Title
Removal of Chapter 2.30.060- Grievances from the Municipal Code
Body
RECOMMENDED ACTION (Motion):
Determine if the CIC wishes to direct a member or members(s) to speak on behalf of the CIC at the August 15, 2018 City Commission Meeting.
BACKGROUND:
At the July 10, 2018 City Commission Worksession, the City Commission reviewed the CIC request to remove 2.30.060- Grievances from the Municipal Code and directed staff to return with the proposed changes at a future meeting. The public hearing for this item has been scheduled for August 15, 2018.
At the May 7, 2018 Citizen Involvement Committee (CIC) meeting the CIC reviewed and discussed the findings from the Grievance subcommittee/study group and voted to recommend to the City Commission that the Grievance process should be removed from OCMC 2.30.060.
The CIC subcommittee/working group met on April 25, 2018 to review the discussion from the April CIC meeting on this topic. After discussing various ways the Grievance process could be improved, the group was unable to recommend any specific code changes. Rather, they found the following:
1. While we recognize the importance of allowing for members of the public to have an avenue by which they may appeal or argue against the actions of a neighborhood association or the CIC, we also believe that having a grievance process which only adds to the confusion and delays progress is not helpful.
2. The neighborhood associations do not report to the CIC, and the CIC has no authority over the neighborhood associations. Therefore, any grievance committee formed by the CIC has no authority over the neighborhood associations.
3. In the absence of authority over the neighborhood associations, no action or finding by a grievance committee has any power or any method of enforcement behind it.
Therefore, the CIC should recommend to the City Commission that Code Section 2.30.060- Grievances be removed from the code in its entirety. Citizens should be encouraged to use the public comment process, as well as mediation services provided by Clackamas County Resolution Services and other steps as allowed by law.
This Grievance review process is part of the CIC adopted 2017-2019 Goals and 2018 Prioritized Work Plan.