APRIL 20, 2006

ATTENDANCE: Dr. Barbara Amodio, Chair; Carol Frank; Bea Brown; Sarah Mann; Sara Sikes;
Vicky Su; Dr. Stabinsky

STAFF: Elisabeth Youngerman

OTHER: Carol Davis; Jon Gottlieb; Lisa Biagiarelli, Tax Collector, City of Norwalk/
N.A.S.A. Rep; Ken Whitman, Tax Assessor, City of Norwalk/
N.A.S.A. Board of Directors; Carvin Hilliard, Common Council

CALL TO ORDER

Dr. Amodio called the meeting to order at 7:35 p.m. She welcomed the members of the public.

APPROVAL OF MINUTES OF MARCH 2006 MEETING

** MS. SIKES MOVED APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES OF MARCH 2006 AS AMENDED, AND WITH ALL THE COMMENTS AND REVISIONS STATED.

The corrections to the minutes are as follows:

On page 1, under ATTENDANCE, Raoul Dupervil’s name should be changed to Rahoul Dupervil.

On page 2, under Director’s Report, 5th sentence, change the word “prepared” to “designed”.

On page 2, under Director’s Report, 7th sentence, change the word “negotiations” to “investigation”.

On page 3, 2nd paragraph, 9th sentence, add “particularly Hispanic Americans, of which during her 7 years of the Vice Consul, she learned that Costa Rican Americans in Norwalk were the highest number in the United States, and that might be a place to begin” after the word “area”.

On page 3, 2nd paragraph, 10th sentence, add “because such communities were too divided and it would not be efficient use of our time” at the end of the sentence.

Dr. Stabinsky said that he did not recall Dr. Grose saying that as did Ms. Sikes.

Dr. Amodio added for the record “if a community was divided, that was all the more reason to reach out to them.” She said that was her correction and she was standing by it.

On page 3, 3rd paragraph, 5th sentence, change the word “on” to “with”, and add the word “teachers” to the end of the sentence.

On page 3, 4th paragraph, 5th sentence, change the words “resource directory” to “Human Relations brochure”.

On page 3, 4th paragraph, 6th sentence, it should read “The resource directory proved to be a huge undertaking for the intern, as all of the information from the resource directory by the Norwalk Healthy Families Collaborative had to be updated.”

On page 4, 1st paragraph, the last two sentences should be combined to read: “She sent a letter to the Finance Department to see how to get funds for the estimating part of the ADA Transition Plan”.

On page 4, under Diversity Committee, 3rd sentence, insert the word “a” before woman.

** MS. SU SECONDED.
** MOTION PASSED WITH THREE (3) VOTES IN FAVOR (AMODIO, SIKES, SU), THREE (3) VOTES ABSTAINED (BROWN, FRANK, MANN) AND ONE (1) OPPOSED (STABINSKY).

Ms. Sikes said that the vote didn’t pass. Dr. Amodio said that she voted to approve the minutes as revised.

CHAIRLADY’S REPORT

Dr. Amodio said that this month she attended the opening of the Haitian American Society of Norwalk’s wing office. The Vice Consul from New York was there. She was interviewed on the Haitian television station in French. She had introduced the new commissioner, Ms. Carol Frank, at the opening, and she said that Mr. Dupervil was in attendance as well. There was a French presentation by the Vice Consul for the Governor’s Advisory Commission on Francophone Affairs. She said the office staff did a great job in decorating the office and providing some refreshments. Ms. Youngerman said they will be in full operation next Wednesday, offering walk-in hours between 10:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m.

She said there have been some legal opinions requested of Corporation Counsel for some time, and she is still awaiting a response. She expects to have them shortly as did Ms. Sikes.

Dr. Stabinsky asked if the request for the legal opinions were from a commissioner or as a citizen, or both. Ms. Mann replied that she requested them, and she didn’t think it would be a problem if she asked for some clarification regarding the by-laws because it seemed they were open to interpretation. She felt that they needed a can-do list for the Director, a can-do list for the Commission, and a can-do list for both, along with an organizational chart. Dr. Amodio said that prior and independently, as a Chair, she asked for a reading and legal interpretation of their ordinance and anything else that Mr. Nolin thought was important and relevant. Ms. Sikes asked Dr. Amodio what she had asked for, as she had known what Ms. Mann asked for because she had received her email. Dr. Amodio said she asked him to clarify the roles of the Commissioners and the role of the Executive Director and to clarify that in any helpful way that he could. She said that she had only asked for the clarification of the roles and the ordinance. She did not ask for an organizational chart. Dr. Stabinsky said that when the by-laws were written and approved by this Commission, it was requested that Mr. Patterson, as Acting Director, transmit the by-laws that were approved by the Commission to the powers that be. Dr. Stabinsky said that he didn’t know who the powers were, but he asked if anyone knew if Mr. Patterson had accomplished that.
Dr. Amodio said that Ms. Youngerman can request that information. Dr. Stabinsky clarified for Ms. Youngerman that on March 17, 2005, the Commission approved the by-laws. He said that after that meeting, he requested Mr. Patterson to transmit the by-laws to whomever. Dr. Amodio said that subsequent to her request, she had been told there might be questions about the by-laws, and that her position should be the same as the Commission, and that they have to wait for Corporation Counsel to give them the city’s legal opinion. Dr. Stabinsky asked if it was on the legality of their by-laws. She said she expects that the ordinance and the by-laws will be looked at, and they have to abide by the ordinance and the opinion of the Corporation Counsel, whatever it may be. Ms. Sikes asked if Mr. Hilliard, in attendance at the meeting representing the Common Council, had any comments. Mr. Hilliard said he read the ordinance. He said he didn’t have any comments on the by-laws. He said that what he mentioned at the Common Council meeting, was that he was interested in the Commission’s workings, as it is important to the city. From a taxpayer’s perspective, they are funding this. He felt a responsibility to come to the meeting and see if things were functioning. Ms. Sikes clarified that it was Mr. Herb Grant, Chairman of the Personnel Committee, who had inquired into the Commission. Dr. Amodio clarified that her only communication had been to the Mayor, and indirectly to the Common Council. That is who she takes the information from. She said that they have to fulfill the ordinance, not destroy it. Dr. Stabinsky asked Dr. Amodio that when she communicated to the Corporation Counsel as Chair of the Human Rights Commission, was it in writing, and could she provide it to the Commission. Dr. Amodio replied that she had one verbal communication via telephone, and one written communication. He requested that since she was the Chair of the commission that he sits on, he would like to see the communication. Dr. Amodio responded that if she had deleted it or didn’t save it, she would request a copy from Corporation Counsel.

DIRECTOR’S REPORT

Ms. Youngerman provided her report.

STATISTICS

Ms. Youngerman said that they were very busy in March. They took in 80 new cases, which was the second busiest month since she had been there. Of the 80 cases, 4 were human relations intakes. Their description was provided on the sheet, which had been modified to read easier. The statistical sheet has the summary on it.

Under Personnel and Office issues in her report, she said that Ms. Carol Frank was approved by the Common Council on March 28, 2006. A revised roster has been provided for everyone, which includes Ms. Frank’s contact information.

Under Activities and Short-Term Goals, she said that she and Ms. Martinez did participate at the end of March in a program at Diageo, where they distributed brochures and other information from the office. Diageo opened the lunchroom to visiting organizations. Ms. Youngerman and Ms. Martinez met with everyone as they came in for lunch and explained to them what they do. More recently, Ms. Youngerman she met with Curriculum Manager Michael Fryer for CHRO, and Ellen Bromley, who oversees the office that is similar to theirs in Stamford. She summarized her meeting with Mr. Fryer, and said that CHRO is now reaching out to them, and they want to work with them by bringing a group of 15 local CHRO related organizations together. This will take place in August, and she will be working with Mr. Fryer over the next several months to prepare for it. She said Mr. Fryer took some brochures to distribute to the other commissions. She said he helped her understand what information and resources are available to the Commission through CHRO. Ms. Brown expressed interest in attending the August meeting. It will be held in Hartford. Ms. Youngerman said she will provide information to the Commission as it becomes available.

Under Outreach, Ms. Youngerman said they participated in the program at Diageo. Now that they have finished the Human Relations brochure, they did a mass mailing of the brochure. She said the intern, Ms. Cipriano, is following up with phone calls to all the organizations that they were sent to in order to be sure the brochures are being used, if they need more, or if an organization was omitted.

She said the basic work on the Resource Directory has been completed, and they have given it to Ms. Victoria Schilling at the Norwalk Health Department for additional corrections and comments. Ms. Youngerman expects to have that done in May. Dr. Amodio asked Ms. Youngerman to provide a draft to the Commissioners for their review. Ms. Youngerman will forward the draft to the Commissioners when she receives it from Ms. Schilling.

She said they completed the ADA Etiquette Handbook, thanks to Ms. Mann, and it was distributed to all employees about a week ago. Next week, she hopes to start working with Corporation Counsel on the department evaluations, which is the 4th step. The three steps of the ADA compliance program have been completed. When the department evaluations are complete, she will provide a report of the findings to the Commission.

She said that next week, there is a meeting at the Human Services Council where all the local organizations who are involved with special needs groups, disabilities, and health issues are invited. This is a large networking meeting for organizations to come and talk about what additional resources they need or can share with each other. She will email the Commissioner’s with the meeting information, and she will provide a report after the meeting.

She said she provided information on the May 1 meeting with the Connecticut office of Protection Advocacy for People with Disabilities. The two sessions will be held from 3:00-5:00 p.m. and 6:00-8:00 p.m. Anyone with disabilities can attend the meeting and speak to the State representatives, and the information will be used in their planning for next year. The flyer has been sent to HSC and other offices and organizations. The transportation department has agreed to put notices on the buses and provide rides.

She said they received four responses to the RFP for the diversity training program. The request was sent to all the contractors on the State approved list. They also advertised, as they are required to do under the Procurement Guidelines. They received four applications. The members of the diversity committee will meet on Monday, 4/27/06 at 4:00 p.m. with Mr. Foley, the Purchasing Agent. They will be using scoring sheets to rank the applicants, and the top two applicants will be interviewed after that process is complete. She expects to be able to make a full presentation at the next Commission meeting.

Ms. Youngerman reiterated that there were 80 intake cases for the month of March, which was almost double what they had in February. Of the 4 human relations issues, 1 was a discrimination question involving a hostile work environment. It was a walk-in appointment, and she was able to answer the person’s questions. Two of the other three issues were wage hour questions. The staff can access the forms on the website for the people so that they can go home and fill out the paperwork. The other issue was in the Stamford area, so it was referred to Ellen Bromley in the Stamford office. There was an ADA complaint filed, and it was discussed in the statistics last month. It is in the process of being withdrawn because the group of people who were participants in the investigation made a resolution. Ms. Youngerman confirmed for Ms. Sikes that she does the investigating work for the ADA. She said that in this particular case, there were experts that came from the Board of Education Services for the Blind, who did an observation of the child in the program. The situation turned out to be how the staff handled it and the physical accommodations.

Ms. Su asked if the places and locations in the city are becoming more ADA compliant. Ms. Youngerman replied that in her report under the ADA Compliance issue, they are working with Corporation Counsel first on doing the program, because they can do it in-house. Then the physical evaluations can be done on the forms that they can get from through the Federal Government. They don’t have a price tag on it right now, as they don’t know what accommodations are needed. She will be working with the Facilities Manager, Alan Lo, to do the estimating without having the funding. Ms. Su asked if there was a time constraint on when this will be done. Dr. Stabinsky said that they have been working on it for 10 years, and prior to Ms. Youngerman’s arrival, Sonja was working on it. He reminded everyone that in last month’s minutes, he wanted to make that very strong so that the Mayor would realize that the city is not in compliance with the Federal law, it’s a big deal and it needs to be done. Ms. Youngerman said they are starting with the programs and services portion first, and then they will do the physical portion. She doesn’t expect the program and services part to take more than two months.

OLD BUSINESS

Ms. Sikes asked about the status of Mr. Geake’s request regarding the disability commission. The Commissioners said that they weren’t aware of anything on this.

Committee Reports

1. Public Relations

1. Disability Rights/ADA

2. Diversity

Ms. Youngerman said that the above three topics were discussed in her report. She said that they haven’t had any meetings recently, but plan to do so soon. There is a diversity meeting on Monday, 4/24/06 at 4:00 p.m.

NEW BUSINESS

Ms. Brown said that in the ordinance book, under Chapter 60, Human Relations Commission, on pages J & K, she found two things that they need to discuss. She wasn’t asking for a vote on them, but she was asking for direction as she felt they weren’t going in the direction the Commission was set up to go, since the problems started. She said to leave the hiring part alone. She referenced the following: “All personnel should work in cooperation with and under the guidance of the Commissioners, and the salaries of personnel shall be recommended by the Commission and approved by the Common Council.” She referred to Section J, where it said: “For the fiscal year (67), they should prepare the budget and present it to the Common Council for them to vote on it, as well as the Comptroller’s Office.” She thought they should have a budget that they could approve in order to know how much money they have, how much they spent, and when the budget comes up in May, that if they can apply, they can get it under the guidelines of the May issue. She said she remembers listening to report presentations, but she doesn’t remember seeing reports or approved them or discussed them. She thought that since the Commission is supposed to be in charge, that prior to the reports being finalized, that the Commission would have a chance to discuss it. She thought that they would have to get a legal opinion on this. She felt that most of the reports they review are generally good, but she felt that they should have some input towards them, since they are supposed to be in charge. She felt the input would be especially helpful regarding the Finance Department, as the Commission would then know how much money they have, how the money is spent, and how the budget is set up. Ms. Brown said she had reviewed this information thoroughly and had checked with the City Clerk to make sure everything was complete. All of the information is in the City Code. She felt that the Commission needs to take more of an interest, and some things should come before the Commission for their vote before they are put into motion. Dr. Amodio said that Ms. Brown’s remarks were well taken.

Dr. Stabinsky said his recollection was that every year before the Human Relations Commission meets with the Board of Estimate in terms of asking for a budget, that budget proposal is done here. That was done with Sonja, and Larry, and now with Ms. Youngerman. He said that as Commissioners, they would add or subtract from some columns. The budget was done and approved by the Commission every single year that he has been on the Commission, and not done behind anyone’s back. There was some discussion among the Commissioners about how this process had been handled in the past. Ms. Youngerman confirmed that the budget process for this year was done with Dr. Amodio and Mr. Booth. She said that the budget was submitted as a full department. Dr. Amodio said that there was debate over whether the budget would be unitary or not. She asked if there were any changes to budget after that meeting. Ms. Youngerman replied the only change that the three of them discussed at the meeting was the addition of funding for disability training for next year.

Dr. Amodio clarified with Ms. Brown that she was also asking for an explanation before the Commission of the various categories of spending as they go through the year. Ms. Brown said she felt each expense should be recorded, in order to have it justified in case they need to ask for more money. She wished to correct Dr. Stabinsky that she does not remember approving the budget in the time she has been on the Commission. She said that if it one of their responsibilities, she thought it should be done. Dr. Stabinsky said that on December 15, 2005, there was a correction to the minutes, and it was amended as follows: “They spent time with Mr. Booth of the Fair Rent Commission to go over things for next year. They put in $10,000 for education and training in the budget, which is the only increase for next year.” He said the minutes were approved by the Commission. He said he has budgets that were handed to him at the Commission meetings, where they discussed them. He said the only reason the Commission would ever approach the Common Council would be to plead against cuts in the budget. Ms. Brown said the information that Dr. Stabinsky just read was what Ms. Youngerman and Dr. Amodio had done, and it was after the fact. Dr. Amodio said her impression was that the meeting that took place was preliminary, with no indication that it would be the firm budget or not. She said she was pleasantly surprised that Mr. Booth was leaning toward a unified budget rather than splitting the budget between the Fair Rent Commission and the Human Relations Commission, with 80% or some percentage for Fair Rent, and 20% of the office staff for Human Relations. They then attempted to get categories that were workable, and she understood them to be in draft form. Since that time, she has heard that there are changes, additions, RFP’s, and translators/interpreters that she has no recollection of. She said that moving forward, there are always working sessions, and she was sure that they can resolve this and work toward a good future with everyone on the same page. Ms. Sikes wanted to confirm that the budget hadn’t been approved by the Commission, and she felt that Ms. Brown had a good point. There was some discussion among the Commissioners about whether or not they remembered approving a budget during a meeting. Mr. Hilliard confirmed for the Commission that the budget becomes final the first week of May.

Ms. Brown asked if the Human Relations Commission budget was together with the Fair Rent Commission budget. She felt that the Human Relations Commission should have their own budget, as all the other departments do. She offered to look into how to get this done. Ms. Sikes said that since none of the attendees at this evening’s meeting had been at all the other meetings, they should ask Ms. Youngerman how the budget process worked this year, and then they would know and could decide. Ms. Brown said that there is not another department that has two budgets, and it was not to be a reflection on Mr. Booth and/or the Fair Rent Commission. She said that if it’s included in Mr. Booth’s budget, she will ask why and recommend against it.
Ms. Mann said that she thinks Mr. Booth wanted his own budget, also. That was her recollection from when she was on the Fair Rent Commission. Dr. Amodio said that she has argued during the task force about this Commission that the staffs not be merged. She further advanced the argument that the quantification of the Fair Rent issues in no way represented the intense work for even 4 Human Relations cases. Some more discussion followed on the history of how the two departments worked in the past, and how the separate intakes were recorded and thereby reflected in the budget. Ms. Youngerman, at Ms. Su’s suggestion, said she will prepare a memo on the budget process. The Commissioners agreed that from what Ms. Brown read to them from the ordinance, the budget approval is their responsibility. Ms. Su confirmed that they don’t want to reverse the budget approval process, they just want to know the right procedure for the future. Ms. Brown said that they could petition this. Mr. Hilliard agreed that he would support a separate budget.

Ms. Sikes said that Ms. Brown had a good point, but that a political struggle could ensue, and she wanted to confirm that Ms. Brown would speak for herself, and not on behalf of the Commission. Dr. Amodio then clarified that as Commissioners, they carry the oath of office with them to uphold the ordinance 24/7. They hopefully will be able to bring things back to the full Commission for activity and concert and benefit of each other’s advice. Ms. Sikes wanted to confirm that the Commission shouldn’t speak unless they were all in agreement, and she said she would appreciate it if everyone would do that, including the Chair. Ms. Brown said she won’t say she’s speaking for herself; she’ll state her name and then proceed with what she has to say. Dr. Amodio said that those were certainly Ms. Brown’s 1st Amendment rights.

Dr. Amodio formally welcomed the new Commissioner, Carol Frank. She said that Commissioner Frank has a background in housing issues, and she has expressed a desire to be the Commission’s eyes and ears on the Fair Housing Advisory Commission. She said that the Commission does select a person for a potentially renewable one-year term to be their eyes and ears sitting on the Fair Housing Advisory Commission, which is not equivalent to the Fair Rent Commission. Ms. Frank said she was on Redevelopment until two years ago, and she was their representative for Fair Housing. She said she was also a member of the joint commission between the Chamber of Commerce and the City of Norwalk doing a 6-month study on affordable housing. She said that none of the ideas suggested in the study have been implemented to date. She would like to continue being involved with affordable housing.

Dr. Amodio said that Mr. Dupervil was never renewed in that one-year capacity, and his term has expired.

** MS. MANN MOVED TO APPROVE CAROL FRANK TO THE FAIR HOUSING ADVISORY COMMISSION AS THE HUMAN RELATIONS COMMISSION REPRESENTATIVE.
** MS. BROWN SECONDED.
** MOTION PASSED WITH FIVE (5) VOTES IN FAVOR (SIKES, AMODIO, BROWN, MANN, SU) AND ONE (1) VOTE OPPOSED (STABINSKY).

Dr. Amodio thanked Ms. Frank and said she looks forward to her report.

ADJOURNMENT

** MS. SIKES MOVED TO ADJOURN.
** MS. SU SECONDED.
** MOTION PASSED UNANIMOUSLY.

The meeting was adjourned at 9:05 p.m.

Respectfully submitted,

Carolyn Marr
Telesco Secretarial Services

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