Civil Rights Commission

CIVIL RIGHTS COMMISSION MEETING CITY OF DAVENPORT, IOWA Tuesday, July 14, 2026; 12:00 PM City Hall | 226 West 4th Street | Council Chambers I. Roll Call Virtual Via Zoom: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84869608008?pwd=MUhuMUNSUnp4WlZndk9tbXZiMlY1UT09 II. Approval of Agenda III. Approval of Minutes A. June 2026 Minutes IV. Director's Report A. June 2026 Director's Report B. June 2026 Case Status Report V. New Business 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: | 7/14/2026 Subject: June 2026 Minutes Attachments: 1. DCRC June 2026 Minutes  DAVENPORT CIVIL RIGHTS COMMISSION Minutes of Regular Meeting Tuesday, June 9, 2026; 12:00 PM The Davenport Civil Rights Commission (DCRC) met at 12:00 p.m. Tuesday, June 9, 2026, online using Zoom. Commission Chair Michael Guster presided over the meeting. Commission Chairman Guster had Commissioner Transou take the roll call. COMMISSIONERS PRESENT: Ethelene Boyd Michael Guster Frank Holley Charlene Upchurch-Taylor Jeff Transou COMMISSIONERS ABSENT None OTHER PERSONS PRESENT: Director Lacey Others from the community AGENDA Commissioner Guster called for the approval of the agenda. Commissioner Boyd made a motion to approve the agenda; Commissioner Holley seconded the motion. All Commissioners voted Aye to approve the agenda. APPROVAL OF MINUTES The minutes of the Commission meeting in May were presented, and it was decided the start time needed to be changed. The Commission was then asked to approve the minutes with the proposed changes to the start time from 12:30 p.m. to 12:00 p.m. All Commissioners stated Aye, none were opposed, and the minutes were passed. DIRECTOR’S REPORT The Director reported three right to sue letters in the month of May; no cases settled in mediation or conciliation. Director Lacey stated there were 55 cases that were closed, 36 of those were in employment. Two were public accommodations, one housing, sixteen education, and two non-jurisdictional referrals to other agencies. The Director stated we currently have 135 employment cases, three educational cases, 69 housing cases, and 26 public accommodations cases. Director Lacey described work on the annual report, follow-up from the budget presentation, office relocation planning with Public Works and contractors, fair housing training delivered on service animals, litigation and discovery work with outside counsel, and updates to template documents to reflect procedural changes. The Director stated she would request a meeting with the City Administrator to resolve outstanding budget and hiring questions. Director Lacey stated she will print extra paper copies of the annual report for Commissioner Boyd and others as requested. The Director stated she will conduct fair housing training for Commissioners at no fee and propose dates after the new Commissioner is confirmed. Director Lacey will also follow up with the City Administrator and send Commissioner Guster’s request for a meeting. A central issue was budget and hiring authority: Director Lacey has paused further application reviews because several positions under recruitment are not reflected in the approved FY27 budget, creating potential liability if filled without definitive finance or City Administrator guidance. The Council approved the FY27 budget, but unresolved changes and unclear responses from the City Administrator have left the office in limbo. Commissioners requested further follow-up and proposed requesting a meeting with the City Administrator to resolve hiring and budget discrepancies. Director Lacey stated that she is still awaiting updates on the funding and viability of the office relocation project. NEW BUSINESS A. E-0040-0021-17 The Commission reviewed new business, case number E-0040-0021-17, an employment complaint alleging age and sex discrimination and retaliation for which staff issued a cause finding and conciliation failed. Director Lacey recommended not proceeding to public hearing because of limited resources, investigator support gaps, and lack of an available attorney to present hearings. A motion was made by Commissioner Holley to not take this case and was seconded by Commissioner Upchurch-Taylor. The motion was put to a voice vote and carried. OLD BUSINESS A statement was made that old issues to go over with the City have had no response. PUBLIC COMMENT AND PRESENTATION Commissioner Transou reminded the Commissioners and the public that this month’s Juneteenth Festival by Friends of MLK would be on June 20th between Harrison and Brady streets in downtown Davenport from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. The theme of the event this year is “What freedom looks like yesterday, today, and tomorrow”. Commissioner Guster added that he’d like for everyone to come out and have some fun to celebrate Juneteenth, and that hopefully we will have our new Commissioner at the next meeting. ADJOURN Commissioner Holley made a motion to adjourn the meeting, it was seconded by Commissioner Upchurch-Taylor, all Commissioners voted yes to adjourn the meeting. The meeting ended at 1:47 p.m. NEXT MEETING The next regular meeting of the Commission is July 14th, 2026, at 12 noon. Submitted by Commission Secretary, Jeff Transou  City of Davenport Civil Rights Commission Department: Civil Rights Action / Date Contact Info: | 7/14/2026 Subject: June 2026 Director's Report Attachments: 1. June 2026 DR DIRECTOR’S REPORT FOR THE DAVENPORT CIVIL RIGHTS COMMISSION FOR June 2026 I. CASE STATUS 1. No “right to sue” letters were issued in the month of June. 2. No cases settled in mediation or conciliation in the month of June. II. OTHER ACTIVITY 1. The Director completed case processing documentation. 2. The Director worked on the preparation for the July 28 public hearing. 3. The Director transmitted the requested followup packet from the budget presentation and has requested a meeting to followup on the matters that have remained unresolved from prior meetings. 4. The Director conducted a commission overview training for the new commissioner. 5. The Director worked on developing materials for updated Commissioner training modules. 6. There remains no resolution to the internal complaint regarding the interception of the Commission’s confidential mail, it was submitted on December 20, 2023. 7. The Director worked on case resolution documents. 8. The Director worked with outside counsel on the review and submission of additional documents and interrogatories. 9. The Director worked with outside counsel on the submission of the Commission’s response. 10. The Director worked on litigation. 11. The Director continues to pause review of applications for the open positions pending an update on FY27 budget. 12. The Director continues to work on the update of training materials and professional development opportunities relating to the staffing realignment following the forced departure of the Asst. Director/Housing Programs Manager. 13. The Director and Administrative Assistant continued to work on reviewing and updating templates documents to reflect changes to case processing procedures. 14. The Housing Analyst position continues to be staffed on an interim basis by the Civil Rights Intake staff member. 15. The Civil Rights Intake Specialist worked on housing investigations. 16. The Civil Rights Intake Specialist worked on housing inquiries. 17. The Civil Rights Intake Specialist worked on case resolutions. 18. The Senior Civil Rights Analyst worked on case intakes. 19. The Senior Civil Rights Analyst worked on investigations. 20. The Senior Civil Rights Analyst worked on case resolutions. 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. The investigation of hostile working environment, still no findings over two years after the initiation of the investigation. 5. Continued refusal to process vacation correction, despite the subsequent resolution directing the reversal of any decisions infringing on the Commission’s decision making authority. 6. Constructive discharge of Commission employees. 7. 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 be intended to undermine the Commission’s mission and reflect ongoing retaliation and retaliatory harassment in response to substantiated complaints of discrimination and harassment. 8. Office Relocation - Still awaiting updates on the funding and viability of this project. 9. Council Resolution - The resolution was passed July 23, 2025 however past actions have not been corrected. IV. NEW BUSINESS 1. Commissioner training - method, dates and time.  City of Davenport Civil Rights Commission Department: Civil Rights Action / Date Contact Info: | 7/14/2026 Subject: June 2026 Case Status Report Attachments: None