Laserfiche WebLink
investigators to proceed. As previously indicated the Commission may also call public hearings and <br />hears appeals to findings put forth by the Director. <br />Appointment/Recruitment Process: The 7 Commissioners are meant to represent the City <br />demographics and are nominated by City Council and appointed by the Mayor for 3 year terms and can <br />serve for up to two consecutive terms. According to the current Director, many Commissioners only <br />serve one term. There are no qualifications required outside of an interest in civil and human rights and <br />according to current staff, the Commission is typically comprised of educators, lawyers and other <br />professionals and not community members involved in advocacy or grassroots organizing. In order to <br />recruit new commissioners, the Office of Human Rights runs an annual month-long ad on a local <br />television station. In addition, the Director and staff tend to recruit candidates through personal and <br />professional networks. <br />Strengths of the Program: The current Director feels that the strength of the Municipal Code facilitates <br />the success of their program. The mandate of the Commission and Office of Human Rights is clearly <br />outlined and they are expected to pursue claims of discrimination aggressively. <br />Challenges: The Office of Human Rights is understaffed given the size of their city as well as case load <br />that they receive. The public education program is not as strong or visible as the office would like but <br />there is not adequate staff support for these activities. The Director would like to see additional staff <br />charged with general office support as well as two more investigators. They have faced four budget cuts <br />in the last six years and were previously down to one investigator. The office relies on interns and <br />AmeriCorps Vistas in order to fill these staffing gaps. The Director also mentioned that the State <br />Commission often absorbs cases that the city office is unable to manage. Although the Commission and <br />Office of Human Rights have a good working relationship with City Council, the Office feels that Council <br />would prefer that they focus on community education more than their investigatory work. This is seen <br />as an obstacle to obtaining their full funding needs. <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br />16 | Page <br /> <br /> <br />