(A) Council hereby authorizes the ADA Coordinator to adopt and publish grievance procedures for the prompt and equitable resolution of complaints alleging the city’s non-compliance with the ADA.
(B) The following ADA grievance procedure is hereby adopted:
(1) All complaints regarding access or alleged discrimination shall be submitted, in writing, to the ADA Coordinator for resolution. A record of the complaint and action taken will be maintained. A decision by the ADA Coordinator will be rendered within 15 working days.
(2) If the complaint cannot be resolved to the satisfaction of the complainant by the ADA Coordinator, it will be forwarded to the ADA Board, as established in § 214.03 of this chapter.
(3) The Board shall establish ground rules or procedures for hearing complaints, requests or suggestions from disabled persons regarding access to and participation in public facilities, services, activities and functions in the community. Further, the Board shall hear such complaints in public, after adequate public notice is given, in an unbiased, objective manner. The Board shall issue a written decision within 30 days of notification. All proceedings of the Board shall be recorded, transcripted and maintained.
(4) If the complaint cannot be resolved to the complainant’s satisfaction by the Board, the complaint shall be heard by Council. An open, public meeting of Council will precede the vote. A determination must be made within 30 days of the hearing. The decision of Council is final.
(5) A record of the action taken on each request or complaint must be maintained as a part of the records or minutes at each level of the grievance process.
(C) The individual’s right to a prompt and equitable resolution of the complaint must not be impaired by his or her pursuit of other remedies, such as the filing of a complaint with the U.S. Department of Justice or any other appropriate federal agency. Furthermore, the filing of a lawsuit in a state court or in the Federal District Court can occur at any time. The use of this grievance procedure is not a prerequisite to the pursuit of other remedies.
(Prior Code, § 212.02) (Ord. 35-1992, passed 3-9-1992; Ord. 174-1992, passed 11-9-1992)