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.
Hi J, sorry for the confusion I meant to say Sandy Servantez didn’t mean for people to think I was talking for you.
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.
Sandy – why does one have to go to meetings to not want to pay for duplicative services? What could possibly transpire at a meeting that would convince me otherwise?
Are you saying the state does not take work related cases?
There is a Department of Motor Vehicles in Des Moines shall we close the DMV here in Mason city and every one go to Des Moines to renew their lic. Is that a duplication of service?
@Sandy-I have been to hundreds if not thousand of meetings in my career and most were a waste of time. We had a saying which was pommp. It means Pee on meetings, make product. Most meetingfs are held only as a ego booster for the ones calling the meeting. It is to show the world that I am in charge. The City Council meetings ae certainly no exception. It would be different if they allowed citizen input, but when they censor the meetings they become disfunctional and a waste of time. When I couldn’t attend I used to watch them on T.V., but, now that I have direct TV I no longer get it. Used to watch it on NIT but I can’t find it anymore. Very hard for me to get out especially in the winter (Which I hate)
The state of Iowa already provides this service.
As a Mason City taxpayer I’m all for anything that will reduce duplicative spending.
Lets see how many meetings have you went to and come up with going to the state? It will take years to get anything done with the case load they have now. Oh and by the way the next time you pass a statute in town think how more important they are than a persons rights. Here again so many opinions on what should be done when no one comes to the meets the reason I know this is because I have asked how many citizens come to the meetings in the past year lets see Matt has been to a meeting and some people from the city offices but not one concern citizens. It is easy to sit back and talk crap when you can’t even tell me when you were at a meeting. You might want to be careful how you answer this because they do keep records and know if you were really their. If you rely on the Globe to get your information enough said, they have not been to meeting in the past year.
@Hi J-I have said it before. It does no good whatsoever to go to the meetings now. If you try to give them your opinion they will try to make you look stupid or if it is something they know they can’t win on they will just walk out. The proof is how they treated Sandy and Matt when they tried to give their opinions. I used to go to every meeting and the room was almost full. The Fat Man the dictator and his henchmen got control and everyone quit going because it became apparent that the decision had been made before the meetings and nothing was going to change it. I can remember when Don and Jeff held their open meetings and the room was full. They did it to find out what the people wanted.
The number of meetings attended has nothing to do with the issue. The simple fact is we are paying for duplicative services. Mason City taxpayers are also paying for these services for those that live outside of Mason City – who do not pay for them. Either fix this or get rid of it all together.
while were at it, why not eliminate all those post offices. eliminate the drivers license stations and the court house itself in every county. eliminate all the medical clinics as there is a hospital in every county already. waste …….simply waste. do you see now how rediculous your statement is.
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.
All the money spent on the Blue Zone and the statues downtown would more that fund the HR department. Does anyone know why bookmeyer and tornquist hate the commission so much? What happen to what is best for the people when they were running for office three years ago? It makes me sick to see how this city is being run. I have lived here for over 50 yrs and I have never seen such poor leadership in my life. If I knew how to change it I would. I know that in less than a year these people will be coming up for re-election and I hope you remember what a bully these people have been.
Here is how you change things it takes 5 citizen signatures to start petition for a recall. I hear a lot of talk but no one steps up to change things.
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.
If the Mayor tries to do this, you citizens of Mason City (I’m not one) need to go to the meeting and persuade them to look to other counties/communities for funding. Everyone needs to write to the State Human Rights Commission (if there is such a thing)BEFORE THURSDAY to tell them how we feel and that we want our local office made into a regional office with regional Commissioners and regional funding. Matt, do you have time to find and post an email address for the State Human Rights office? I have to go to work.
http://www.humanrights.iowa.gov/help.html
or
Iowa Department of Human Rights
321 E. 12th Street, Lucas State Office Building
Des Moines, IA 50319
515-242-5655
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.
I have repeatedly advocated for City Hall to ask surrounding communities for help in funding the HR Commission and Department here in Mason City. I do believe the issue runs deeper than funding, as the gauntlet was thrown down 3+ years ago when investigations into certain companies were being pursued. The vendetta is real and every excuse is being made to go after this agency. Also as I have stated, I’m sure the commission and department could use some updating, and Mr. Foster would be more than happy to cooperate in that regard. I believe Katie is right, and I would go a step further in saying that instead of seeking to regress as a community and eradicate the HR agency, why not open it up, bill it as a regional service, ask for funds from surrounding counties and communities, and make it a plus instead of so-called minus for North Iowa. North Iowa should trumpet its openness and fairness to all with a smoothly-functioning and balanced HR agency.