HomeMy WebLinkAbout[01] Meeting Info. CITY OF ST. JOSEPH
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Joint Council Meeting -Cities of Waite Park, St. Joseph, St. Cloud
March 25, 2008 - 6:00 PM
Waite Park City Hall, Lower Conference Room
~udy ~eyrens
Administrator 1. Welcome & Introductions
2. Description of Regional Human Rights Services Proposal
Mayor a) Scope of Services
AI Rassier b) Governance
Councilors 3. Comments from Commissioner Korbel
Steve Frank
Rick Schultz 4. Questions and Discussion
Renee Symanietz
Dille wick 5. Discuss Next Steps for Each City
6. Adjourn
zs .College Avenue North PO Box 668 Saint ~oseph, Minnesota 56374
phone 3zo.363.~aoi Fax 3ao.363.0342
Judy Weyrens
From: Judy Weyrens
Sent: Friday, March 21, 2008 10:55 AM
To: 'alanrassier@yahoo.com'; 'Wick, Dale'; 'symanietzrenee@clearwire.net'; 'Frank, Stephen';
'richard.schultz@usbank.com'
Subject: Joint Meeting Materials
Attachments: Human Rights Flow Chart.pdf; Overview of the Functions.doc
We have scheduled a joint City Council Meeting
and St. Cloud for the purpose of discussing the
meeting will be at 6:00 PM in the lower meeting
Korbel, Commissioner of the State Department of
providing human rights services to a multi-city
State Department.
etween the Cities of Waite Park, St. ]oseph,
proposed Regional Human Rights Office. The
room of the Waite Park City Hall. Velma
Human Rights will be present to discuss
jurisdiction through a contract with the
As you know, this idea has been under discussion for quite some time. It has been two years
since the Regional Human Rights Task Force was formed. It's been more than a year since that
Task Force made recommendations. It's been nearly a year since we invited Commissioner
Korbel to our Joint Cities Meeting to discuss the topic. By September of 2007, I was
reporting to Council that we anticipated an agreement between the three cities and the State
of Minnesota. In November, discussions with the State were near complete, but there were
local elections changing the leadership on the City Councils. While there is continued
support for the concept expressed by the St. Cloud Council, the other two cities support are
questionable. So, the administrators consider this meeting a chance to bring all three
Councils up-to-date about the issue and visit with Commissioner Korbel as the provider of
services under a contract with the Cities. After this meeting, each city will be in a
position to formally support or reject the idea.
Summary
Provision of Services: At this time the State and the city administrators have agreed upon a
model that will work. That model would consist of the State staff providing complaint
intake, pre-investigative dispute resolution, and following of the complaint to the State
Office staff if necessary. This would bring a strong presence of enforcement to the region.
The State staff would provide education and outreach in the form of training about the MN
Human Rights Act, education to governments, schools businesses, and conduct forums on
housing, etc. The State staff would coordinate other forums and cultural diversity events
that might be conducted by other entities or consultants. We have concluded a process of
identifying those groups and agencies in our communities that can assist the "coordinator" to
provide services that the State might be unable to provide.
Governance and Advice: We envision a ]oint Powers Agreement that has a Governing Body and
an Advisory or Working Commission (Regional Human Rights Commission). The State would
interact with the Working Commission on a regular (monthly) basis and the Governing Body,
along with the Commission, on an annual basis. The Governing Body would need to approve the
annual budget, contracts, and any other official business that is necessary (none that we can
think of at this time). The Commission would assist with identifying needs, assist with
identifying resources, provide advice, act as liaison between the Regional Group and Cities,
assist with education efforts and dissemination of information, and advise the Governing
Body, etc. We think a five member Governing Body of elected officials (3 St. Cloud, 1 Waite
Park, 1 St. Joseph) and a thirteen member citizen Commission (7, 3, 3) would be adequate.
The State staff would also serve as staff to our new Human Rights Commission.
There are two documents attached that more graphically depict the proposed arrangement.
Funding of an office with projected expenditures $110,000, would cost $1.41 per capita or
$92,767 for St. Cloud.
This is an arrangement that will well coordinate and provide localized human rights services
for the three cities. It is also thought that in the future other cities in the region will
join in this effort.
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Overview of the Functions of the St. Cloud Area Human Rights Office
Staff time for the St. Cloud Area Human Rights Office can be categorized into the following three
categories:
Complaint Processing- Receive, investigate and make determinations on charges alleging unfair
discriminatory practices. The investigation will include intake, assessment of the complaint, research
and evaluation.
Based on the complaint, resolution can include: mediation, alternative dispute resolution, facilitation of
settlements, referral or dismissal.
Contract Compliant%therrespansibilities -Ensure that contractors with the state and city governments
are compliant with applicable affirmative action provisions. Other responsibilities can include items
such as the Human Rights Commission Activities.
Education/Outreach -Help foster a social environment that values diversity and equality by educating
residents about their rights and responsibilities. Goals of the Education/Outreach include -
Expand the understanding of the MN Human Rights Act and local human rights Ordinances.
- Respond to current human rights issues in our communities.
- Conduct Training and Workshops, such as:
/ New Resident Information
/ Fair Housing Training/Tenant Landlord Relations
/ Cultural Sensitivity Training
/ Regularly schedule events focusing on Human Rights
/ Public Safety Training
Service Area of the St. Cloud Area Human Rights Office
While the St. Cloud Area Human Rights Office is part of the MN Human Rights Office, the Cities of St.
Cloud, St. Joseph and Waite Park are responsible for bringing the infrastructure to the St. Cloud Area.
The service provided by the St. Cloud Area Human Rights Office can be divided into the following
categories:
Participating City- Residents living or working in the Cities of St. Cloud, St. Joseph and Waite Park will
receive the full services provided by the Human Rights Office.
Non Participating City -Residents not living or working in the Cities of St. Cloud, St. Joseph or Waite
Park. Once the staff at the Human Rights Office determine that the party is not a member of a
participating City, the intake information is forwarded to the St. Paul Office for services.