and Community Development Department will develop on-line materials across all divisions regarding permitting processes so that all community members better understand permitting protocols and thus how and when to best engage the system to ensure that their needs and interests are communicated and considered in Board permitting decisions.  The goal of this effort is to make transparent the process under which Board permits are issued and project decisions are made so that all perspectives can be considered and incorporated into project development decisions. It is anticipated that a more transparent permitting system will better ensure equal access for citizen participation and space and power to the perspectives of those whose voices have not been heard.

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The Planning Division will conduct outreach beyond the typical scope (typically we will outreach to Town Meeting Members, Boards/Commissions and sometimes owners in the area), for significant zoning changes or planning initiatives. Outreach will consider a mix of traditional and non-traditional communication channels for getting the word out about the community engagement opportunity.

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The Conservation Department will create an office hour schedule for the public to come in and discuss conservation/wetland related topics with staff at a variety of times including evening during summer hours. In addition the Conservation Department will create and implement virtual office hours where the public that is unable to come to in person office hours can meet with staff via scheduled zoom time slots.

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Conduct at least one focus group to better understand the experiences of black residents and business owners in an effort to prioritize action steps the Town can take.

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Create two targeted programs over the next six months to increase the availability of mental health services to higher risk populations (as identified by the MetroWest Adolescent Health Survey) including residents/students who identify as part of the following groups: LGBTQ+, females, non-white/mixed race, students with disabilities. The creation of these programs will include an assessment of the barriers and resistance to services and an action plan on how to mitigate this.