City Plans To Remove “Chief” From Job Titles

Two positions within the city would be first to reflect the new initiative.

DULUTH, Minn. – The Duluth City Council will be considering a language change for certain job titles held by city staff.

The intent is to allow the city to more accurately reflect an inclusive community.

The city is considering new plans to drop the word “chief” from all city employee job titles.

The goal is to help move away from the wording that could be deemed hurtful by members of the indigenous community.

Two positions within the city would be first to reflect the new initiative. Chief Administrative Officer would instead be called the City Administrator.  And the title of the Chief Financial Officer would be changed to Finance Director.

“Oftentimes the word chief is used as I would say a racial epithet and it turns into a microaggression,” said Alicia Kozlowski, community relations officer. “I think that there are other titles that we have the opportunity to use and to steer away from language that may put people down based off of their race or culture.”

Duluth Mayor Emily Larson believes it’s important for the city to distance itself from potential situations that could be offensive.

“We are dropping the name “chief” with intention and purpose so that we have more inclusive leadership and less language that is rooted in hurt and intentional marginalization,” Larson said.

The City of Duluth is still working on additional plans that would possibly remove “chief” from job titles in the police and fire departments.

The City Council will vote on whether to move forward with the job title changes on Monday.