For the 2nd year in a row the City of Opelika signed a contract to pay $659,000 to Critical Insights Consulting, LLC for providing diversity and community engagement programs for the Opelika Police Department in 2023. Voting was unanimous to approve the contract during the council's May 16th, 2023 meeting where there was no discussion held regarding the considerable expense. This lack of fiscal contemplation stands in stark contrast to the council meeting held on June 7th, 2022 where Councilwoman Erica Baker-Norris representing Ward 2 voted against approving the contract for 2022 with CIC after making remarks critical of the diversity training. During that meeting's discussion Baker-Norris expressed her concerns that "the price of over $600,000 dollars did not go down, but went up even after this program has been in place for a year” before going on to say "I definitely know that there have been some positive outcomes from this program, however, I am very concerned about the cost, especially when I serve a community that is seeking things like affordable housing, water and sewer concerns and things of that nature".
Paying this particular hefty sum may be the latest freewheeling expense for the city's diversity efforts, however, it is hardly the first or only one. In an exuberant post to his Linked In account
dated December 2022, Mauricio Velasquez who is President of the Diversity Training Group, effusively thanked the City of Opelika for the abundant generosity they had lavished upon him while he was in town providing the city with Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Training. Velasquez wrote "My client is City of Opelika, AL, this week. Love this client - they put me up at the Marriott Resort. Training all their employees. Diversity Today - Being More Inclusive Tomorrow in the am, Harassment Prevention and Emotional Intelligence in the pm. Tonight I learned my client has the top Pickle Ball facility in the country. Amazing fun. Lost my first two games, won third game. Live life to the fullest. Embrace the now!" According to the contract the city signed with DTG, Mr. Velasquez was paid $15,000 for his diversity training services.
Another beneficiary of the city's diversity spending spree was Dr. Arturo S. Menefee, president of Leadership Empowerment Strategies, who was paid $1,000 in November of 2021 "for the purpose of facilitating and organizing the community Zoom meeting on Diversity, Inclusion and Equity in the Community." Opelika Mayor Gary Fuller has gone on the record in the recent past stating that all city employees are required to participate in mandatory diversity and inclusion training. Further removing any doubts on which direction the OPD is headed in, a mission statement on their official website declares "The Opelika Police Department is a progressive department dedicated to policing in the 21st century. We are made up of men and woman who believe in the diverse community we police."
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