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Eugene Human Rights Commission confronts staffing uncertainty, approves liaison recommendation after commissioner resignation
Summary
The commission received notice of Commissioner Lehi Fajardo’s resignation, approved recommending Commissioner Bradley for the police commission liaison role, and discussed looming city budget cuts and their effect on staff-supported volunteer programs.
Commissioners were briefed on an internal personnel change and broader budgetary uncertainty affecting commission programs and volunteer-supported work.
The commission’s chair announced receipt of a resignation from Commissioner Lehi Fajardo; the chair read the correspondence and said the vacancy would likely be filled from the current applicant pool later in the fall. "We received communication today from commissioner, Lehi Fajardo. She is sad to say that she cannot continue serving on the commission for personal reasons," the chair said.
In related business commissioners voted to recommend Commissioner Bradley as the commission’s representative to the Police Commission; staff will forward the recommendation for mayoral appointment. The motion to recommend Bradley for the police commission passed by voice vote with no recorded opposition.
Commissioners spent substantial time discussing fiscal uncertainty. City staff explained that an initial budget posting would keep services intact but that a later manager amendment could propose deeper general-fund reductions that would affect staffing and service levels. "The the proposed budget, both parts of the budget will be available by April 25… The manager will propose an amendment that adds an additional $8,000,000 in reductions," staff said, noting that proposals could change through the budget process.
Members of the Volunteer and Community Unit (VCU) working group reported concerns about recruiting community volunteers and expanding programs while staff positions and funding remain uncertain. Co-chairs described a difficult conversation about whether it would be appropriate to invite community members into planning activities that might be disrupted by budget-driven staff reductions. "We're volunteers, and we can't do we can't move anything without staff support," a co-chair said.
The commission authorized the formation of an ad hoc committee to develop budget priorities and requested that the ad hoc group prepare recommendations for the May 20 commission meeting so staff could present them to the budget committee in late May. Two commissioners volunteered to serve on the budget ad hoc committee.
No formal personnel actions beyond recording the resignation and forwarding a liaison recommendation were taken on the floor; follow-up steps include outreach to the mayor's office for the police commission appointment and staff drafting budget-priority recommendations for the commission’s May meeting.
