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Tompkins County committee directs staff to form Office of Human Rights working group
Summary
The Health and Human Services Committee directed county staff to form an Office of Human Rights Working Group to identify options for the office's role, staffing and fair-housing responsibilities and return recommendations to the committee.
Tompkins County's Health and Human Services Committee voted to ask county staff to form an Office of Human Rights Working Group to develop options for how the office should be structured and staffed.
The committee, chaired by Travis Brooks, said it wants staff to involve the Human Rights Commission in any options presented. "What I would hope to do is for this committee to kinda share some ideas and direction for Corsa and his team, so they can explore and come back to us with, different options or different plans for us to choose from," Brooks said during the committee's chair's report.
County administration staff told the committee they have begun meetings with the commission and other stakeholders and that one immediate need is to fill the position that also serves as the county's Fair Housing Officer. "The director was also the fair housing officer. So we need to make sure we get that position done quickly because for our CDBG grants, we have to have a Fair Housing Officer in place at all times," Corsa said.
Committee members emphasized that any change should include members of the commission and community partners. "The last thing I want to do is take an office like Office of Human Rights and get rid of it ... without the community being involved in that," Legislator Amanda said. Several members suggested the commission, community groups and county staff form a working group or task force to craft options and return recommendations to the committee.
Members agreed on the group's name and makeup: Office of Human Rights Working Group, with commissioners, at least one legislator, commission members and staff participating. The committee asked staff to invite the Human Rights Commission chair and to provide a list of goals to the committee in advance of the committee's March meeting so members could have a focused discussion.
Corissa (county administration) said staff will engage the commission and return options to the committee quickly. The chairman asked members to submit priorities for the working group in advance so staff can incorporate those requests.
The committee also discussed keeping lines of communication open between the commission and county staff while the working group develops recommendations and requested the commission be invited to at least one upcoming meeting during the interim period.
The committee did not adopt a formal resolution creating the working group; it directed staff to form and convene the group and report back to the committee.
