Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Local Governance Complaints Subcommittees topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Ypsilanti HRC reopens 'failure to act' resolution, discusses complaint form, subcommittees and town halls
Summary
The commission untabled a resolution alleging that delays and inaction on issues affecting marginalized groups constitute discrimination; commissioners also reviewed the city's complaint form and discussed limits and options for creating working groups and town halls.
The Ypsilanti Human Relations Commission on Aug. 21 removed from the table and reopened discussion of a draft resolution asserting that the city’s delay or failure to act on several recommendations may amount to discrimination against marginalized groups.
The resolution — originally drafted earlier in the year — lists items the commission said had been delayed, including the planning commission’s affordable-housing recommendations, a driving-equity ordinance aimed at narrowing low-level traffic stops, and slower-than-expected allocation of certain millage reimbursement funds to mental-health and social services. Commissioners agreed to revise language in several places (for example, changing “refusal” to “delay” where council action had since changed) and to form a small drafting group to refine the text.
Complaint form and quarterly reporting: Commissioners discussed the current complaint-tracking system and public-facing forms. Several commissioners noted the city’s general online complaint form is not specific to discrimination and recommended a clearer, discrimination-focused complaint form that lists protected classes to make reporting and triage easier for residents. The commission agreed to work on draft language for a discrimination-specific form and requested that staff provide the city attorney’s opinion on form scope if needed.
Subcommittees and town halls: Commissioners revisited earlier attempts to create subcommittees with public participation. City staff advised that a commission-appointed working group may meet informally (with up to two additional people) and report back to the full commission, but formal subcommittees that include public voting members or operate as a council-established subcommittee require different appointment and notice procedures. Commissioners discussed conducting issue-themed town halls (policy and systems change, community engagement/education, and an equity agenda) as a feasible starting point to gather public input.
Voting and procedural notes: The commission voted to untable the resolution and begin edits; motions to remove older, resolved agenda items and to extend the meeting time were also approved. Commissioners requested that the revised wording be circulated before the next meeting and that up to two commissioners collaborate with the drafter on edits under open-meetings guidance.
Ending: The commission scheduled the zoning-definition packet, the discrimination-complaint draft and town-hall planning as proposed business for the next meeting.
