Schenectady

A few years back, the city used a black police officer and female cop as part of an advertising campaign to get more women and minorities to consider taking the county civil service test and join the police department.

The next police test after that attracted more than 500 applicants and led to meager gains in the numbers of people of color and women on the force, Miriam Cajuste, the county affirmative action officer, told City Council members Monday.

Blacks make up about 20 percent of the 66,135 residents in the city of Schenectady, according to the 2010 census numbers.

Cajuste primarily fielded questions from Councilwoman Marion Porterfield, who is black, and Council President Leesa Perazzo on her diversity report for 2015 that shows the municipal work force of 524 full-time employees is still overwhelmingly white.

That figure includes 446 white males, 78 white females, 30 blacks, 8 Hispanics and 2 Asians. New hires last year included 41 whites, 13 African-Americans and five Hispanics.

Perazzo said efforts over years to make City Hall more reflective of the Electric City is a vexing one. "I struggle when I look at these numbers because we're certainly doing the legwork to get the word out there, but somehow it's not equating to much progress," said Perazzo, adding city leaders might need to "think outside the box." "I would like to see us come up with some new ways."

The roughly 150-member police department includes seven blacks, four Hispanics and a handful of women while the Schenectady Fire Department counts one black firefighter and two women in its ranks of 118.

Cajuste said part of the challenge of getting on the fire department is the requirement of being a certified emergency medical technician and having at least a high school diploma. She said that the effort to recruit more minorities and women has to be a sustained one and focus on the police and fire departments because they account for more than half the 524 employees who work for Schenectady.

"We will not make a dent until we get more minorities in the police and fire departments because that's where the jobs are," said Cajuste.

Perazzo encouraged Cajuste to work closely with the Affirmative Action Advisory Committee.

In two weeks, that fledgling group, which serves at the pleasure of Mayor Gary McCarthy, is expected to make recommendations as part of its annual report on ways to attract more people of color and women.

Porterfield said she's seen the report and it says that the city needs its own affirmative action officer instead of sharing one with the county. "The city's work force does not represent he demographics or makeup of the city of Schenectady," she said. "I think it's the City Council's job take a look at the problem and bring attention to it."

pnelson@timesunion.com • 518-454-5347 • @apaulnelson