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HomeMy WebLinkAboutHuman Relations Commission - Minutes - 10/12/2000HUMAN RELATIONS COMMISSION MINUTES Regular Meeting - October 12, 2000 Human Resources Conference Room, 200 W. Mountain Ave. 5:30 - 7:00 p.m. Council Liaison: Bill Bertschy Staff Liaison: Angelina Powell, Phone:221- 6525 Chairperson: Bob Lank Phone: 493-5809 A regular meeting of the Human Relations Commission was held on October 12, 2000 in the Human Resources Department Conference Room, 200 W. Mountain Ave., Suite A. HRC Members present: Tim Daugherty, Mary Gomez, Shion Hung, Bob Lank, and Man Oberoi. HRC Members absent: Dan Devine and Debbie Love (w/notification). Guest present: Brian Carroll, Citizen Review Board. Staff Member present: Gabe Serenyi, acting HRC Staff Liaison I. Prior to the formal start of the meeting Brian Carroll, a member of the Citizen Review Board (CRB), offered to update HRC members on the activities of the CRB during its inaugural year. The first few meetings of the CRB involved getting bylaws and systems in place. The CRB has reviewed five cases so far. Brian noted that the role of the Board is not to pass judgement on the merits of the case either from the perspective of the police or the complainant, but to review the Police Department Internal Affairs (IA) report and make a determination on the thoroughness and accuracy of the investigation process. The resulting CRB report to the City Manager addresses the process of how the investigation was carried out, not the validity of the conclusions. As an example, the CRB can recommend that additional witnesses be interviewed, but it cannot comment whether the conclusions of the IA report are right or wrong. Three CRB members are selected at random to review each complaint that comes before the board. The first name drawn at random becomes the subcommittee chair person. The subcommittee reviews various items of evidence 'related to the case, such as audio tape transcripts, interview summaries, and other relevant documents included in the IA report. The CRB does not have subpoena or investigative powers. If there is a split decision, both the majority and minority positions are presented. The findings go to the City Manager, with copies to the Chief of Police and City Council. If the complainant does not agree with the CRB's decision, he/she has the option of appealing the decision to the City Manager. The City Manager has the final decision within the context of this process.' If the complainant is still not satisfied with the City Manager's decision, he/she can take the complaint to civil court. Human Relations Commission October 12, 2000 Page 2 The issue of the CRB's visibility in the community was briefly discussed. Bob Lank asked if it would make sense for the CRB to make presentations to various forums or groups around the City to make them aware of the role and accomplishments of the board to date. Brian responded that that would be worth considering. II. The meeting was called to order by Bob Lank, Chair, at 6:10 p.m. III. Bob Lank asked for a motion to approve the minutes of the September 14th HRC meeting. Shion Hung made the motion to approve, and was seconded by Mary Gomez. The minutes were approved by the HRC with the following changes: - The heading on top of Page 1 of the minutes should be changed from"Human Rights Commission" to "Human Relations Commission". - Under paragraph III, line 3, the word "trave" should be changed to "travel". - Under paragraph V., the last line should be changed to: "The commission would like to ask Mr. Tempel to advise them on the flexible framework needed to make a decision on the proposed ordinance". IV. Subcommittee Reports Diversity Subcommittee. Mary Gomez reported that the subcommittee met on September 27th. The 2001 subcommittee work plan was the main item of discussion. Because of the frequent changes in subcommittee membership during 2000, no significant accomplishments were achieved during the year. As a result, the following goals/activities were discussed for possible inclusion in the 2001 Work Plan: - Man Oberoi will attend at least one Senior Advisory Board meeting, and report back to the HRC regarding current issues being faced by that board. - Mary Gomez will attend at least one Women's Commission meeting and also report back on the issues and challenges being faced by that commission. - Mary Gomez will send an e-mail to Human Rights Officer Barb Spalding re -iterating the HRC's willingness to assist her clients with filling -out complaint forms. Mary could assist Spanish speaking clients, and Man Oberoi is available to assist those speaking North Indian languages. - Bob Lenk will attend at least one Multicultural Corporation meeting. - Bob Lank will also contact the group "In Our Best Interest" to determine if the HRC could participate in some of their future discussion meetings. - The subcommittee will look for ways it could assist in the recruitment of minorities for the City's boards and commissions. Human Resource Grants Committee. Bob Lenk reported that he had exchanged phone messages with Diane Jones regarding the current status of the committee. He had also talked with Ginny Riley of Larimer County regarding the issue. She reported that the process for allocating funds to the various requesting agencies was well along the way, and the committee's recommendations will soon be Human Relations Commission October 12, 2000 Page 3 presented to the County Commissioners. Ginny offered to have someone from the County make a presentation to the HRC regarding how the current fund allocation process works. Bob also reported that he had sent an e-mail to Diane Jones, Bill Bertschy and Greg Tempel informing them that City Code still requires the HRC "to recommend to City Council the expenditure of funds for meeting basic human service needs in the City as defined by the City of Fort Collins Human Services Policy, through membership in the Larimer County Human Resources Board". Bob wanted to know how this responsibility was being currently implemented, considering the fact that the HRC has not been involved this year. Bill Bertshy is the only one who has responded so far, indicating that he will look into the issue. Human Relations Awards Subcommittee. No report. V. Old Business None VI. New Business 2001 Work Plan. Please see under Diversity Subcommittee. VII. Announcements Tim Daugherty announced that he has not applied for re -appointment to the HRC due to a significant time commitment he has to a CSU student group to which he has recently been appointed. The meeting adjourned at 7:19 p.m.