by Matt Marquardt –
MASON CITY – Mayor Eric Bookmeyer and the Mason City Council along with City Administrator Brent Trout are probing the Mason City Human Rights Department and commission at this time.
The Mayor and Council are set to meet with the commission and the rest of the department on Thursday at 4:30 PM at City Hall for a work session.
According to a memo from Trout to the mayor and council, Bookmeyer asked for input from the council “regarding information you would like to see regarding the metrics for the Human Rights Department.”
The council then compiled a list of requests for information from the department regarding how cases that come before the commission are handled, the time it takes to handle them, who is involved in handling the cases (“friends” of the commission and commissioners themselves), total number of cases over the last three years, and more. According to the memo, the council and mayor are seeking to compare Mason City’s Human Rights Department and Commission with other Iowa cities as far as case load size, how the organization operates and its budget. Among the questions submitted was “What would the departmental budget look like if the Commission’s role was limited to housing related issues?” The commission currently handles a wide range of cases including housing, employment cases and age and sex discrimination.
The commission filed a series of responses to the questions. You can read all the questions and answers in the work session packet for Thursday’s meeting, available here.
As part of the probe of the department, City Administrator Trout went to the city’s attorney, Randall E. Nielsen, for a “legal opinion” on the commission’s “code of conduct” for commissioners and the rules and penalties if questionable conduct by a commissioner takes place. (The commission has final say on whether to approve a mayor’s appointments to the commission.)
“You have asked me to review the Code of Ethical Conduct passed by the Mason City Human Rights Commission,” Nielson wrote in his response to Trout. “the Commission has purported to prohibit, for example, any ‘restrictions, improper influences, or pressure, either direct or indirect, in any capacity from any source.’ This is an extremely broad and subjective prohibition requiring interpretation as to what is improper and what is pressure. In order to be enforced, (the code) would require highly subjective judgments and interpretations.
“Although I admit that my search has not been comprehensive,” Nielsen continued, “l have located no non-mandated code of ethical
conduct that has been both created and exclusively enforced by a local board or commission such as the Mason City Human Rights Commission. Others governmental bodies have created ethical codes, but enforcement is left to independent and/or statutorily appointed authorities.
“I conclude that the enforcement provisions of the Code of Ethics passed by the Mason City Human Rights Commission are beyond the power and authority of the Commission. The remedy… is to refer the matter to the mayor.”
This legal opinion, obtained on October 1, 2012, comes in the wake of grumblings that there are two commissioners that Bookmeyer appointed to the Human Rights Commission that sources say are intent on analyzing “how” the commission works instead of focusing on the case load before the commission.
At the commission’s most recent meeting, on November 1, 2012, Commissioner Steve Palmer, appointed by Bookmeyer, explained that he has concerns about some of the “traditional” methods of how the commission operates. “It’s important that we get some of these things taken care of,” Palmer said, “that have been allowed to maybe be traditionally done but may not fit what is a current law.”
Watch video of discussion by Human Rights Commission on meeting with City Council, and Mr. Palmer’s explanation of his concerns with how the commission conducts business:
httpv://youtu.be/1yZu92ZLR3o
This probe of the Human Rights Department is only the latest move made by Mayor Eric Bookmeyer and Scott Tornquist on the department. In 2010, Bookmeyer and Tornquist moved to shut the Human Rights Department down altogether.
See the following video from a 2010 work session where the closing of the department is discussed and Tornquist offers scenarios where the dollars saved by the city could be spent elsewhere.
httpv://youtu.be/mBkTw1AdeVY
In 2011, Mayor Bookmeyer attended a Human Rights Commission meeting and was confronted by (former) City Council member Max Weaver on his attempts to shut down the department. Watch the video:
httpv://youtu.be/a3BLurtSSG8
Request for information from Mayor Bookmeyer to Human Rights Department (BOOKMEYERPacket Request 10.2.12.doc):
Please compose in an Excel spreadsheet, or applicable report, the following:
For the last 3 years, what are the following metrics/statistics itemized, by housing and employment, in Mason City, Cerro Gordo County, Outside County, and the aggregate:
Compare each Human Rights Commission in Iowa, the Mason City Human Rights Commission and the states commission, with respect to last year’s annual city/state budgeted total, total budget w/ grants, staff size, population of city, housing complaints and employment complaints.
What would the departmental budget look like if the Commissions role was limited to housing related issues?
Annual Incoming Call totals
Annual Intake Log totals
Annual Complaint totals
Annual Fact-finding totals
Annual Fact-finding backlog – number of cases, average and range (min and max length) of process length
Annual Probable cause vs. no probable cause
Annual Cases in Mediation totals
Annual Mediation resolutions in favor of the complaintant vs. respondent
Annual Mediation backlog – number of cases, average and range of process length
Annual Commission hearings
Annual Commission hearings in favor of the complaintant vs. respondent
Annual Commission hearings – number of cases, average and range (min and max length) of process length
Annual Dismissal totals – number of cases, average and range of process length
Annual Court cases – number, average and range of process length
Annual Court cases – decision in favor of the complaintant vs. respondent
Annual average range of total process length
Are there any cases that extend beyond 3 years? If so, what are their numbers and status?
Annual Commissioner utilization for fact-finding
Annual Friend utilization for fact-finding
If employment related issues were deleted from scope (i.e., such issues go to DSM), would the receipt of State/Federal grants be at risk to the extent the Commissions role would be limited to housing? If so, how?
If this tax increase is coming and $200,000 needs to be cut from the budget ….why did the council approve a raise increase for themselves? I believe this question needs an answer!! As their pockets increase we are again asked to give up a community service??? How can they sleep at night, its time to stand up and say enough is enough! There has to be some entity that can be contacted to investigate the council and it’s practice.
The mayor is trying to control and corrupt the Commission. The Commission is supposed to be independent.
We need to support the Commission and Foster. They do a much better job for us than Des Moines can ever do.
We created a Commission here rather than relying on Des Moines for a lot of very good reasons. Don’t let it be taken from us.
Lionel Foster is a credit to the job and moreso a credit to the community. Unlike some on this council, he has no axe to grind, and does an excellent job with a department that, at times,has pressure from both sides which means, at times, no one is satisfied with the outcome.
Marine veteran Foster all I can offer you as time nears Veteran’s Day, “Thanks for your service!”
This seems like a good place for council to dig into. there are costs here that we pay for that the State also offers. This is a way better opportunity to save money than looking at outsourcing sanitation. There have long been questions about the workings of this department. It’s time to get to the truth.
You mean the Mayor want to find out that members of the same family hide behind the commission to complain when HUD wants to kick them out of their subsidized housing because of the multiple police calls to the same address.
The state already has a civil rights commission that can handle the cases free of charge to the local tax payers.
We do away with ours and the outside elements will have nobody to run to when they get busted by the police.
I think the civil rights comission should file HARASSMENT CHARGES AGAINTS these socialists. !
Thank you Matt for posting this and staying on top of it!
I do not blame the Department for providing as their response a bunch of gobeltygook in response on their report.
Who in these positions has time to compile that type of report. There should be a report that is compiled annually and submitted, but to request all this additional extensive information would take going back through individual cases and adding time, etc. etc. etc., probably.
This is harassment.
Looks like these people are trying to do away with equal rights -civil rights – constitution – there socialist agenda is destroying your civil rights – Watch out the commies might be taking over.
Here we go again. These guys just keep trying and trying until they get their way. Foster better watch out or just go ahead and retire. I wouldn’t give them the satisfaction if I was him.