Creation of a new Diversity Committee focused on making the city’s workforce more reflective of the broader Cranston community received the unanimous backing of the City Council on Monday.

“To me, it feels like we’re missing something … We have blind spots, and the best way to fix it is to hear from people,” said Council President Michael Farina, who submitted the resolution calling for the formation of the commission.

The measure was co-sponsored by all eight other council members.

“I am excited. I am thrilled that this council is being active [on this issue] … It has been long overdue,” Ward 1 Councilwoman Lammis Vargas said.

“The city is rapidly changing … I’m really happy that the commission is going to be formed and get to work on this,” Ward 5 Councilman Chris Paplauskas said.

According to Farina’s resolution, the composition of the commission will include two council members – one from each party – appointed by the council president; two public safety officials, representing both the Fire and Police departments, appointed by either the mayor or council president; the city’s personnel director, who will serve as the commission’s chairperson; another city department head, appointed by the mayor; and four members of the public, two each appointed by the mayor and council president.

The council president will serve as an ex-officio member of the commission.

The resolution was amended during Monday’s meeting to add three additional members – a representative of the NAACP of Rhode Island, a representative of OneCranston and an additional appointee from the mayor’s administration.

Citywide Councilman Steve Stycos proposed the addition of the NAACP representative, saying the organization has been a leader on issues of diversity locally.

“I think it’s important to get different voices on this group outside those of us who are active in city government, and I think the NAACP has really taken the lead on this historically, and more recently, in Rhode Island,” he said.

Farina proposed the addition of the OneCranston representative and the additional mayoral appointee, which he said he hopes will allow David Quiroa, assistant director of the city’s Department of Senior Services, to serve on the commission.

In a statement released ahead of Monday’s meeting, Farina said the goal of the commission is to “work toward soliciting feedback and input from residents, stakeholders and policy makers across the city to create and implement solutions that encourage a diverse workforce while fostering inclusion for all.”

The council president focused specifically on the city’s Police and Fire departments, which have worked to foster inclusion in recruitment efforts in recent years but had limited success.

“I know Mayor Fung and our leaders in the Cranston Police and Fire departments have worked hard to recruit a diverse work forces that fosters inclusion. We have some success but the challenges we still face with diversity in our cities employment base means we’re missing something,” he said in the statement. “We need to solicit feedback from stakeholders, from the community, from organizations that foster diversity on why we face these challenges. Embracing these truths we will work to change our policies, procedures and hiring and then we can begin to unlock transformative change.”

During Monday’s meeting, he added: “I want to be focused and really attack it.”

Citywide Councilman Ken Hopkins pointed to the Cranston Public Schools as an example toward which city government can aspire as it focuses on increasing diversity.

“The school department is light years ahead of us on this … If we could ever get our city side up to what they have at Cranston East, in particular, we’d be in good shape,” he said.

Members of the public also spoke in support of the commission’s creation.

“I think that in order for us to really face and embrace the future of our city, it would be wonderful if all our civil servants and our public safety forces look more and more like what our city looks like,” Annette Bourne said.

“I think it’s really important that we take a look at our city and its inequities together,” Caitlyn Blankenship said.

Farina said he has received significant interest in serving on the commission. He urged any interested members of the public to submit a letter to the council. Contact information can be found on the city’s website, cranstonri.com.

In other business, the council unanimously approved a resolution calling on Gov. Gina Raimondo and the General Assembly to restore $632,426 in payment in lieu of taxes, or PILOT, funding proposed for Cranston in the governor’s budget proposal for the coming fiscal year.

Council members pointed to the city services utilized by the John O. Pastore Center, which recently added a new facility housing the attorney general’s office.

“This is a pretty big hit for our community. We have a lot of state buildings in our community, and we keep doing more and more for the state and they want to pay us a lot less,” Ward 6 Councilman Michael Favicchio said.

“If anything, I thought maybe we’d get more money this year,” Ward 2 Councilman Paul McAuley said.

The council also unanimously approved Fung’s nomination of David Rodio to serve as the city’s next director of building inspections; a resolution supporting the Cranston Public School’s five-year master plan submission to the Rhode Island Department of Education; a resolution calling on President Donald Trump and the U.S. Congress to provide funding for 21st Century Community Learning Centers; an amended proposal to create a digital portal providing resources for new city residents; and a change in zoning meant to allow for the creation of a “pocket park” at the former site of the highway garage in Knightsville.