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HomeMy WebLinkAbout15-Mayor's Office -- '-' ,...--. '-' ......... CITY OF SAN BERNARDINO - REQUEST FOR COUNCn.. ACTION From: Mayor Patrick J. Morris Subject: BI-Annual Report of the Human Relations Commission Dept: Mayor's Office Council Date: January 7, 2008 Date: December 19, 2007 Synopsis of Previous Council Action: Recommended Motion: That the Bi-Annual Report of the Human Relations Commission be Received and Filed. ~ ' ~.r---.&,~ C s nature ~ Contact person: .J"Ii.. Frazl..r-Math..w" Phnn..' 51 ~~ Supporting data attached: Bi-Annual Reoort tH.R.C.) Ward: All FUNDING REQUIREMENTS: Amount: None Source: (Accl. No.) -0- (Ar:cl n.."r:riplinn) -n- Finance: Agenda Item No. No. /~ ;/7 lot r '- r '- ..,- "- CITY OF SAN BERNARDINO - REQUEST FOR COUNCIL ACTION Staff Report Subiect: Bi-Annual Report of the Human Relations Commission Backlrround: Per Ordinance, the Human Relations Commission of the City of San Bernardino consults with and advises the Mayor and Common Council on issues involving the rights of citizens of, and visitors to, the city of San Bernardino with respect to equal economic, political and educational opportunities, and to equal accommodations in all business establishments in the city. The Human Relations Commission consists of nine (9) voting members who serve without compensation. In addition to the nine (9) voting members, the Mayor will appoint one (1) additional member who shall be a non-voting youth representative. A duty of the Human Relations Commission is to render a written report of its activities to the Mayor and Common Council, not less than once every six (6) months, as to the development of the Human Relations Commission, details of its activities, as well as to provide recommendations to the Mayor and Common Council relative to the development of policies and procedures which will further the objectives of the Commission. In the past, reports have been made to the Common Council on an "as needed basis." However, the recently newly elected chairman, Dr. Terry Elliot, has decided to implement more meticulously the details of the Human Relations Commission Ordinance, by submitting a report twice per year, as detailed in the Ordinance. In addition to providing a written bi-annual report, Dr. Terry Elliot has requested that he present the bi-annual report orally to the Mayor and Common Council. The report is hereby attached. Financial Impact: None. Recommendation: Receive and file. - SAN BERNARDINO CITY HUMAN RELATIONS COMMISSION 2007 ANNUAL REPORT TO THE MAYOR AND COMMON COUNCIL FOR CALENDAR YEAR- JANUARY 1, 2007-DECEMBER31, 2007 """" To the Honorable Mayor and distinguished City Council Members: According to the Ordinance, the Human Relations Commission must make an annual report. I am pleased to report to you on behalf of the Human Relations Commission that the Commission has remained active, pro-active, busy and functional throughout 2007. Firstly, we wish to thank the Mayor and Council members respectively for their cooperation. Weare pleased to report that, one of the most important accomplishments was, that for the first time since being established in 1993, all seats on the Commission are filled. In times past, it was sometimes difficult to even convene, due to lack of a quorum. - <-- Current Commission Members: Carl Clemons (Mayor Morris' appointee) Rabbi Hillel Cohn (Mayor Morris' appointee) Dr. Eri F. Yasuhara (Councilwoman Estrada's appointee- Ward 1) Christina Benjamin (Councilman Baxter's appointee - Ward 2) Angela Neuhaus (Councilman Brinker's appointee - Ward 3) Bishop Keuneth Wells (Councilman Derry's appointee - Ward 4) Amanda Jacobs (Councilman Kelly's appointee - Ward 5) Maxine Barnett (Councilman Van Johnson's appointee - Ward 6) Dr. Terry Elliott (Councilwoman McCammack's appointee - Ward 7) We are awaiting the designation of the Mayor's Youth appointee, a non-voting position, that will certainly add a welcome dimension to our deliberations. Staff Positions: Mr. Chris Concepcion - HRC Coordinator (as of December 2007) Mrs. Julie Frazier-Matthews - HRC Recording Secretary Mr. Henry Empeiio - City Attorney's Office Mrs. Shauna Britton - City Attorney's Office Lt. Scott Patterson - (San Bernardino Police Department Liaison) - While the H.R.C. often functions with little publicity and fanfare, we contend that it remains a viable, important and critical component to the City of San Bernardino. We, by the way, contend that as long as the Commission is not regularly hearing complaints, you can infer that our leaders, both civic and community, are doing well in promoting better understanding among the rich diversity that exists among our citizenry. Prevention remains one of this Commission's hallmarks. We strive to reduce the amount of prejudice and conflict in our city through education. We believe that our various educational efforts have produced positive results. ,-. -2- - In 2007 the Human Relations Commission undertook and completed the following: '-' 1. ReviewlRevision of the Ordinance - The ordinance establishing the H.R.C. was adopted in 1993, at the urging of a number of community leaders. These visionaries wanted to be certain that the city of San Bernardino would be poised to deal, primarily, with potential situations of racial conflict, but included any and all forms of discrimination. For the most part, the establishing ordinance was copied from ordinances establishing H.R.C.'s in other cities, notably San Diego. After being in existence for near 15 years, it was felt that the ordinance needed to be reviewed and some sections updated. Thus, a thorough review of the ordinance, including language, was completed. The final revised version was forwarded to the Mayor's Office in August of 2007 for review and ultimate submission to the City Council. We understand that before coming to the Council it will be brought to the Legislative Review Committee. The Commission recommended a few substantive changes. The bulk of the proposed revisions, however, primarily addressed linguistics and terminology. It is anticipated that the proposed revised ordinance will be submitted to the City Council early in 2008 and, we hope, ultimately adopted. - ""'" 2. "Many Faces of San Bernardino" - From July 2004 through June 2006 the Commission sponsored a TV series entitled, "The Many Faces of San Bernardino: Dialogues in Diversity." The series has been regularly broadcast on Channel 3 and continues to be aired. Each program ends with an invitation to residents/citizens of the City to attend meetings of the H.R.C. and to bring matters of concern to the Commission's attention. These programs were produced by the H.R.C. and hosted by Rabbi Hillel Cohn, who has loyally served the city of San Bernardino through the H.R.C. since its inception. The series consists of SO half-hour programs. 18 of the SO programs present various ethnic groups in the City, as well as special groups that have the potential to experience various forms of discrimination due to a lack of understanding of culture or differences (Le. seniors, youths, disabled, eating disorders). 32 of the SO programs deal with various religious groups/faiths in the City, and hope to promote a better understanding of their faiths/tenets. ,-. In response to the numerous requests from individuals and organizations, the H.R.C. plans to have all of the SO programs packaged on CD's and/or DVD's as a series. The Commission would then make them available to high schools in the City as well as our City libraries. The cost would be underwritten by local service clubs. Additionally, copies could be made available, at cost, to churches and other organizations for their youth and adult programs. Unfortunately, the completion of this project has suffered continual delays due to changes and reassignments of the staff provided to the H.R.C. through the office of the Mayor. '- -3- - 3. B.R.C. Youth Council- The H.R.C. established a Youth Council (ages 15-21). It is anticipated that the H.R.C. Youth Council will be fully functional by February 2008. Each Commissioner will seek out and recommend to the full H.R.C., a youth to sit on the Youth Council. Additional youths will be appointed by the Police Liaison, and the City Youth Advisory Commission. '-' The duties of the Youth Council will be to: a. Provide an opportunity for youth to express their concerns, ideas and recommendations. b. Act in an advisory capacity to the H.R.C. c. Encourage participation of youth in the City and community. d. Positively represent and act as role models to youth in the community. e. Promote public understanding of diversity among youth. f. Identify and express youth concerns to promote racial and class harmony. g. Participate with the Youth Advisory Commission and community based organizations in developing a "Youth Master Plan." h. Serve in an ad-hoc capacity to any H.R.C. Committee i. Represent the H.R.C. at private and public functions. r '-' 4. Participation in Community Events - The H.R.C. seeks continued visibility at community events. The H.R.C. participated in the July 4th parade in 2007, Route 66 Rendezvous, National Night Out, purchased a table and attended the Annual WIECAH Banquet, held at the Riverside Convention Center in Riverside, CA and will be participating in the Black History Parade in 2008. 5. Annual Recognition Banquet - The Commission will sponsor an annual banquet to honor citizens and organizations that have had a major impact in human relations within or affecting the City of San Bernardino. The Commission hopes to have its first banquet in 2008. It will be scheduled as soon as a suitable venue is selected. 6. Conffict Resolution and Mediation - Recognizing the need for members of the H.R.C. to be trained in conflict resolution and mediation, plans have been developed for providing training for those who have not yet received such training. Three members of the H.R.C. will be attending a certification session in January 2008 offered by Cal State Fullerton, and three additional members will receive training after July 2008. Some of the current members of the H.R.C. have already received training, either through training programs of the H.R.C. in the past or through other means. 7. Bate Crimes - The H.R.C. is affiliated with W.I.E.C.A.H., the Western Inland Empire Coalition Against Hate Crimes and receives regular updates from that group as well as regular communications from and with H.R.C. 's from our neighboring cities. -- 8. Interfaith Festival for Peace in Our Community - In February 2007, the H.R.C. co- sponsored the Interfaith Festival for Peace in Our Community with the San Bernardino Clergy Association. Ten faith communities were represented at this event, which drew an L.. r- \,... - '- - '- -4- attendance of over 300 people. This event was held at Roosevelt Bowl at Penis Hill Park. We were particularly pleased that the Mayor and some of the members of the Common Council attended. 9. Morrow McCombs Memorial Lecture - The H.R.C. has served as co-sponsor of the Annual Morrow McCombs Memorial Lecture. This lectureship was established at CSUSB to better Jewish-Christian-Muslim relations. 10. Mediation - The H.R.C. received one request for mediation in 2007, and ultimately determined that the request fell outside of the Commission's scope of expertise and concern. 11. Briefmgs by San Bernardino Police Department - The H.R.C. is briefed regularly at each of its meetings, from the San Bernardino Police Department, through Lt. Scott Patterson, relative to hate crimes and crimes against persons, which may have taken place in the city. 12. Elections - The Commission held its elections in July 2007. Much to the Commission's regret, former member and chairman, Brenda Fredericks, announced her retirement and relocation out of the area. Subsequently, T. Elliott was elected as Chairman and Dr. Eri Yasuhara as Vice-Chairman. 13. Death of Former Commissioner and Chairperson - On September 16,2007, Commission members attended and participated in the memorial celebration of a beloved former Commissioner, the late Rev. Mary Martin. The Memorial Celebration was held at St. John's Episcopal Church in San Bernardino. In conclusion, The Commission wishes to express our gratitude to our staff, namely Julie for all of her hard work. We welcome our new, long overdue, coordinator, Mr. Chris Concepcion. We thank the City Attorney's office for its legal counsel provided by Mr. Empeiio and Ms. Britton. Finally, we thank the Honorable Mayor and City Council for the opportunity to serve and look forward to continuing and broadening our work in 2008. This Report was adopted for Submission/presentation by H.R.C. 10 December 2007. Respectively Submitted, T. Elliott Chairman