St. Petersburg is quietly renaming two city offices that include the words “diversity” and “equity” in their titles.

Effective Oct. 1, the Office of Equity, which aims to make and carry out policies and practices that put everyone on the same playing field in and out of City Hall, will become the Office of Community Impact. The Office of Supplier Diversity, created to help minority-owned businesses compete for city contracts, will be called the Office of Supplier Development.

According to memos provided to the Tampa Bay Times, Chief Equity Officer George Smith proposed renaming his office in April, shortly after his appointment to that role. The supplier diversity name change was requested July 25. Both memos contend that the missions of both offices are not changing, but the names of the departments may have “divisive perceptions” and limit “the way the office is perceived.”

“This is a strategic adaptation, not an abandonment of our core values and commitment to justice,” said the equity memo.

“This new name more accurately reflects our mission to support, grow, and build capacity among our supplier base, beyond focusing solely on diversity,” said the supplier diversity memo.

Since President Donald Trump took office in January, federal and state leaders have assailed diversity, equity and inclusion efforts in both the public and private sectors. This summer, the state’s Department of Government Efficiency began requesting information from and visiting municipalities with the goal of reviewing and eliminating what it deems wasteful spending. State auditors came to St. Petersburg and requested interviews with Smith and Supplier Diversity Manager Kourey Hendryx-Bell.

Both offices were launched under Mayor Ken Welch’s administration in response to two studies commissioned by the city under former Mayor Rick Kriseman. One examined structural racism in St. Petersburg while another found that companies run or owned by white men disproportionately received more city business and won the biggest contracts compared to those run or owned by minorities.

“As I’ve always stated, St. Petersburg will be a diverse, vibrant city guided by principled progress and intentional inclusivity, where innovation, partnerships, and ingenuity create opportunity for all,” Welch said in a statement. “Updating the names of these offices reflects our commitment to business process improvement, aligns us more closely with our vision, and more accurately represents the work these offices do every day.”

Creating the Office of Equity was among five recommendations made as a result of the structural racism study. Jabaar Edmond, one of 11 researchers who spent seven months reviewing the city’s history and modern-day practices toward Black residents, said the missions of the departments are more important than what they are called.

“I think that changing the names and appeasing the state is what the city has to do,” he said. “This coming down from the state only strengthens our case as to why we did it in the first place.”

City Council member Gina Driscoll said Assistant City Administrator Tom Greene and Smith, the chief equity officer, told her about the name changes Sept. 9.

Florida Chief Financial Officer Blaise Ingoglia, leading the DOGE effort, warned local governments not to change the names of documents related to diversity, equity and inclusion in an attempt to hide information.

“It’s puzzling to me that they did this now,” Driscoll said, referring to city officials. “The timing is interesting now after the DOGE visit.”