FY00 Proposed Budget Amendment
CITY OF DUBUQUE, IOWA
MEMORANDUM
March 14, 2000
TO:
The Honorable Mayor and City Council Members
FROM:
Michael C. Van Milligen, City Manager
SUBJECT:
FYOO Proposed Budget Amendment
Human Rights Director Kelly Larson is recommending an amendment to FYOO
Human Rights Department budget in response to a $44,000 contract with the U.S.
Department of Housing and Urban Development.
I concur with the recommendation and respectfully request Mayor and City Council
approval.
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Michael C. Van Milligen
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Attachment
cc:
Barry Lindahl, Corporation Counsel
Tim Moerman, Assistant City Manager
Kelly Larson, Human Rights Director
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CITY OF DUBUQUE, IOWA
MEMORANDUM
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MEMORANDUM
TO:
Michael Van Milligen, City Manager"""'-
Pauline Joyce, Administrative Services Manager
Kelly Larson, Human Rights Director - ~
FROM:
DATE:
February 25,2000
SUBJECT:
FYOO Proposed Budget Amendment
The purpose ofthis memorandum is to inform you that our department recently received
a HUD contract for the period October I, 1999 through September 30, 2000 in the
amount of $44,000 for the following categories:
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$ 18,000 for training,
$ 15,000 for administrative costs
$ 2,000 for education and outreach
$ 9,000 for case processing
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Discussion
As usual, $18,000 for training will cover the cost of attending HUD mandated training for
staff and commissioners. Additionally, the $9,000 for case processing reflects
reimbursement for the five housing cases our office processed in FY99.
Regarding the administrative costs and education and outreach funding, I propose that
our office use these funds to hire a temporary part-time fair housing outreach and
education specialist. This person would be responsible for soliciting and participating in
speaking engagements, arranging housing related conferences, developing brochures and
other informational materials for the public, arranging for public service announcements
and other coverage in the media, and generally carrying out the full range of outreach
activities that we have been involved with in the past related to fair housing. I have
discussed this possibility with our HUD representative in Kansas City, and she was very
supportive of the idea because HUD values outreach and education so highly.
In addition to investigating complaints, I spend a great deal of my time on outreach and
education. While I certainly intend to continue doing so, I believe that we could have a
much stronger impact on the community if I had some assistance in this area. On the one
hand, HUD pushes very strongly for outreach related to housing. On the other hand, the
bulk of our caseload consists of employment cases. I feel strongly that I should devote a
significant amount of my time on the area of employment, yet I find that meeting HUD's
demands in terms of outreach severely limits my ability to do so. If! were able to defer
the bulk of housing outreach activities to an individual whose position was funded by
HUD, it would allow me to devote more attention to the business community. I am
attaching a draft position description to give you a better idea ofthe responsibilities the
job would entail. I have not yet discussed the details of this description with Randy, and
I sure it will be revised.
Obviously, the continuation ofthe position would be contingent on renewal of our HUD
contract. At this time, we expect that we will receive our next contract in September
2000, for FY 2001. Nonetheless, we still have some HUD funding in our budget, and
when combined with the funding from this current contract, I believe that we have
sufficient money at this time to fund at least one year of part-time work. Our current
level offunding is such that we would have funds for outreach activities as well as salary
requirements.
Budget Impact
There will be no budget impact on the general operating budget. There will be an
increase in revenues from HUD with offsetting expenses in the same amount.
Recommendation
I recommend that the Human Rights Department budget be amended to reflect the
increase in revenues with an offset in the same amount for expenses.
Please call with any comments or suggestions related to this proposal.
Proposed Position Description
Fair Housing Specialist
Department: Human Rights
General Statement of Duties: Conducts community education regarding fair housing;
performs related work as required.
Distinguishing features of the class: The work is performed under the general direction
and supervision of the Human Rights Director but considerable leeway is granted for the
exercise of independent judgment and initiative.
Examples of work (illustrative only):
. Cooperates with Human Rights Department and Commissioners, and other city
departments and employees;
. Assists with intake interviews to determine whether particular cases fall within the
spectrum of fair housing laws;
. Provides information to the public regarding fair housing discrimination issues;
. Responds to information requests from the community regarding housing issues;
. Serves as a civil rights consultant to the general public, lending institutions, landlords,
realtors, property managers, and other interested parties as requested;
. Develops and maintains community education programs in order to enhance
understanding of fair housing laws and reduce discrimination;
. Develops education materials, including brochures, posters, mailings, ads, flyers,
information sheets, booklets as needed;
. Prepares materials for HUD contract reports;
. Records work activities and verifications;
. Prepares presentations to fit needs of group and assesses evaluations;
. Provides information to other agencies as needed to foster better understanding of fair
housing issues;
. Develops inter-agency support, communication, and awareness;
. Reads related materials to improve knowledge, and shares information with other
staff;
. Makes referrals to other appropriate agencies based on specifics of particular case;
. Works closely with community organizations, housing providers and lenders to
promote fair housing goals and laws;
. Plans and implements innovative community approaches to housing discrimination;
. Forms new community groups to address fair housing issues and needs;
. Performs all work duties and activities in accordance with City policies, procedures,
and safety practices;
. Attends and/or organizes meetings, conferences, and workshops related to fair
housing;
. Performs related work as required.
Required knowledge and abilities:
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Knowledge of current civil rights and fair housing statutes, related Federal laws, local
ordinances from other municipalities and pending State and Federal legislation;
Knowledge of current programs in diversity and civil rights education;
Knowledge of the resources and services of the area's social service agencies, both
public and private;
Knowledge of legal practices and procedures;
Ability to communicate effectively and maintain working relationships with elected
officials, the business community, complainants and the public;
Ability to listen and understand the viewpoints of a wide variety of people from
widely diverse social, economic, and cultural backgrounds;
Ability in leadership, negotiations, management and coordination of a work project
involving several different parties;
Ability to work on numerous projects at once encompassing a variety of work areas
and skills;
Ability to proof read and edit materials for distribution;
Ability to operate a personal computer using program applications appropriate to
assigned duties and responsibilities;
Ability to quickly learn and put to use new skills and knowledge brought about by
rapidly changing information and/or technology;
Flexibility in work hours and days to meet community needs;
Ingenuity and inventiveness in the performance of assigned tasks.
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Acceptable experience and training:
. Graduation fÌom an accredited college or university with a Bachelor's Degree in
Social Sciences or a closely related field; and
. Considerable experience in civil rights investigation, education, and enforcement; Q!:
. Any equivalent combination of experience and training which provides the
knowledge and abilities necessary to perform the work.
Required special Qualifications:
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Valid Iowa State Driver's License.