01/27/1975 Meeting - Laserfiche WebLink

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S.Growtn StoUd!l - Councilwoman Beal inquired about the status of the growth study referred to LCOG for report on dimensions al1d cost of such a study. Councilman Williams, member of the LCOG subcommittee considering the request for a growth study" reported makeup eX the subcommi ttee and said it was a good representation of people concerned with growth of the metropolitan area. He said the majority of the' subcommittee was of the opinion that for Eugene to conduct a study of this nature on its own would be a grave error, that any such study should involve the entire metropolitan area, and that attitudes of the County and Springfield as well a~ other nearby governmental agencies should be known first. He was doubt- ful tnat the work of the subcommittee would be completed hI} the original target date of January 24. John Porter, planning director, added that a preliminary budget for the work was scheduled for consideration of the I~OG Board at its January 16 meeting after which a report would be returned to the member agencies. T. Affirmative Action re: Females - Councilwoman Beal asked when the report she previcusly requested on the city's affirmative action program with regard to women would be submi tted. On being informed that a report was being prepared in the personnel department based on a questionnaire distributed to women work- ing for the city, Mrs. Beal wondered why that report was being prepared by per- sonnel rather than Ms. Merck, the city's human rights officer for women. She said she would like to have a report from Ms: Merck similar to one previously submitted by Lew Peters, minority relations officer, speaking abOut accomplish- ments of his office, a report giving Ms. Merck's overview of the city's position at this time. Manager explained that responsibility for the affirmative action program for the ci ty lies wi th the personnel department, that Merck and Peters were responsible, for working with personnel in implementation and direction of the affirmative action program. However, their responsibility is primarily with the community, developing programs with all employers of the city rather than just the city organization itself. He said the questionnaire on which the personnel report would ,be based was developed by Ms. Merck and that she was doing the followup on actual work, but co-ordination of the total program was under persollnel be- cause it was a personnel function. He added that Ms. Merck reported directly to the manager's office, not personnel, so in order to keep the total affirmative action program moving as a unit the administrative decision was to make it a functipn of personnel. In response to Mrs. Beal's statement that Ms. Merck then was doing the clerical work, Manager resonded that was not the case. Ms.Merck designed the questionnaire in co-operation with personnel, but that was only one portion of the city's affirmative action program. Ms. Merck was also working with personnel, he said, in the areas of career development for women, salary rates, etc., but personnel was responsible for making affirmative action reports, gene~al supervision of the program, and recommending measures as necessary, to keep the program moving - much more than just Merck's or Peters' portion of it. Mrs. Beal wondered if Ms. Merck was prepared to make any report on her work with regard to status of, employment of women in the city or in the private sector. Gary Long, personnel director, explained that Ms. Merck's research work was being done to collect data on which to base efforts in working with other employers. He said that portion should be completed and a report ready possibly by March 1. Assistant Manager added that in addition to the time spent on the questionnaire, Ms. Merck had been working on complaints involving sex discrimination, bringing them to the Human Rights Commission, and working with private employers in the city as well as with the city. The key to developing a program with regard to problems involving women within the city, he said, was the questionnaire which was being tabulated at this time. Mrs. Beal suggested that the report to be submitted should have the same format as that which was originally submitted based on the Human Rights Commission re- search project to give the opportunity for comparison. It was felt comparable formats could be made available. U. "Return of the Plague" an article appearing in Janu~ry 13,1975 issue of Time was noted by Councilman Haws wherein Eugene, Oregon was mentioned as one of the examples of smaller cities having rising incidence of addiction and heroin-related crime. He wondered if the Council should be concerned. Mayor Anderson 'suggested a rePDr:t from the police department might be of interest. 1/27/75 - 20 '3(0 . Comm 1/15/75 File Comm 1/15/75 File e Cornm 1/15/75 File './