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City’s Office of Fair Housing and Equity says it logged 412 complaints since 2020, acknowledges reporting gaps
Summary
Chief Salas told the council OFHE investigates housing discrimination and logged 412 complaints since July 2020 but that many entries show as 'unknown' because of data-entry issues; the office is close to hiring a new executive director and director of investigations.
Chief Salas, who oversees the Office of Fair Housing and Equity, told the council the office investigates discrimination, conducts outreach, and is preparing to staff up after leadership losses. She reported the office is looking at "a total of 412 complaints" since 07/01/2020 and said many entries appear as "unknown or not categorized" in aggregate reports due to data-entry or management-system migration issues.
An investigator in the hearing clarified that uncategorized entries generally reflect reporting omissions at intake rather than an absence of investigation; files still contain the protected-class information in their case documents and are processed through intake, assignment and investigation. Chief Salas acknowledged a hiring freeze and turnover—citing the loss of longtime staffer Bob Terrell—and said the city is close to naming a new executive director and a director of investigations to expand intake, testing and enforcement capacity.
Councilors asked for specifics: which cases led to hearings, how many reached probable cause findings, and the timeline for staffing announcements. OFHE said it will supply data following the hearing and work with investigators to clarify the intake and categorization process.
