The town has hired a diversity consultant.

During its recent meeting, the town council voted 5-0 to approve the hiring of Adam Mastoon as the town's diversity consultant. Mr. Mastoon is a Barrington resident with 23 years of professional experience "delivering award-winning diversity, equity and inclusion programs for communities large and small."

Mr. Mastoon has worked with many of the country's top institutions, including Harvard, RISD, and the Massachusetts Governor's Commission on LGBTQ Youth, according to the proposal.

Barrington council member Kate Weymouth said she was initially bothered by part of Mr. Mastoon's proposal, specifically that he is a Barrington resident. She said she was worried that he would carry with him preconceived biases.

However, after speaking with a number of people about Mr. Mastoon, she came to a different conclusion. She said Mr. Mastoon's words, his kindness and gentleness were exactly what Barrington needs now.

Ms. Weymouth then made a motion that the town hire Mr. Mastoon for $12,500.

Fellow councilor Jacob Brier offered two funding options for the town — he said there was money in the council contingency fund and in a council reserve account to pay for the hire.

Council member Joy Hearn suggested that the next council may want to take the action of hiring a diversity consultant, since that council would be working with that person.

Mr. Brier disagreed, calling for the immediate hiring.

Members of the public wanted to comment on the decision, but council president Michael Carroll said he decided the council would not allow public discussion on this topic, adding that the meeting was already running late. Later, Mr. Carroll did allow residents to speak on the issue.

Jack Van Leer, one of the residents who filed a harassment complaint against Ms. Weymouth and Mr. Carroll, said he thought Mr. Mastoon's proposal was great.

Maria Suarez, who helped Ms. Weymouth design a proposed listening project for Barrington, said it was imperative to have more than one candidate and the town needed to vet each one carefully.

Trinki Brueckner said it did not matter there was only one candidate for the job, if that candidate was as qualified as Mr. Mastoon. She then urged the council to vote yes on the hiring.

Boris Skurkovich added that he had not read Mr. Mastoon's proposal, but wanted to make sure that the proposal was addressing different types of diversity, mentioning those with intellectual disabilities, and physical impairments as well.

Jacob Brier's wife, Dani, said the request for proposals had been out for some time and officials had reached out to other potential candidates, but only Mr. Mastoon had submitted a proposal.

Later, Ms. Weymouth decided to stick with her original motion to hire Mr. Mastoon. That motion passed 5-0.

The proposal

Mr. Mastoon's proposal includes three phases: Reflect, Relate and Reform.

Reflection is described as a series of "guided learning sessions with dozens of key stakeholders in Barrington, including council members, board and commission members, faith-based organizations, civic and community organizations, recreational program leaders, municipal department heads, PTO members, and more."

During the Relate phase, educators and representatives from diverse communities will be partnered with the key stakeholders so they can share and learn from each other.