(A) Upon the filing or referral of a complaint as herein provided, the Mayor shall cause to be made a prompt and full investigation of the matter stated in the complaint; provided, however, that before any charge becomes accepted for investigative purposes, the Mayor or an investigator shall have personally reviewed with the charging party the allegations contained therein and shall have determined that the charge comes within the provisions of this chapter. In the event the review results in the determination that a particular charge does not come within the provisions of this chapter, the charging party shall be given a clear and concise explanation of the reasons why it does not.
(B) If the Mayor determines that there is not probable cause to believe that a particular alleged discriminatory housing practice has been committed, the Mayor shall take no further action with respect to that alleged offense.
(C) During or after the investigation, but subsequent to the mailing of the notice of complaint, the Mayor shall, if it appears that a discriminatory housing practice has occurred or is threatening to occur, attempt by informal endeavors to effect conciliation, including voluntary discontinuance of the discriminatory housing practice, and to obtain adequate assurance of future voluntary compliance with provisions of this chapter. Nothing said or done in the course of those informal endeavors may be made public by the Mayor, the City Council, the investigator, the conciliator, the charging party, or the respondent, or be used as evidence in a subsequent proceeding without the written consent of all persons concerned.
(D) Upon completion of an investigation where the Mayor has made a determination that a discriminatory housing practice has in fact occurred, if the Mayor is unable to secure from the respondent an acceptable conciliation agreement, then the City Council must, upon a majority vote, refer the case to the City Attorney for prosecution in Municipal Court or to other agencies as appropriate. With this recommendation of the Mayor and the referral of the City Council, the Mayor shall refer his or her entire file to the City Attorney. The City Attorney shall, after this referral, make a determination as to whether to proceed with prosecution of the complaint in Municipal Court.
(Ord. 330, passed 12-2-1996)