(A) The City Manager shall designate one or more employees in the administrative services of the city to serve, in addition to other duties, as “Housing Compliance Officer.”
(B) When any person files a complaint in writing with the Housing Compliance Officer charging that an unlawful discriminatory practice has been committed, the Housing Compliance Officer shall conduct an investigation of such complaint.
(C) The Housing Compliance Officer shall conduct investigations of alleged unlawful discriminatory practices and, subject to legal limitations, shall have access at all reasonable times to premises, records, documents, individuals, and other evidence or possible sources of evidence and may examine, record and copy such materials and take and record the testimony or statement of such persons as are reasonably necessary for the furtherance of the investigation.
(D) In such investigations, the Housing Compliance Officer shall comply with the Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution relating to unreasonable searches and seizures. The Housing Compliance Officer may ask that Council issue subpoenas to compel access to or the production of such materials, or the appearance of such persons, and may issue interrogatories to a respondent.
(E) The Housing Compliance Officer shall attempt to achieve a just resolution of the complaint and to obtain assurances, where appropriate, that the person charged with an unlawful discriminatory practice will satisfactorily remedy any violations of the rights of the person aggrieved and will take such action as will assure the elimination of discriminatory housing practices or the prevention of their occurrence in the future. The terms of such agreement shall be reduced to a written conciliation agreement, signed by both parties.
(F) The Housing Compliance Officer shall maintain records and statistics regarding the enforcement, implementation and effect of discriminatory practices in housing.
(G) In the event that efforts to secure compliance with this chapter by the Housing Compliance Officer are unsuccessful, the complainant may file a civil action in Lebanon Municipal Court.
(Ord. 1759, passed 2-27-73; Am. Ord. 4082, passed 4-25-78)