Discussion turns to rebuilding Office of Human Rights; administration to draft resolution

Committee members spent substantial time on Dec. 18 reviewing options to restore and strengthen the Office of Human Rights after recent staffing gaps.

County administration told the Workforce Diversity and Inclusion Advisory Committee that the director of human rights is a chartered position and “we cannot eliminate that without going through the charter amendment process.” Administration said it paused advertising for the director position while it develops options and will draft a resolution — expected for consideration by the legislature in January — proposing either restoring the director role or creating an education and outreach coordinator working with the Human Rights Commission.

Administration described a Human Rights Commission proposal that recommended four positions: maintaining a director of human rights, creating a paralegal position, upgrading the receptionist to administrative assistant, and adding an education and outreach coordinator. Administration said it received six applications for the director posting before the pause and that those applicants were notified; they would not need to reapply if the position is restored.

Committee members urged that any decision be paired with public engagement to identify community needs and emphasized that volunteer commissioners have limited capacity to provide legal assistance. "We have not served our community well with this office over the past 3 or 4 years because we really have not had a mission," a committee member said, urging either contracting outside paralegal or legal services or ensuring new hires produce measurable outcomes.

Administration said its next step is to draft a resolution and present options for legislative direction in January; no formal vote on staffing occurred at the Dec. 18 meeting.