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Public Works manager says hiring since 2025 boosted diversity but cautions pause amid hiring freeze
Summary
Public Works reported it filled 89 positions since January 2025, with external hires improving racial and gender representation; the department now counts about 59 vacancies and said a hiring pause will slow progress as it enters the budget season.
Cleon Cawley, general manager for Public Works, told the New Castle County Public Works Committee on April 7 that the department has made measurable gains in diversity since the administration took office in January 2025.
"Let me say this clearly, the concerns that are raised for us are real. I do not dismiss them. I acknowledge them," Cawley said as he opened a detailed hiring update. He said the department was down about 67 positions when the administration began and "since then, we have filled 89 positions." Cawley added that 39 of those were internal promotions and 50 were external hires intended to influence diversity outcomes.
Cawley presented several headline numbers: the overall workforce share identified as female moved from roughly 11% to about 14% following recent external hires; African American hires accounted for 27% of external hires compared with an 18% baseline in January 2025; hires identifying as Hispanic or Latino rose to 7% from 5%; and hires identifying as two or more races rose to 6% from 2%. He said external hires were 42% diverse. "That is measurable progress," he said, while acknowledging it was "not where we want to be."
Cawley also said turnover has been high: "At the same time, 81 employees retired or left the department," he told the committee, and that the department currently shows "59 vacancy positions we have here today." He described hiring changes as the product of a deliberate effort with HR to standardize and speed hiring, and he emphasized internal promotions as a way to retain institutional knowledge.
Council members responded with a mix of praise and probing questions. Penrose Hollins called the improvements "intentional" and thanked staff for the work. Several council members pressed for continued transparency as the county moves into the budget cycle.
Cawley warned the committee that a current hiring pause will slow the pace of change: "We're currently in a hiring freeze or a hiring pause. That means that this pace or the pace of change that we've been witnessing will move a little bit slower in the near future," he said, framing the pause as a fiscal stewardship decision that will require balancing diversity goals with budget constraints.
Cawley told the committee Public Works will continue to track and report the data and to brief council as budget decisions move forward. The presentation concluded with staff inviting follow-up questions and offering to provide additional detail by email.
