(A) The City of Lawrenceburg adopts the 2010 American with Disabilities Act Standards for Accessible Design and the 2005 Guidelines for Accessible Public Rights. In accordance with the requirements of title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (“ADA”), the City of Lawrenceburg, Indiana will not discriminate against qualified individuals with disabilities on the basis of disability in its services, programs, or activities.
(B) Employment: the City of Lawrenceburg, Indiana does not discriminate on the basis of disability in its hiring or employment practices and complies with all regulations promulgated by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission under Title I of the ADA.
(C) Effective communication: the City of Lawrenceburg, Indiana will generally, upon request, provide appropriate aids and services leading to effective communication for qualified persons with disabilities so they can participate equally in the city’s programs, services, and activities, including qualified sign language interpreters, documents in Braille, and other ways of making information and communications accessible to people who have speech, hearing, or vision impairments.
(D) Modifications to policies and procedures.
(1) The City of Lawrenceburg will make all reasonable modifications to policies and programs to ensure that people with disabilities have an equal opportunity to enjoy all of its programs, services, and activities. For example, individuals with service animals are welcomed in the City of Lawrenceburg offices, even where pets are generally prohibited.
(2) Anyone who requires an auxiliary aid or service for effective communication, or a modification of policies or procedures to participate in a program, service, or activity of the City of Lawrenceburg should contact the ADA Coordinator at 812-537-7136, as soon as possible but no later than 48 hours before the scheduled event.
(3) The ADA does not require the City of Lawrenceburg to take any action that would fundamentally alter the nature of its programs or services, or impose an undue financial or administrative burden.
(4) Complaints that a program, service, or activity of the City of Lawrenceburg is not accessible to persons with disabilities should be directed to the ADA Coordinator at 812-537-7136.
(5) The City of Lawrenceburg will not place a surcharge on a particular individual with a disability or any group of individuals with disabilities to cover the cost of providing auxiliary aids/services or reasonable modifications of policy, such as retrieving items from locations that are open to the public but are not accessible to persons who use wheelchairs.
(E) City of Lawrenceburg grievance procedure under the Americans with Disabilities Act. This grievance procedure is established to meet the requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (“ADA”). It may be used by anyone who wishes to file a complaint alleging discrimination on the basis of disability in the provision of services, activities, programs, or benefits by the City of Lawrenceburg. The city’s Personnel Policy governs employment-related complaints of disability discrimination. The procedure to file a grievance is as follows:
(1) A formal written grievance should be filed on the ADA Grievance Form. An oral grievance can be filed by contacting the ADA Coordinator. The oral grievance will be reduced to writing by the ADA Coordinator utilizing the ADA Grievance Form. Additionally, individuals filing a grievance are not required to file a grievance with the City of Lawrenceburg, but may instead exercise their right to file a grievance with the Department of Justice. The grievance must include:
(a) The name, address, and telephone number of the person filing the grievance.
(b) The name, address, and telephone number of the person alleging the ADA violation, if other than the person filing the grievance.
(c) A description and location of the alleged violation and the remedy sought.
(d) Information regarding whether a complaint has been filed with the Department of Justice or other federal or state civil rights agency or court.
(e) If a complaint has been filed, the name of the agency or court where the complaint was filed, and the date the complaint was filed.
(2) The grievance will be either responded to or acknowledged within ten working days of receipt. If the grievance filed does not concern a City of Lawrenceburg facility, it will be forwarded to the appropriate agency and the grievant will be notified.
(3) Within 60 calendar days of receipt, the ADA Coordinator will conduct the investigation necessary to determine the validity of the alleged violation. If appropriate, the ADA Coordinator will arrange to meet with the grievant to discuss the matter and attempt to reach a resolution of the grievance. Any resolution of the grievance will be documented in the city’s ADA grievance file. The ADA Coordinator may, at his/her discretion, request an appropriate member of the ADAAC to be present at the meeting with the grievant.
(4) If a resolution of the grievance is not reached, a written determination as to the validity of the complaint and description of the resolution, if appropriate, shall be issued by the ADA Coordinator and a copy forwarded to the grievant no later than 90 days from the date of the City of Lawrenceburg’s receipt of the grievance.
(5) The grievant may appeal the written determination. The request for reconsideration shall be in writing and filed with the Indiana Department of Transportation Ombudsman within 30 days after the ADA Coordinator’s determination has been mailed to the grievant. The city’s ombudsman shall review the request for reconsideration and make a final determination within 90 days from the filing of the request for reconsideration.
(6) If the grievant is dissatisfied with the City of Lawrenceburg’s handling of the grievance at any stage of the process or does not wish to file a grievance through the city’s ADA grievance procedure, the grievant may file a complaint directly with the United States Department of Justice or other appropriate state or federal agency.
(F) The resolution of any specific grievance will require consideration of varying circumstances, such as the specific nature of the disability; the nature of the access to services, programs, or facilities at issue and the essential eligibility requirements for participation; the health and safety of others; and the degree to which an accommodation would constitute a fundamental alteration to the program, service, or facility, or cause an undue hardship to the City of Lawrenceburg. Accordingly, the resolution by the City of Lawrenceburg of any one grievance does not constitute a precedent upon which the city is bound or upon which other complaining parties may rely.
(G) The City of Lawrenceburg’s ADA Coordinator shall maintain ADA grievance files for a period of three years.
(Res. 13-2012, passed 8-20-12)