Local Human Rights Commission defunded

by Wes Martin and Micah Sommer

Richmond’s Human Rights Commission will no longer receive municipal funding at the end of this year, the Richmond Common Council decided on Sept. 28. By a vote of 7-2 and over the protests of many Richmond residents, the Council approved the 2010 city budget, which does not include funding for the Human Rights Commission. 

According to its Web site, the Human Rights Commission exists to promote equal opportunity in employment, housing, and education by investigating claims of discrimination and disseminating educational material about civil rights.

“As the local civil law enforcement agency, we provide the same services that the Richmond Police Department provides for criminal law,” HRC director Ron Church explained in an email interview. Church declined to be interviewed in person on the advice of his attorney.

On Sept. 21 Councilmember J. Clayton Miller introduced a budget amendment that would cease funding for the Human Rights Commission after this year. The amendment passed by a vote of 5-4. Council members Miller, Bob Goodwin, Bruce Wissel, Bing Welch and Larry Parker voted for the amendment whereas Jack Elstro, Diana Pappin, Kelley Cruse-Nicholson and Phil Quinn opposed it. 

When asked in a phone interview why he proposed the amendment, Miller cited recent state legislation that put a cap on property taxes, which has strained municipal revenues. “Quite frankly it’s at a point where we’re either going to have to cut services or raise taxes,” he said.

 “It was clearly a dollars and cents issue to me,” seconded Goodwin in a separate interview. “Increasing taxes was not an option.”

Both Goodwin and Miller noted that most services offered by the HRC are available through state-run agencies like the Indiana Civil Rights Commission and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

The Council approved the 2010 budget despite a last-ditch effort by Commission supporters to sway the councilmembers. Former HRC Chair Bob Hunter organized a rally outside of the Common Council chambers before the budget was passed.

In an interview with the Word, Hunter estimated that 75 people attended the rally, which included speeches by members of the Human Rights Commission and community members. He also explained that, in his view, the Council “subverted the process” of governance on Sept. 21 by introducing and voting on the amendment after public comment was closed. He called the action a “dishonest sneaky trick.”

“As a citizen, I’m outraged,” Hunter said.

Mayor Sally Hutton is also upset at the Council’s decision, saying that it “set us back 25, 30 years if not more.” In an interview at Richmond’s Municipal Building she praised HRC director Ron Church’s work and asserted the importance of the Commission.

Responding to the argument that Richmond’s Commission duplicates services available at the state level, Hutton said that “everybody’s a duplication of somebody’s service,” noting that her job as mayor is similar to that of a county commissioner or governor. “Locally is where you know your people and you know their needs,” Hutton said.

Hutton also responded to speculation that she could veto the amendment that cut HRC funding. In her interview she asserted that she was legally unable to do so without vetoing the entire 2010 budget. Doing so would reset state and federal funding to 2009 levels, leaving Richmond to operate on a considerable deficit. “I couldn’t take that chance,” she said.

The current annual budget of the Human Rights Commission is $74,150, the Richmond Palladium-Item has reported. This amount pays the salaries of Church, who serves as director and investigator, and a part-time administrative assistant/investigator. The members of the Commission serve as volunteers.

Repercussions of the Common Council’s Decision

The Common Council’s decision to end funding for the Human Rights Commission could have broader implications. Richmond currently is the recipient of a Community Development Block Grant from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Mayor Hutton explained that the city receives $300,000 every 18 months to be used for housing rehabilitation. These grants are contingent on the city working to “affirmatively further fair housing.” The Human Rights Commission, as the enforcement arm of Richmond’s Fair Housing Ordinance, currently functions to fulfill that requirement.

Miller said that the city can enforce the ordinance and thus qualify for the grants in other ways, such as through partnering with non-profit entities.

Goodwin echoed the city’s ongoing eligibility for the federal grants. “It’s not that we’d lose the funding, it’s that someone needs to take on those charges [of enforcing the ordinance],” he said, noting that he and Miller had experience in administering those grants.

Church, however, was skeptical that a private entity could enforce the ordinance, noting, “the Commission is the agency empowered by city ordinance to affirmatively further fair housing.” He pointed to Richmond Code 32.5109, which states, “The authority and responsibility for properly administering Sections 32.5101 through 32.5112 shall be vested in the Human Rights Commission of the City of Richmond, Indiana … The commission will administratively enforce all formal complaints alleging a discriminatory housing practice for the purpose of investigation, resolution, and appropriate relief as provided for under Title 22-9.5-6 of the Indiana Code.”

Earlham’s Reaction

In an interview with the Word, Earlham President Doug Bennett downplayed the effect of the HRC defunding on Earlham, saying that “Earlham has to stay focused on its purposes and as a not-for-profit entity can’t get involved in politics.”

However, Bennett explained that he did write a letter to the Richmond Common Council on Sept. 24 urging them to reconsider defunding the Commission. In the letter he wrote, “The City of Richmond, I believe, has no reason to think that it has succeeded [in providing equal rights] where the nation as a whole is still struggling to achieve full equality and respect for rights … Were we to eliminate the Office of Human Rights, the Common Council (whether it means to convey this message or not) would be telling the citizens of Richmond that the fair treatment for all of its citizens is no longer a community concern.”

Brianna Chamberlain, a junior at Earlham, volunteers with the Human Rights Commission as a Bonner Scholar. She said that the Council’s decision to end funding came as a surprise to all who worked at the HRC.

“I don’t think anyone expected it,” she said. 

Chamberlain has worked with the Commission since last year and was planning to continue in the future. She praised Ron Church’s work, saying, “He’s a great man and he’s passionate about what we’re doing, and this is really upsetting.”

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