MASON CITY – The Mason City Human Rights Commission will meet on Thursday for its monthly meeting.
The agenda calls for a discussion on an “operations report” proposed by Commissioner Brian McNamara, who was appointed by Mayor Eric Bookmeyer. The operations report would be a chart listing all of the commission’s housing and employment case activities each month, including monthly expenses.
Bookmeyer and the Mason City Council have floated the idea of eliminating housing and employment cases from the scope of work the Human Rights Commission handles.
NIT is told from an insider that McNamara worked with Mayor Eric Bookmeyer to come up with the idea of the chart. Bookmeyer “wants to compile numbers as he did a couple of years ago to put the commission out of business,” the insider told NIT.
NIT is also told that originally, McNamara wanted the types of cases the commission is handling added to the chart as well as the names of the parties involved, but that information is confidential and he was told it could not be disclosed.
More on this item after Thursday’s meeting.
Hi J, sorry I jumped in on your debate but I just wanted to give my own input.
4ever49….WOW I would hate for you to run my company and report to me that you didn’t go to any meetings because they are a waste of time . You are so uninformed and don’t know what you are talking about. Most people that live out of town work in Mason City or in Cerro Gordo County a lot of cases are work related if you went to the meetings you would know this. I for one I’m tired of your feelings on this matter until you spend the time and start going to meetings you have no factual information and I am wasting my time debating you.
The state of Iowa already provides this service.
As a Mason City taxpayer I’m all for anything that will reduce duplicative spending.
Is there a way to impeach the mayor?????
The way beermeyer looks someone should look into his taxpayer funded expense card.
This is no more than another in an on going attack by this pathetic excuse of a fat man. Throw in his trained monkey turncoat,a yes man council and these cronies he put on every commission to carry out his evil and it spells doom for this community.
They seem to find every grant available for private business downtown. Helping the poor and discriminated against are not one of their priorities.
This is a shame. The mayor is going to use his chart to discredit the H.R. Agency by showing that a good portion of the claims come from outside of Mason City. He will pick and choose the INFO so it is shaded to his advantage and no one else will be prepared to discredit him as he will have numbers. The important thing to remember is that numbers can be arranged in many different formats to show many different things. Matt’s idea is a great one. Make it a regional agency and get it out of the city juristriction. This is nothing more than a vendetta by the mayor to do what he promised his buddy at I.C. Systems when he got help for his election. He stacked the deck with commissioners to set this whole thing up.
Who is Brian McNamara? Where does he work?
I think a chart of housing and employment complaints would have a hard time proving the lack of need for the Commission in Mason City. Back in May 2010, it showed Mason City had the 2nd most heavy caseload of the State. I doubt it has changed that much. If anything, it should show the need for getting money from other tax districts that use the Commission’s services. That is the solution, not disbanding the Commission. If the Council ever disbands the Commission without pursuing other avenues of obtaining financing, they are either just plain lazy or I might have to start believing your conspiracy theory.
Mr. Mayor and City Council Members, start finding other ways to finance the Commission instead of ways to shut it down. This is a needed service in our area. There are solutions to this problem. Start looking for them. Rename it the North Central Iowa Human Rights Commission. Assess usage fees by city and/or county, if necessary, or by population. Do your jobs and prove Matt wrong.