[Adopted 5-17-1993 as
Ch. 2.150 of the 1993 Code; amended in its entirety 6-28-1993 by Order No.
93-159]
A.
It shall be the stated policy of the City of Quincy, including its
employees, agents and officials, to protect and promote the constitutional,
civil and human rights of all people within the City. Further, the
City asserts that:
(1)
All people have certain inalienable rights, including the right to
life, liberty, property, the pursuit of happiness and equal justice
under the laws of the United States, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts
and the City of Quincy.
(2)
No person in our City shall have these rights constrained, reduced,
ignored or violated; all people in our City shall be protected in
the exercise of these human and civil rights.
(3)
No person in our City shall be unlawfully discriminated against in
matters of housing, employment, education, contracts, purchasing or
public accommodations on the basis of age, ancestry, citizenship status,
color, disability, economic status, ethnicity, family/marital status,
gender, military status, national origin, race, religion, sexual orientation,
source of income or gender identity.
[Amended 6-4-2018 by Order
No. 2018-012]
B.
The Quincy Human Rights Commission shall work toward mutual respect
and understanding among the individuals and groups in the City through
improving the quality of public discourse and eliminating unlawful
discrimination.
[Amended 6-1-2020 by Order
No. 2020-012]
There is hereby established a municipal board to be known as
the "Human Rights Commission of the City of Quincy" (hereinafter referred
to as the "Commission"). The Commission shall consist of 15 members
appointed by the Mayor for a term of three years. Twelve out of the
15 members shall be Quincy residents. The members of the Commission
should include the Police Department Civil Rights Officer and the
Chairperson or his designee of the Commission on Disability, Fair
Housing Committee, and Mayor's Commission on the Status of Women,
and members of any agency and organization that delivers programs
or services that are beneficial to the residents, and shall, so far
as practicable, be so selected as to provide representation from fields
including but not limited to religion, education, housing, law, labor,
industry, commerce and behavioral sciences.
B.
Thereafter, the Mayor shall appoint each successor to a term of three
years. No members of the Commission may serve for more than two consecutive
terms. A member having served two consecutive terms must remain off
the Commission for at least one year before becoming eligible for
appointment.
C.
Appointees to unexpired terms must remain off the Commission for
at least one year before becoming eligible for reappointment. Appointments
to unexpired terms shall not be counted as a term for the person appointed.
The members of the Commission shall serve without compensation. The
Commission shall annually elect one of its members as Chairperson
and may elect other officers as it may deem necessary. In addition,
the Equal Opportunity Administrator of the City shall serve on the
Commission and provide assistance and counsel to the Commission. The
Commission shall meet at least 10 times a year. Ten members of the
Commission shall constitute a quorum, and a majority of those present
shall be sufficient for any action taken by the Commission, except
where this article provides otherwise.
[Amended 10-15-2001 by Order No. 2001-147; 6-1-2020 by Order No. 2020-012]
To uphold and secure the mandates, rights and privileges of
its policy, the Quincy Human Rights Commission shall be guided by
the following functions, duties and powers:
A.
The Human Rights Commission shall promote and assist in developing
an environment of fairness and respect among citizens in the City
of Quincy by providing education programs which encourage tolerance
of differences.
B.
The Commission shall ensure that responses to acts of exclusion,
bias, and discrimination be taken seriously and that proper agencies
of authority be notified immediately when allegations of civil rights
and/or hate crimes come to the attention of individual group members.
C.
The purpose of the Commission does not include the investigation
or managing of civil rights violations or hate crimes. Such cases
shall be referred first to the Civil Rights Officer of the Quincy
Police Department and, when appropriate, to the District Attorney's
office.
D.
The Commission shall work with a broad-based civil rights network
that includes all those groups invested in eliminating unlawful discrimination
and intolerance in the City of Quincy. Racial, religious, ethnic,
civic, fraternal, benevolent, private and public agencies that seek
to cultivate an atmosphere of mutual understanding and harmony will
be crucial network members.
E.
The Commission shall develop ways to measure and monitor community
conflicts, race relations, and civil rights issues, with a particular
focus on population groups which have been commonly victimized.
F.
The Commission shall develop ways of anticipating, preparing for,
and relieving community tensions arising from intolerance and misunderstanding.
G.
The City Solicitor shall serve as counsel of the Commission.
Any committee appointed by the Mayor consistent with the issues
under this article shall be part of the standing committees and in
its capacity will fulfill its own duties and act as an advisor to
the Commission.
The provisions of this article shall be interpreted liberally
for the accomplishment of the purposes thereof, and any ordinance
inconsistent with any provision hereof shall not apply, but nothing
contained in this article shall be interpreted to contravene the general
laws of the commonwealth or ordinances of the City of Quincy.
