City of Temple to opt out of hiring diversity firm

TEMPLE, Texas — The City of Temple has announced Friday that they have decided to not accept outside help from Chicago consulting firm, NOVA collective.

In a letter addressed to the community, Temple Mayor Tim Davis and City Manager Brynn Myers say they're shifting efforts to have their own city staff evaluate themselves. As stated in the release:

"Focus the City's diversity, equity and inclusion efforts on only the internal operations of the City in its delivery of municipal services."

The sudden decision to back out was made after hearing the criticism from residents in the community regarding the proposal. City leaders cited "community feedback regarding the contractor, social media content, and the proposed contract price".

This comes after the city hosted its first Community Economic Resource Summit on July 28. There NOVA was introduced as a commission was considering whether to hire the firm. 

The DEI agency would have focused on the internal operation of the city and its services.

The committee was originally scheduled to meet again on August 2.