NOVEMBER 3, 2004

ATTENDANCE: Richard Booth, Chairman; Martin Bernard, Vice Chair; Jeannette Jean-Pierre

STAFF: Larry Patterson, Field Representative

Mr. Booth called the meeting to order at 7:50 pm.

At this point in the meeting there were not enough members to make a quorum; it was decided that non-action items would be discussed.

COMMISSIONERS’ POTPOURRI

Mr. Booth posed the question of canceling meetings; he indicated that he hated to cancel a meeting but didn’t want to waste the time of Commissioners and staff if there is nothing to report.

Mr. Bernard agreed with the comments of Mr. Booth, saying if they had more cases then it would be a different matter.

Ms. Jean-Pierre asked when a replacement would be found for the position of director.

Mr. Booth referred to a recent article in the newspaper that reported a director for the Human Relations Commission would be found in six to eight weeks. At the same time he noted the job description for the director (on the website) had not been changed.

With regard to the budget Mr. Booth suggested that the operating costs of the Fair Rent Commission be detailed in the budget.

Ms. Bernard referred to the funds allocated for office equipment commenting that this Commission is the heaviest users of the equipment. He added that the service they provide cannot be found anywhere else in the state.

Ms. Jean Pierre suggested they make it clear to have their own budget.

Mr. Booth stated that last year he had gone to the Director of Finance, Thomas Hamilton with a request to make the line items clear in the budget, who had referred him to the Board of Estimate and Taxation and the Common Council. With no result Mr. Booth indicated that he would go back to Mr. Hamilton this year with the same request.

Regarding expired terms, Mr. Booth indicated that several of the Commissioners’ terms are due to expire – he went through the list noting his concern.

Mr. Bernard stated that a Spanish-speaking commissioner is very beneficial, especially during a hearing.

OLD BUSINESS

There was no old business this evening.

FIELD REPRESENTATIVE’S REPORT

Mr. Patterson also referred to the term limits of commissioners. He indicated that he had emailed the Mayor on July 9, 2004 to inform him of this and that the same email was sent again last week.

Regarding recent seminars, Mr. Patterson discussed the seminars he had attended. He noted that they do have a new secretary in the office, who is bilingual.

On the topic of the Task Force, Mr. Patterson said this had been appointed to look at Human Relations and Fair Rent and had been held every Thursday at 3 pm for seven weeks – the report was produced in August. He thanked members of the Fair Rent Commission for their patience.

Mr. Patterson stated that a Pro-bono workshop is being offered November 17, 2004, 9:30 – 12.30 am. He added that one is also being held in Stamford by the same organization.

With reference to the new director, Mr. Patterson noted that the Mayor had addressed this during the last two Human Relations meetings.

Mr. Patterson distributed copies of activity statistics produced by the Fair Rent office; he noted that it justifies the existence of the department. He said that some discrepancies had been found in the numbers for previous months and that Ayanna Belton, the new secretary had audited the report bringing the numbers into line.

Regarding recent newspaper articles, Mr. Patterson referred to the following:

Towne House Gardens conversion report
A story regarding how a tenant’s friend, sleeping on the floor of an apartment, had not been evicted.
A report on fighting neighborhood blight.
Human Relations Director search (same article mentioned earlier by Mr. Booth).

On the topic of the 2005/06 budget preparation, Mr. Patterson distributed a packet and gave some background information on the items that Ms. Devitt has included in the past to submit to the Finance Department. Mr. Patterson went through last year’s budget and asked Commissioners for their comments and suggestions regarding the goals and highlights of the Fair Rent Commission.

There was discussion on the budget being shared between the Human Relations Commission and the Fair Rent Commission.

Mr. Patterson stated that the photocopier in the office is on it’s way out. Also, he had contacted the IT Department because the office is slated to receive new computers in April. Mr. Pattersoon requested that this be fast-tracked, if at all possible.

The meeting was adjourned at 9:05 pm.

Respectfully submitted,

Kate Kye

Telesco Secretarial Services