Civil Rights Commission

CIVIL RIGHTS COMMISSION MEETING CITY OF DAVENPORT, IOWA Tuesday, July 8, 2025; 12:00 PM Virtual Via Zoom: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84869608008?pwd=MUhuMUNSUnp4WlZndk9tbXZiMlY1UT09 AMID CONCERNS ABOUT THE SPREAD OF COVID-19 (CORONAVIRUS) WITHIN OUR COMMUNITY, AS AN ONGOING MITIGATION MEASURE, IN COMPLIANCE WITH CDC RECOMMENDATIONS, THE COMMISSION WILL HOST ITS NEXT MONTHLY MEETING, SCHEDULED FOR JULY 8, 2025, AT NOON THROUGH A VIRTUAL FORMAT. THIS ACTION HAS BEEN TAKEN DUE TO SAFETY CONCERNS ASSOCIATED WITH COVID-19. THE HEALTH AND SAFETY OF COMMUNITY MEMBERS, VISITORS, CUSTOMERS AND OUR STAFF AT THE DAVENPORT CIVIL RIGHTS COMMISSION IS ALWAYS A TOP PRIORITY. IT IS WITH THIS IN MIND THAT WE HAVE TAKEN THIS STEP TO MITIGATE THE POSSIBILITY OF COMMUNITY TRANSMISSION. IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO SIGN UP TO ATTEND OUR NEXT MEETING, PLEASE REGISTER IN ADVANCE FOR THIS MEETING - YOU WILL FIND THE LINK IN THE AGENDA UNDER ROLL CALL. AFTER REGISTERING, YOU WILL RECEIVE A CONFIRMATION EMAIL CONTAINING INFORMATION ABOUT JOINING THE MEETING. I. Roll Call Virtual Via Zoom: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84869608008?pwd=MUhuMUNSUnp4WlZndk9tbXZiMlY1UT09 II. Approval of Agenda III. Approval of Minutes A. June 2025 Minutes IV. Director's Report A. June 2025 Director's Report B. June 2025 Case Status Report V. New Business A. Commission Position Salaries B. Commission Remodel/Relocation Updates C. Davenport Civil Rights Commission Council Resolution VI. Old Business VII. Public Comment and Presentation VIII. Adjourn IX. Next Meeting  City of Davenport Civil Rights Commission Department: Civil Rights Action / Date Contact Info: | 7/8/2025 Subject: June 2025 Minutes Attachments: 1. JUNE 2025 Meeting MInutes  CIVIL RIGHTS COMMISSION MEETING CITY OF DAVENPORT, IA TUESDAY, JULY 8, 2025 The Davenport Civil Rights Commission met and Called to Order: 12:04 via Zoom. Commissioner Co-Chair Frank Holley presided over the meeting. ROLL CALL: COMMISSIONERS PRESENT: Mike Guster Frank Holley Charlene Upchurch-Taylor Jeff Transou Glenn Peterson Ethelene Boyd COMMISSIONERS ABSENT: None OTHER ATTENDEES: Director Latrice Lacey The City of Davenport AGENDA: Commissioner Frank Holley called for the approval of the agenda. It was moved by Commissioner Ethelene Boyd to accept the agenda: seconded by Commissioner Glenn Peterson; motion carried. APPROVAL of APRIL 2025 MINUTES: It was moved by Commissioner Ethelene Boyd to accept the minutes with any necessary corrections; Seconded by Commissioner Glenn Peterson; motion carried APPROVAL of MAY 2025 MINUTES: It was moved by Commissioner Ethelene Boyd to accept the minutes with any necessary corrections; Seconded by Commissioner Glenn Peterson; motion carried DIRECTOR’S REPORT: • No right to sue letters issued in the month of May • No mediation or conciliation settlements in the month of May • Still working on reaching a resolution with City Council  • Do not have a fourth follow-up meeting scheduled with City of Davenport and City Council • Director Lacey reviewed the meetings in the past to catch Commissioners up on these three past meetings. • Commissioner Guster wants to meet with one of the Council members, Director Lacey, and one or two Commissioners • The Commission needs to push back real hard against the directions laid out • Director Lacey believed that we could give counsel the opportunity to do a resolution, and if not, Director Lacey thinks we need to file a lawsuit seeking a declaratory judgment. • Commissioner Holley stated that the only difference is we've met with counsel, the City Council has agreed with our stance. Commissioner Holley doesn’t think they're going to issue a resolution until we fulfill their last request, and that was they agreed that we should sit down and meet with them across the table, face-to-face, and hash out these issues one by one, he thinks that was Council's last instruction. • Commissioner Upchurch-Taylor stated that she thought the meeting was for Director Lacey, the City Attorney and the City Administrator. Director Lacey stated she didn’t get that from the meeting. • Commissioner Guster stated we needed to have another scheduled meeting with him, Director Lacey and another Commissioner (if another Commissioner wishes to attend the meeting with the City Administrator. • Commissioner Upchurch-Taylor moved to send a memo to City Director, City Council, and City Administrator to schedule a meeting with Director Lacey, Commissioner Mike Guster, and any other Commissioner that would like to attend; Ethelene Boyd second, motion carried. • Director Lacey stated that we received notice from the council that the Commission is being represented by in the lawsuit that they have not been receiving payment from the legal department. NEW BUSINESS: None OLD BUSINESS: Stated in Director’s Report PUBLIC COMMENTS AND PRESENTATIONS: None NEXT MEETING: Regular DCRC Meeting, July 8, 2025 ADJOURN: Commissioner Mike Guster called to adjourn the meeting. It was moved by Commissioner Frank Holley and Seconded by Commissioner Charlene Upchurch-Taylor to adjourn the meeting at 1:30pm; motion carried. Submitted by, Commissioner Charlene Upchurch-Taylor Commissioner Charlene Upchurch-Taylor, Secretary  City of Davenport Civil Rights Commission Department: Civil Rights Action / Date Contact Info: | 7/8/2025 Subject: June 2025 Director's Report Attachments: 1. June 2025 DR  DIRECTOR’S REPORT FOR THE DAVENPORT CIVIL RIGHTS COMMISSION FOR June 2025 I. CASE STATUS 1. No “right to sue” letters were issued in the month of June. 2. No cases settled in mediation in the month of June. II. OTHER ACTIVITY 1. The Director completed case processing documentation. 2. The Director worked on pre-hearing preparation. 3. The Director continues to await a substantive response regarding salary assessment data for the agency’s investigation-related positions. Initial requests were submitted to Human Resources on October 11, October 21, and December 12, 2024. A formal request from the Commission, including a requested response date of January 31, 2025, was also submitted. To date, the only communication received has been acknowledgment of receipt—no data or analysis has been provided. The lack of salary information has prevented the Director from moving forward with critical operational decisions, including budget planning and recruitment for the Civil Rights Specialist position. Without veri ed salary data, it is not possible to make informed offers to potential candidates. Despite multiple follow-ups, an excessive amount of time has been spent awaiting a response, hindering the Commission’s ability to ful ll its statutory responsibilities. On June 12, 2025, the Director met with Corporation Counsel to discuss the salary assessment he conducted on the Civil Rights Specialist position. At that time, Corporation Counsel indicated he would be meeting with the union the following week to determine next steps, which could be presented to the Commission at its next meeting. On July 7, 2025, the Director received an email inquiring about the Commission’s proposed salary range for the positions. The message stated that the union would not consider the Commission’s salary range adjustment request until an updated range was provided, citing the need to “look out for all their membership, not just a couple of positions.” However, the email did not clarify how the Commission’s positions relate to the broader salary structure across City departments—particularly given that those other positions were presumably negotiated, while the Commission’s roles have not been, despite repeated requests to both Human Resources and the union. Based on the information provided by Corporation Counsel, the Director will need to conduct further analysis, as it remains unclear how the Commission—an independent body under state and municipal law with exclusive authority over its personnel, including compensation decisions, and not a signatory to any agreement purporting to restrict or delegate that authority—could be subject to adverse effects or limitations arising from actions taken by City staff. 4. The Director attended the Joint City Council/Civil Rights Commission meeting. 5. The Director submitted a request for followup meeting and request for action items to council. 6. Council members introduced a proposed resolution addressing some of the concerns raised by the Commission during the joint meetings. 7. The Director received an email from City Administrator Maxeiner regarding the updates on the remodel and a proposal to relocate the of ce, seeking information about the Commission’s needs for a new space. fi fi fi  8. The Director worked on post hearing brie ng in the housing public hearing. 9. The Director worked on post hearing brie ng in the education public hearing. 10. The Director continued to await responsive information from the City Administrator regarding the information from Finance relating to the HUD funding, where we were noti ed that Finance would no longer do the Finance-related certi cation for our HUD contract, despite controlling the funding and the lack of response from Human Resources, the delays in processing personnel actions by Finance and Human Resources, the unilateral removal of the Civil Rights Investigator job posting from Human Resources and the absence of resolution to the internal complaint regarding the interception of the Commission’s con dential mail, submitted on December 20, 2023. 11. The Director continued to monitor COVID-191 rates and its impact on of ce functions. 12. The Director worked on case resolution documents. 13. The Director worked on litigation. 14. The Director worked on pre-hearing motions and responses. 15. The Director paused reviewing applications for the Civil Rights Specialist position as we have continued to await information on the next step for setting salaries. 16. The Director continues to work on the development of training and professional development opportunities related to the staf ng realignment related to the forced departure of the Asst. Director/Housing Programs Manager. 17. The Director and Housing Analyst worked on year end resolution information for HUD. 18. Housing Analyst worked on housing investigations. 19. Housing Analyst worked on housing inquiries. 20. Housing Analyst worked on case resolutions. 21. Investigations Manager worked on case le reviews and updates. 22. Investigations Manager worked on case resolutions. 23. Investigations Manager worked on complaint intakes. III. OLD BUSINESS 1. Ongoing discrimination, harassment and bullying of Commission staff. 1. Retaliatory actions against Commission staff and further examples of different treatment. 2. Legal Department refusal to accept Commission referral. 3. Use of racial slurs in City Hall. City’s failure to initiate complaint investigation. 4. Investigation of hostile working environment, still no ndings over a year after the initiation of the investigation. 5. Continued refusal to process vacation correction, despite receiving their legal opinion which clearly indicates that the Commission’s procedure for processing the correction was appropriate. 6. Constructive discharge of Commission employees. 7. Staf ng Concerns - Investigation position postings and salary. 8. The Commission continues to face delays and obstructive actions by City Administration that have hindered resolution of matters previously presented to the City Council. These actions appear to undermine the Commission’s mission and re ect ongoing retaliation and retaliatory harassment in response to substantiated complaints of discrimination and harassment. 1 Also, measles, influenza and RSV. fi fi fl fi fi fi fi fi fi fi fi  IV. NEW BUSINESS 1. Salary Update Procedure. 2. Of ce Relocation. 3. Council Resolution. fi  City of Davenport Civil Rights Commission Department: Civil Rights Action / Date Contact Info: | 7/8/2025 Subject: June 2025 Case Status Report Attachments: None  City of Davenport Civil Rights Commission Department: Civil Rights Action / Date Contact Info: | 7/8/2025 Subject: Commission Position Salaries Attachments: None  City of Davenport Civil Rights Commission Department: Civil Rights Action / Date Contact Info: | 7/8/2025 Subject: Commission Remodel/Relocation Updates Attachments: None  City of Davenport Civil Rights Commission Department: Civil Rights Action / Date Contact Info: | 7/8/2025 Subject: Davenport Civil Rights Commission Council Resolution Attachments: None