City Councilor Karen McNamara had heard the criticism, and she’d heard enough.

It didn’t sway her support for the city’s choice of a Texas-based consultant to guide the work of its committee on Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, Justice and Belonging (DEIJB) or that the $40,000 to fund it was worthwhile.

“I respect the interview process that this committee has gone through,” she said. “I respect them and I’m going to support what they need.”

Not everyone was as unwavering.

While Concord’s mayor and city manager stood by the selection of Racial Equity Group, with President and CEO James Bird Guess, after state Republican leaders called his past business practices into question, the debate made some councilors question the need for a consultant at all.

Five members of the council voiced some level of concern with either the expense or the recipient, even though the body had previously approved — and then allowed to lapse — $140,000 for this effort.

In the end, the funding — which needed 10 votes, or a two-thirds majority, to pass — was approved in a voice vote, so it’s not clear exactly how many voted in support or whether everyone voted.

The DEIJB committee’s 18 members, appointed by Mayor Byron Champlin last summer, are broadly tasked with finding ways to make civic engagement in Concord more accessible and representative. The stated purpose behind contracting out for a facilitator was to professionalize the work: to structure the large committee’s discussions and channel them toward concrete action points. Racial Equity Group was selected near the end of last year from a pool of four candidates that included one from New Hampshire.

The firm provides “advisory services to public and private sector organizations on racial equity, diversity, and inclusion strategies,” according to its website. It has been contracted for similar work by local governments across New England but especially in Massachusetts, including Newton, Framingham, Salem and Wellesley.

City Manager Tom Aspell said that his recommendation of the firm was underwritten by positive reviews from Bay State officials who’d worked with Bird Guess. “They were very pleased with the services provided,” he said.

Ward 8 City Councilor Ali Sekou, who was part of the core committee that made the selection at the manager’s recommendation, defended their choice.

“We talk about equity here,” Sekou said. “You go with the most qualified candidate… Based on the recommendation we had, we all agreed that this is the most qualified candidate.”

Republican leaders in the New Hampshire State House sharply criticized Concord on Monday for “choosing to squander tens of thousands of dollars of taxpayer money” on “divisive social initiatives,” as House Majority Leader Jason Osborne of Auburn said in a press release. The criticism came after a piece in the NH Journal raised concerns about the business practices of Bird Guess, including past work advising other consultants about how to increase their personal profits. Deputy Majority Leader Rep. Joe Sweeney of Salem added that “it is shameful that the city has chosen to prioritize pyramid schemes, con-men and fraudsters over its taxpayers.”

Ahni Malachi, the chair of the DEIJB committee, endorsed the vetting process.

“You look at the quality of the work, you look at what others are saying was their experience, and you go from there. That’s what you look at,” she said. Malachi — who serves as the executive director of the state’s Commission for Human Rights and chaired former Gov. Chris Sununu’s Advisory Council on Diversity and Inclusion — noted that she has directly spoken with Bird Guess and supports him as the choice. “Everyone has jobs and things that they’ve done prior to what they’re doing now.”

The debate prompted some councilors to raise fresh questions about the need to hire a consultant.

“One thing that I found, personally over the years, is that facilitators and consultants have a very difficult time moving the dial,” said at-large Councilor Amanda Grady-Sexton. “There’s a group of 18 extraordinary leaders around the community with diverse backgrounds. I think they are the key to doing this work and to creating buy-in from the community, not a $25,000 out-of-state consultant.”

Ward 5 Councilor Stacey Brown said she understood why a facilitator would be helpful, but not why that work couldn’t be done by someone local, even someone already on the city payroll.

Malachi explained how a consultant as a professional guide would make the work of the volunteer committee more efficient.

“There is a standard of what this work looks like on paper. There’s a way to teach, there’s a way to train, there’s a way to write up the information and and make sure that it is something that can be shared from person to person,” she said. “To have someone who is expert at this... would be a great benefit to the city.”

The committee will set its agenda going forward at its next meeting, Malachi said.

Bird Guess could not be reached for comment Tuesday.

Catherine McLaughlin can be reached at cmclaughlin@cmonitor.com.