A report on the city's affirmative action program, also released yesterday, was subject to a heated discussion regarding the city's hiring of minorities.

Minorities actually make up 24.8 percent of the city's total work force, but are not evenly distributed.

For instance, minorities make up 42 percent of service and maintenance staff, but only 11 percent of officials and administrators. Only two departmental heads are minorities.

"We are failing miserably in our goals for hiring minor ities," said Triantafillou, chair of the city's civil and human rights committee. "The numbers are pretty horrifying.

Healy, who is responsible for all administrative appointments, was criticized by Mayor Kenneth E. Reeves '72 for appointing a new five-members water board that is all white.

Reeves said the upcoming year "needs to be the year we get diversity."

He said the city must use tougher approaches to minority hiring.

Reeves said the city had hired contractors from out-of-state when minority firms in the city were in need of business.

But Healy replied that state law requires Cambridge to award contracts to the lowest bidder, after fulfilling a 10 percent quota for minority firms.

"There are dozens and dozens of qualified minorities who want to work [for the city]," Triantafillou said.

"Have them send resumes right in, because we haven't found that to be the experience," Healy replied, specifying that the applicant pool for city jobs does not include enough talented Asians, Blacks and Latinos.

The mayor said the city's only minority department head is Police Commissioner Perry L. Anderson, who is Black. Reeves suggested that the city look into search firms to diversify.

Triantafillou suggested that Healy should meet with the city's Haitian and Latino commissions to review job opportunities in city government