[Adopted by the Board of Trustees of the Village of Dundee as indicated in article histories. Amendments noted where applicable.]
[Adopted 3-16-2017 by L.L. No. 1-2017]
This article shall hereafter he known as the "Village of Dundee Section 504, Americans With Disabilities Act Grievance Procedure Law."
The Village of Dundee has received a Community Development Block Grant Small Cities Program from the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development. Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended, prohibits discrimination on the basis of disability in programs and activities conducted by the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and in communities that receive financial assistance from HUD. This includes the Community Development Block Grant Small Cities Program. The Act mandates that no qualified individual shall, solely by reason of his or her handicap, be excluded from program participation, including employment, be denied program benefits; or be subjected to discrimination. The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA) establishes provisions for assuring equality of opportunity, full participation, independent living and self-sufficiency of disabled persons relative to: employment; benefits and services; accommodations; commercial facilities: and multifamily housing.
This article is enacted pursuant to Part 8 of Title 24 of the Code of Federal Regulations (24 CFR), which requires the adoption and notice/publication of ADA grievance procedures. It is the policy of the Village of Dundee not to discriminate on the basis of disability. The Board of Trustees of the Village of Dundee by this article adopts a grievance procedure providing for prompt and equitable resolutions of complaints regarding allegations of actions prohibited by Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. § 794) of the United States Department of Health and Human Services regulations implementing the Act. This article is further pursuant to the provisions of the Municipal Home Rule Law (MHRL) of the State of New York, with the procedural provisions of the MHRL controlling.
The grievance procedure established herein is intended to meet the requirements of Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1990 (ADA). According to these laws, the Village of Dundee, New York, certifies that all citizens shall have the right to submit a grievance on the basis of disability policies or practices regarding: employment; benefits and services; activities; and facilities provided by the Village of Dundee, New York.
The Board of Trustees hereby establishes the position of Section 504 Coordinator. The Section 504 Coordinator shall be the person serving as the duly appointed Clerk of the Village of Dundee or such other person duly appointed to that position by the Board of Trustees of the Village of Dundee. The Village's Section 504 Coordinator's office is located at the Dundee Village Hall, 12 Union Street, Dundee, New York 14837. The Coordinator can he reached at (607) 243-5551.
A. 
A citizen filing a grievance shall do so in writing and file such grievance with the Section 504 Coordinator at the office of the Clerk of the Village of Dundee.
B. 
Grievance contents.
(1) 
The written grievance shall include the following:
(a) 
Date and location of the problem;
(b) 
Name, address and telephone number of the complainant and his/her designee, if any.
(c) 
Description of the problem and sufficient detailed information concerning the alleged discrimination to allow an investigation to occur.
(d) 
The solution sought by the complainant.
(2) 
The grievance (complaint) must be signed by the complainant or his/her designee.
C. 
The grievance (complaint) should be submitted by the complainant or his/her designee as soon as possible, but no later than 60 days after the alleged violation.
D. 
The Village of Dundee, upon request, shall make appropriate arrangements to ensure that disabled person(s) are provided alternative means of filing complaints such as, but not limited to, personal interview, taped recordings, interpreters for the deaf, and/or assuring a barrier-free location of the proceedings. The Section 504 Coordinator shall be responsible for such arrangements.
E. 
Grievances (complaints) must be filed or sent to:
Section 504 Coordinator
Village of Dundee
12 Union Street
Dundee. New York 14837
F. 
The Section 504 Coordinator (or his/her designee) shall conduct an investigation of the complaint. This investigation may be informal, but it must be thorough, affording all interested persons an opportunity to submit evidence relevant to the complaint. The Section 504 Coordinator shall issue a written decision on the grievance no later than 30 days after its filing. Where appropriate, the response shall be in a format accessible to the complainant.
G. 
In the event that the response by the Section 504 Coordinator does not satisfactorily resolve the issue, the complainant or his/her designee may appeal the decision of the Section 504 Coordinator. Appeals must he made in writing to the Board of Trustees of the Village of Dundee within 15 days of receiving the Section 504 Coordinator's decision. The Board of Trustees shall issue a written decision in response to the appeal no later than 30 days after its tiling. Where appropriate, the response shall be in a format accessible to the complaint.
H. 
The Section 504 Coordinator shall maintain files and records of the Village of Dundee relating to such grievances (complainants).
The availability and use of this grievance procedure does not prevent a person from filing a complaint of discrimination on the basis of disability with the United States Department of Health and Human Services, Office for Civil Rights.
It is against the law for the Village of Dundee to retaliate against anyone who files a grievance or cooperates in the investigation of a grievance.
This article shall take effect immediately upon its filing with the Secretary of State of the State of New York, subsequent to having been duly adopted by the Board of Trustees of the Village of Dundee.