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York City Human Relations Commission reviews finances, staff caseloads and appoints event chair
Summary
At its Feb. 16 meeting the Commission reviewed color-coded financial reports and 2025 casework totals, ratified the termination of a former executive director, and appointed Jason Query to chair the diversity event committee; several motions carried by voice vote.
The York City Human Relations Commission on Feb. 16 reviewed detailed financial reports, heard a staff annual impact briefing, ratified the termination of the former executive director, and approved several administrative motions, including appointment of a committee chair for the city’s diversity event.
A staff member presented color-coded financial spreadsheets showing the end-of-year balances for 2025 and the opening balances for January 2026. The presenter explained the color scheme: orange for combined overall expenses (funds 10 and 26), green for the general account (fund 10), and blue for special projects under fund 26 (which includes the holiday/diversity event, a downtown business/anti-discrimination fund tied to a prior health bureau grant, and youth‑coalition funds). Commissioners asked for line-item clarifications about travel, sponsorship offsets, credit-card reconciliations and where donations appear in the ledger; staff offered to provide a live walkthrough of the OpenGov reports for commissioners who wanted additional detail.
Staff also presented an annual impact summary for 2025, reporting 132 recorded intakes or cases across staff, with about 59 handled by one staff member (a roughly 32% increase year over year). Housing, employment and public‑accommodation complaints were highlighted as prevalent case types, and staff explained that many inquiries from outside the city are referred to the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission or other agencies. Staff said they were beginning to gather additional demographic and income data for Community Development reporting because several grant programs (including CDBG) require more detailed intake statistics.
On personnel and governance motions, the Commission moved and voted by voice to ratify the termination of former executive director Toomey. The Commission also voted to support two ordinance-related items presented by council member Ryan Soupler (a bias-motivated conduct draft and a set of code updates); commissioners attached clarifying requests about protected-class wording and a phased three‑year transition for current non‑city commissioners. The Commission voted to appoint Commissioner Jason Query to chair a new coordinating committee for the city’s diversity event and authorized him to assemble committee members.
The meeting concluded after commissioners agreed to adjourn. The endorsements and motions recorded at the meeting will be forwarded to City Council or the appropriate committee for legal drafting and further review.
