$2M Equity Initiative Inside Worcester's 2022 Budget

WORCESTER, MA — Worcester City Manager Edward Augustus Jr. released his 2022 budget proposal on Monday, and it includes more than $2 million for a new budget category: equity.

According to the proposal, Worcester would set aside $2.05 million in fiscal 2022 for a range of equity initiatives, and some appear to answer calls to boost city services for marginalized people.

Among the items the equity initiative would pay for:

• Funding for a new unit in the human resources department to investigate complaints about city employees
• $750,000 to increase the minimum wage for full-time city workers to $15 per hour
• $1 million to the Worcester Health & Human Services (HHS) to "provide mental health support services"
• $250,000 to perform equity audits in the police, HHS and human resources departments
• $50,000 for equity training for city workers

The equity initiative comes after Worcester's hiring of a new chief diversity officer in November. Stephanie Williams was hired for the job, which is now part of Augustus' cabinet.

Augustus' 2022 budget proposal came in at $733.7 million, about 4 percent higher than the current $705 million fiscal 2021 budget. The equity initiative is one of the biggest new pieces of spending in the proposal. The budget will go to City Council for deliberations ahead of a June approval.