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Roseville Human Rights Commission Minutes January 11, 2011 Page 4 of 5 Third Noah Livingston HM Christian Favazza HM Tim Schnell HM I. S. RAMS Mr. Jeff Bibeau Parkview Mr. Lucas Ebert RAMS Mr. Jeff Bibeau RAMS Ms. Kerry Gamble Curti reminded commissioners that the students will be invited to the February 28 City Council meeting. The top three winners would read their essays and the families would be invited for a reception. She reminded commissioners of the importance of their attending the meeting. 5c. Initiatives for 2011 Chair Singleton explained that he looked into cities offering mediation for residents. He found that Bloomington, Minneapolis, St. Cloud, St. Paul and Winona offer mediation. Minneapolis, St. Paul and St. Cloud have paid staff, while Bloomington and Winona have Human Rights Commission volunteers conduct mediations. Chair Singleton said by offering mediation services for human rights complaints in the City, the Commission becomes more engaged. It educates the community about issues and it helps the City to resolve something before it becomes a bigger issue. He noted that the City used to mediate complaints but has not done so for many years. Chair Singleton spoke with a Bloomington staff member to see how they handle complaints. A complaint first goes to the Administration Department, which then sends it to the Commission Chair. The Chair reviews it to see whether it is within the city's jurisdiction and whether it falls under the Human Rights Act. If it does, it is assigned to a qualified mediator. Bloomington has two commissioners who are qualified mediators. The Commission then offers no -fault mediation services. Services are offered at mutually agreed upon time. If an agreement is reached, the City Attorney reviews. If it is not, the mediation is closed and the grievant can pursue other avenues. Bloomington had 27 complaints in 2009 and 21 complaints in 2010. Chair Singleton opened the floor for discussion. Commissioners asked how many complaints relevant to Roseville were filed at the Department of Human Rights (DHR). Chair Singleton said that DHR could only release aggregate data. In 2008, 11 complaints were filed and in 2009, eight complaints were filed. Five were for employment; seven disability; three national origin; four race; two religion and two sex. He noted that 13 complaints were dismissed, four had no probable cause, one was withdrawn and one had a settlement. Commissioners asked for clarification or details of the discrimination charges because it would help the city to better understand the issues in Roseville. Chair Singleton said it would require City Council to approve the HRC taking on this responsibility. He noted that it costs about $800 for a person to receive training. Commissioner Jaeger asked whether a trained mediator would have to be a member of the HRC.