In California State and Local Government, DEI Costs Millions and Distracts Management
Although public opinion, most private organizations, and the federal government have turned against Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI), it remains deeply embedded in the culture of California state and local government. As a result, taxpayers and ratepayers are funding millions of dollars of government DEI-related expenditures annually, and the spending is likely to persist without public condemnation.
A focal point for public-sector DEI spending is the Government Alliance on Race and Equity, whose members, which it calls racial equity practitioners, “work to equitably strengthen and steward our public goods so that individuals, families and communities can live long, healthy, joyful lives, no matter their race, class, gender, sexuality, ability, migration status, or zip code.”
GARE claims over 400 agency members nationally including about 100 California cities, counties, special districts, and state government departments. Depending on their size, member organizations pay annual dues between $1,000 and $22,500. Employees at member agencies may pay thousands of dollars each to attend such GARE events as the Governing for Racial Justice conference in St. Louis last November.
One California agency active in GARE is the East Bay Municipal Utilities District (EBMUD). In 2023, EBMUD reported eight employees in its “Diversity and Inclusion” and “Diversity Equity and Culture Administration” departments with compensation totaling over $1.5 million.
EBMUD’s water rates are considerably higher than those charged by peer agencies such as Irvine Ranch Water District and the Eastern Municipal Water District (serving portions of the Inland Empire) which do not have DEI programs.
Transit agencies also participate in GARE and spend heavily on DEI personnel despite facing near-term fiscal cliffs due to diminished ridership and exhaustion of federal emergency funding during the pandemic. LA Metro plans to have 25 full-time equivalent employees in its Office of Civil Rights, Diversity, and Inclusion in the upcoming fiscal year, representing six percent of head office staff. The department chief received $225,000 in total compensation during 2023.
Nine state agencies, departments, and offices are also on the GARE membership rosters. State organizations have been doubling down on DEI since Gavin Newsom’s September 2022 executive order which instructed agencies and departments under his control to:
- develop or update the strategic plan to reflect the use of data analysis and inclusive practices to more effectively advance equity and to respond to identified disparities with changes to the organization’s mission, vision, goals, data tools, policies, programs, operations, community engagement, tribal consultation policies and practices, and other actions as necessary to serve all Californians; and
- as part of the development or updating of the strategic plans, engage and gather input from California communities that have been historically disadvantaged and underserved within the scope of policies or programs administered or implemented by the agency or department, and make the plans publicly available.
One state agency that has aggressively implemented Newsom’s EO is the State Water Resources Control Board which has published a 64-page Racial Equity Action Plan. Meanwhile the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) has an Office of Health Equity and California Office of Emergency Services (OES) has an Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. Both CDPH and OES are GARE members, and both employ DEI department heads making over $200,000 in annual total compensation.
All of this spending is part of a larger, established trend in which personnel and financial resources are diverted from the core missions of public agencies. Or, to put it another way: the core missions of such agencies have been hijacked by activists and special interests that take advantage of these agencies’ leaders’ lack of discipline, their desire to appear progressive, and their inability to find relevance in their agency’s original charge.
For decades, we have witnessed a growing industry of consultants, speakers, and conference organizers who cater to the latest government agency fads. Some of these fads seem tame, even relevant: process improvement, customer service, management training, etc. Yet, few agencies can demonstrate that the dollars spent in these areas make a lasting impact on organizational efficiency, public satisfaction, or management effectiveness.
More recently, the fads have shifted to environmental activism and social justice. The result: water agencies that emphasize conservation over production (their charge), and cities and special districts adopting policies that promote equal outcomes while public safety erodes and public infrastructure deteriorates.
The fad chasing will not end so long as the public tolerates it. Residents and businesses should demand that their schools only educate, their water agencies only produce sufficient water, their sewer districts only treat the water, and their transit agencies only facilitate mobility. Until then, taxpayers will continue to fund egregious spending on activist-inspired pet programs, and our local government agencies will drift further from their original charge.
Marc Joffe is President of the Contra Costa Taxpayers Association and a visiting fellow at California Policy Center.
Mark Moses is a senior fellow with California Policy Center. He has thirty years of experience in local government administration and finance. His recent book, The Municipal Financial Crisis – A Framework for Understanding and Fixing Government Budgeting was published by Palgrave Macmillan and is available from major online booksellers.