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Tompkins County administrator to propose single draft for reconstituting Office of Human Rights
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Summary
County Administrator said she will deliver a single draft outlining how the Office of Human Rights and the Human Rights Commission should work together, after committee members and commissioners raised concerns about overlapping roles and limits on complaint handling.
County Administrator Charlene said the county will deliver a single draft outline for how the Office of Human Rights (OHR) should respond to current needs and operate going forward.
The draft, Charlene told the Health and Human Services Committee on April 16, will be shared "within the next week or 2 maximum" so legislators can review it and provide direction before the next HHS meeting.
The discussion followed public testimony and recent meetings with the Human Rights Commission. Charlene said she is coordinating with the commission chair to avoid multiple competing proposals: "I'm working very closely with the chair of the Human Rights Commission to also get their input so that you don't have a multiple proposals to look how but you have 1 single document to work from." She said the draft will be circulated in advance to allow a candid committee discussion.
Committee members said the office's role and relationship with the volunteer commission has been unclear. One committee member described a gap where commissioners often performed work independently and sometimes lacked administrative support from the office. Committee members and staff agreed the office should provide administrative support to the commission while preserving the commission's volunteer, advisory role.
Committee members also discussed limits on what the local office can do to help file complaints. A committee speaker summarized the constraint this way: "Legally, they can't anymore. The state said that you cannot — people cannot walk into that office and say, 'Can you help me file a complaint?'" The speaker said that prior practice of staff assisting people to fill complaint forms was curtailed by state guidance and that state offices are located outside the county, limiting local hands-on assistance.
Charlene said the county intends to clarify the OHR's duties and the commission's oversight role so volunteers receive administrative support and the county has a single, consistent channel for reporting and coordination.
The committee did not take a formal vote on the structure at the April 16 meeting; members asked for the draft and indicated they expect further discussion once the document is circulated.
