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HomeMy WebLinkAboutRES 14-04RESOLUTION NO. 14-04 A RESOLUTION OF THE MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF APACHE JUNCTION, ARIZONA, ESTABLISHING A COMPLAINT PROCEDURE FOR PROMPT AND EQUITABLE DISPOSITION OF AMERICANS WITH DISABILITIES AND CIVIL RIGHTS ACT ALLEGED VIOLATIONS. WHEREAS, pursuant to the Americans with Disabilities Act ("ADA") Title II and the Civil Rights Act of 1964 Title VI regulations issued by the U.S. Department of Justice, a public entity shall adopt and publish grievance procedures providing for equitable resolution of complaints alleging violations of the ADA, the Civil Rights law, or their regulations. WHEREAS, on July 21, 1992, the Mayor and City Council adopted Resolution No. 92-18; and WHEREAS, the city hired a consultant, Recreation Accessibility Consultants, LLC ("RAC") in 2013 to evaluate city park facilities for accessibility, which recommended the procedure be revised; and WHEREAS, pursuant to the recommendation, the Mayor and City Council on February 18, 2014, repealed Resolution No. 92-18 under Resolution No. 14-03; NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the Mayor and City Council of the City of Apache Junction, Arizona as follows: 1) The Mayor and City Council adopt grievance procedure set forth in Exhibit One (attached hereto and incorporated by reference) as the for City of Apache Junction grievance procedure for receipt, investigation, hearing, and deciding complaints alleging the city, or its officers, employees, boards or commissions of the City of Apache Junction have violated the ADA or Civil Rights Law or regulations pursuant thereto. RESOLUTION NO. 14-04 PAGE 1 OF 2 PASSED AND ADOPTED BY THE APACHE JUNCTION, ARIZONA, SIGNED AND ATTESTED TO TH APPROVED AS TO FORM: 1 ,16.14- RICHARD J. STERN City Attorney RESOLUTION NO. 14-04 PAGE 2 OF 2 MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF THIS / e rlg DAY OF Pi-i6/21/..dief,2014. IS /4'714 DAY OF .-IrevA.e.y,2014. HN S. INSALACO ayor INTERNAL ADA AND CIVIL RIGHTS COMPLAINT PROCEDURE The City of Apache Junction has adopted an internal complaint procedure providing for prompt and equitable resolution of complaints alleging any action prohibited by the federal regulations implementing Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act ("ADA") and Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended. Title II states, in part that "no otherwise qualified disabled individual shall, solely by reason of disability, be excluded from the participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination" in programs or activities sponsored by the city. All ADA and Civil Rights complaints made against the city, its employees, representatives, and contractors relating to facilities, programs, services and projects, shall be required to adhere to this process in order to file a grievance. All equal employment opportunity complaints shall be filed with the Human Resources Department and may not be handled in the same manner as ADA and Civil Rights complaints under Titles ll and VI. Civil rights complaints are valid when the legal basis for the complaint is due to discrimination on the basis of race, color, national origin, religion, sex, disability, or familial status. Depending on the complaint, the following persons shall be responsible for determining a resolution: Complaints filed against the city whether a city program, service or project, will be reviewed by the ADA and Civil Rights Coordinator ('ACRC") and forwarded to any applicable state and/or federal agency as required under their guidelines. Additionally, the Arizona Department of Transportation ("ADOT") Civil Rights Office will be provided all civil rights complaints regardless of the nature of the complaint relevant to a project funded in whole or in part by ADOT funding. ADOT will then follow their procedures to determine if the complaint is relevant to their area of jurisdiction. Subsequently, the ACRC and/or ADOT will make a determination and resolve the complaint within 60 calendar days. Complaints filed against a contractor hired by the city shall be reviewed by the ACRC and a copy shall be provided to ADOT within 60 days. The complaint will be reviewed, investigated and resolved within 60 calendar days. Complaints should be addressed to: Bryant Powell, ADA and Civil Rights Coordinator, 300 East Superstition Blvd., Apache Junction, Arizona, 85119, (480) 474-5066. 1.A complaint shall be filed in writing or digitally.It must contain the name and address of the complainant, and describe the nature and the date of the alleged violation of the regulations. The complaint must be signed by the complainant or by someone authorized to do so on his or her behalf. A complaint form is available on-line at www.ajcitv.net/ada or by asking any city staff member. 2.A complaint must be made within 30 calendar days after the complainant becomes aware of the alleged violation. 3.The ACRC will call or meet with the complainant no later than 8 city working days after receipt of the complaint. An investigation, if needed or if appropriate, may follow the meeting. The investigation shall be conducted by the ACRC. Any investigation should be informal but thorough, affording all interested persons an opportunity to submit information relevant to the complaint. 4.The ACRC shall issue, as soon as possible, but not later than 30 calendar days after the complaint is received, a letter or email acknowledging the complaint, which includes a description of the resolution to the complaint. The decision of the ACRC shall be binding and final subject only to an appeal pursuant to A.R.S. 12-901,et. seq. 5.The ACRC shall retain all complaint records and associated documents pursuant to the city's record retention requirements, and shall dispose of them in accordance with such policy. 6.The right of a person to file a complaint under this procedure shall not affect the complainant's right to pursue other remedies such as filing of a complaint with the responsible federal or state agency. Use of this grievance procedure shall not extend the time for filing any complaint with the responsible federal or state department or agency.