Things might be looking up for Duluth's Human Rights Office. On Wednesday, just a week after Duluth Mayor Don Ness proposed closing it to save money, he and City Councilor Sharla Gardner detailed their plans for saving the six-year-old equal rights watchdog.
Ness targeted the office for closure June 9 as part of his effort to cut more than$4 million from the city's expenses to head off a$4.4 million budget deficit.
Gardner said she will introduce a resolution at tonight'scouncil meeting that would eliminate the office from the list of cuts.
"I think it's essential to keep the Human Rights Office open at this point in time, particularly because when we are facing tough economic times, we need to look at the areas that can best afford to be cut," she said. "When you look at the people who are served at the Human Rights Office, these are the people who can least afford to not have representation."
Meanwhile, Ness said he hopes to have the Human Rights Office operate only on the $120,000 it receives from a federal grant. Currently, a $40,000 subsidy from the city's general fund expands the office's budget to $160,000.Ness said he also would ask the office to pay the city rent for having an office in City Hall. He did not know Wednesday what the rent would be.
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Combine that with a similar approach to the offices of Workforce Development and Community Development and the Duluth Economic Development Authority, and the city could save several hundred thousand dollars, Ness estimated.
Ness said most of the feedback he has gotten about his proposed budget cuts are from people who acknowledge deep cuts are necessary, but hope to spare one or two of the things Ness planned to eliminate. Making the four entities grant-supported operations that receive no money from the city would, in his estimation, allow them to continue operating at no expense to the city.
Ness plans to present his new approach to the City Council at tonight's meeting.
Bob Grytdahl, the city's human rights officer since February 2007, said the office handles the city's affirmative action plan, interviews workers with sexual or racial harassment concerns, works on the city's compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act and provides outreach and education to community groups. He estimated the office has handled 800 cases in its six years.
"To save money by shutting this one office doesn't seem to make sense," he said.
Grytdahl said he earns $60,000 a year. He said the office's only other staff are an information technician and a part-time investigator who works two days a week.
Gardner said she thinks Ness' plan is "an OK compromise" but said she'll continue to angle for giving the Human Rights Office $40,000 a year.
"I think we should ask for the whole loaf because I don't think it's too much," she said. "Forty thousand dollars -- we can find that money."
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The office eventually could generate revenue for the city "by providing inspections and certifications," according to Gardner's resolution.
"There's a lot of good stuff that's coming down the road," she said.
