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HomeMy WebLinkAbout3983 AN ORDINANCE establishing an Action Committee to hear grievances pertaining to handicapped issues and to monitor compliance with ~504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. WHEREAS, Department of Treasury rules make the establishment of a grievance procedure to resolve complaints concerning handicap access and services a condition of future revenue sharing entitlement; and WHEREAS, future revenue sharing entitlement is also dependent on the City's effort to effectively monitor and implement its transition plan; and WHEREAS, §504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 prohibits the City from discriminating against handicapped individuals or denying them the benefits or services of any program or activity receiving federal funds; now, therefore THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF BREMERTON DOES HEREBY ORDAIN: SECTION 1: ESTABLISHMENT OF A HANDICAPPED ACTION COMMITTEE -There is created a City of Bremerton Handicapped Action Committee. This Committee shall be comprised of the Affirmative Action Officer who shall serve as Chairperson, Conununity Development Manager, one representative from the following aepartments to be selected by the Mayor: Parks and Recreation, Engineering, Support Services, and four non-employee citizens who are interested in handicapped issues. These citizen appointees shall be handicapped persons, members of organizations which represent handicapped persons or medical, psychiatric, and social service professionals who specialize in treatment and care of handicapped persons. Four such citizens shall be appointed by the Mayor and confirmed by the City Council. The Action Committee shall meet once per month. Any committee member may be removed by the Mayor or by a two-thirds (2/3) vote of the Action Committee. SECtiON 2: PURPOSE OF THE ACTION COMMITTEE - a. The Action Committee shall serve in an administrative advisory capacity to the Mayor and Council regarding the City's efforts to make benefits and services available to the handicapped through structural and non-structural modification. The Committee shall identify which City programs and activities receive federal funds, review such programs for compliance with §504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, recommend, where appropriate, non-structural modifications to bring such programs into compliance and prioritize the structural modifications necessary to bring such programs into compliance. The Committee shall make two written reports to Council by November 15, 1985. One such report entitled "A Transition Plan" shall consist of a prioritized list of structural repairs and estimated costs associated with such repairs necessary to ensure that programs and activities receiving federal funds are accessible to the handicapped. The second report shall detail recommendations for non-structural modifications which will make programs and activities receiving federal funds accessible to the handicapped. Following adoption by the Mayor and Council, such reports shall be published. b. The Action Committee shall serve as a quasi-judicial body to resolve non-employee public complaints alleging any violation of 31 CFR §51.55 by the City or its sub-recipient. In addition, where handicapped grievance procedures are mandated by other ~e~eral laws governing the City, the Action Committee shall serve as a quasi-judicial body to resolve such non-employee public complaints. Employees with complaints alleging a violation of §504 of the Rehabilitation Act shall have a right to follow the grievance procedures set ~orth in the City of Bremerton Affirmative Action Plan. SECTION 3: GRIEVANCE PROCEDURES GOVERNING THE RESOLUTION OF COMPLAINTS - The following grievance procedure is established to resolve complaints over which the Committee has jurisdiction pursuant to §2(c) above: a. The grievance should be in written form and contain as much information as possible about the alleged discrimination (name of grievant, address, phone number, location and description of the problem, etc.). Other arrangements for submission of a grievance such as a personal interview or tape recording will be made available for the visually impaired or those with motor impairments. b. The grievance should be submitted by the complainant or his/her designee to the Affirmative Action Officer in the Personnel Department, 245 4th Street, 3rd Floor, Bremerton, Washington, within thirty (30) calendar days of the alleged violation. If such grievance is sent by mail, it should be addressed to the Affirmative Action Officer, Personnel Department, 239 4th Street, Bremerton, Washington. c. Within fifteen (15) working days o~ receipt of the complaint, the Affirmative Action Officer, or his or her designated Action Committee member, will respond in writing (or a method understood by the complainant) to the complainant and/or his or her designee. The response will offer a resolution, recommended action or explain the position of the City of Bremerton with respect to the complaint. d. If the response by the Affirmative Action Officer, or his or her designated Action Committee member, does not satisfactorily resolve the issue, the complainant and/or his or her designee has ten (10) calendar days to request a hearing before the full Action Committee. Such request for a hearing should be in written form and submitted to the Affirmative Action Officer. Appropriate arrangements shall be provided to accomodate handicapped persons in the hearing process. e. If such hearing is requested, the Action Committee shall hear such appeal at the next regularly scheduled monthly meeting unless said complainant requests further time to prepare for such hearing. The Committee member who initially responded to the Complainant shall not hear the appeal, but will attend the hearing as a witness. In the event of a tie vote, the Mayor, after reviewing the tape recorded record of said hearing, shall cast the deciding vote. 3 f. Within thirty (30) calendar days of the hearing, the complainant and/or his or her designee, will receive the final resolution in writing (or a method understood by the complainant) as proposed by the Action Committee. Said resolution shall advise the complainant or his designee that if (s)he is dissatisfied with the resolution or the City's implementation of said resolution (s)he has a right to file a complaint with the Director of the Office of Revenue Sharing (Treasury Department, Washington, D.C. 20226) or to the appropriate Federal office. SEC~£ON 4: Applicability of Code of Ethics Ordinance - The City of Bremerton Code of Ethics Ordinance, No. 3967, shall govern the conduct of all members of this Handicapped Action Committee. S£CrION 5: Committee Promulgation of Rules - The Handicapped Action Committee shall promulgate rules to govern its operation. APPROVED by the City Council on the first reading this ~ day of ~~ , 1985 PASSED by the City Council of the City of Bremerton, Washington, signed by the Mayor and attested by the City Clerk in authentication of such passage this c~ % day of ~-~- , 1985. ~RIE DAW~INS, Mayor ATTEST: ~ KATHLEEN L. McCLUSKEY, Clerk 4