A partnership between Duluth's Human Rights Office and the federal government has begun, city officials announced at a news conference today.
Under the partnership, the city office will investigate fair housing complaints received by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
"We want to promote and enforce fair, non-discriminatory housing in the city of Duluth," Duluth Human Rights commission chairwoman Jane Maddy said.
The city first approached the federal government several years ago about creating such a partnership -- and in the end, the partnership likely saved the office from closure.
In August, Mayor Herb Bergson proposed closing the office. But in October, the City Council accepted a $120,000 HUD grant that will pay for most of the office's operations. The city will pay $38,000 a year to match the grant.
ADVERTISEMENT
In accepting the money, the city agreed that the office would focus more on housing issues.
The number of housing complaints the office receives is increasing, Duluth human rights officer Meg Bye said. Last year housing complaints comprised 28 percent of the complaints the office received.
Bye said it remains to be seen whether concentrating on housing complaints will lessen what the office can do for people with equal opportunity, discrimination and disability questions.
"We have a very small staff," she said. "Obviously, if we are getting more complaints of housing discrimination, then we're stretching our staff thinner."
The Human Rights Office was created to enforce a 2001 ordinance prohibiting discrimination based on age, race, religion, sexual orientation, education, disability, income or employment. The office has two full-time employees and one part-time investigator.
