The LaPorte County Courthouse.
LAPORTE — A goal has been set for the workforce in LaPorte County government to reflect the racial make-up of the county’s population.
The LaPorte County Council Monday night unanimously adopted a resolution asking that minority job applicants be actively pursued so the racial makeup of county government employees equals the racial composition of the county.
Specifically, the request is being made to the county commissioners, department heads and human resources personnel who play roles in filling job openings.
According to the resolution, 11.4% of LaPorte County residents are black but make up only 8.5% of the county government workforce.
Hispanics make up 7.4% of the population and 1.9% of county government workers, according to the resolution.
About 750 people are employed by LaPorte County government in a county with just over 112,000 residents.
The resolution was presented by Councilman Randy Novak, who said the measure is not a mandate but something in writing to work toward.
“Hopefully, it starts the dialogue and we get things moving forward and put this item behind us," Novak said.
In 2023, we shouldn’t be having this conversation,” he said.
Councilman Mark Yagelski said the minority hiring numbers have gone up some, but there’s still work to do.
To get there, he said, what’s needed most is no longer requiring a high school diploma for certain positions in areas such as maintenance, or by turning away job applicants deemed over-qualified.
Yagelski said he has referred people simply wanting to switch from a high demand to a less stressful job for a few years before retiring, but they were rejected.
“How in the world can somebody be over-qualified for a job? It just irritates me,” Yagelski said.
Councilman Earl Cunningham also expressed a need for minorities in more positions with duties out in the public to show the hiring practices are not so negative.
Cunningham said most of the minority workers here are behind the scenes in places like the county jail, community corrections and juvenile services center.
“Most people would be shocked to realize that we’re as close as we are. They’re just not in places that are highly visible and we need to improve that considerably,” he said.
Novak noted the council doesn’t perform the hiring, but adopted the resolution to have some influence in closing the racial gap.
“It’s a way of opening a better dialogue with other elected officials in the county and trying to just better represent all of the residents of LaPorte County,” he said.
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