City staff says Flagstaff scored 95 on Human Rights Campaign's Municipal Equality Index; highlights limits set by state law

Flagstaff city staff presented the city's 2024 Municipal Equality Index (MEI) score — a 95 out of 100 — and walked commissioners through the specific areas where the city gained and lost points.

The staff liaison, Chris Rhode, told the Commission on Diversity Awareness on Dec. 18 that the Human Rights Campaign evaluates cities across laws, employment, services, policing and leadership. Rhode said Flagstaff earns points for programs such as services for LGBTQ+ people experiencing homelessness, transgender-inclusive benefits documented in plan books, and other city services, but loses points where state law or documentation rules limit local action.

Rhode said the city's local civil-rights ordinance covers employment, labor organizations and public accommodations and described the complaint process: complaints must be filed within 180 days, be within the city's jurisdiction and allege conduct that would violate the local ordinance. The office first seeks a respondent's response, attempts mediation, and if unresolved, conducts an investigation that can lead to city-court action.

Rhode emphasized a legal constraint that keeps Flagstaff from winning 10 MEI points: state law dating to the 1990s restricts which cities may adopt local fair-housing protections, and Flagstaff does not meet the population threshold that law required for cities to add housing as a protected category. "There's just nothing that we can do to get these 10 points without the state changing that state law," he said.

Rhode also cited a partial credit decision by the Human Rights Campaign on transgender-inclusive health benefits. He said Blue Cross Blue Shield agreed to add plan-book language documenting gender-affirming care for city employees, but HRC awarded only 1 of 6 points because state law prevents providing gender-affirming care to minors. "Employees of the City of Flagstaff are able to access all kinds of gender-affirming care through our health care," Rhode said, while noting the scoring limitation tied to minors.

Other point losses came from the commission's advisory role (the commission does not enforce the ordinance; enforcement is handled by the civil rights office), lack of a citywide single-occupancy all-gender facility ordinance, absence of a citywide youth bullying prevention policy for services, and subjective leadership-scoring decisions by HRC. Rhode said the city will continue documenting pro-equality leadership actions but will not ask staff or officials to self-identify sexual orientation or gender identity to curry points.

Rhode positioned the MEI as a tool for internal review rather than a funding mechanism and said the city receives no direct financial penalty for a lower score. He said the city uses the scorecard to identify areas for policy or program work and to document services for future submissions to HRC.

The commission discussed next steps for areas the city can control (for example, drafting a youth-prevention policy and documenting leadership efforts) and acknowledged state law limits on housing and some health benefits for minors. Rhode said he will present the same material to the City Council later in January and continue to pursue documentation to maximize the city's MEI standing.

The commission did not take formal action on the MEI at the Dec. 18 meeting; the presentation concluded with members asking for follow-up information and clarification on several points.