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Home My WebLink AboutRES NO 47-63 RESOLUTION NO. 47-'63 A RESOLUTION OF THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF BAKERSFIELD .ESTAB~LISHING AN ·' INTER~ - GROUP RELATIONS BOARD. "" WHEREAS, the. matter of inter-'racial-and inter:.ethnic harmony and unity is a .problem which properly concerns the entire community, and ' " WHEREAS, there does 'not-now. exist any. organization enjoying official status nor any o~ganization .representatiVe' of the entire 'community and having the promotion of inter"raciat, - religious and ethnic harmony and progress .as its primary'purpose, and WHEREAS, -the most'recent 'conference of mayors--of the United States and the PreSident of our Nation-h..ave. of·ficially called for the creation of local boards whose purpose'~ would' be the promotion of such inter-group harmony and progress, and WHEREAS, many such local boards now exist and are.being·l- created .. by local governing bodies both North and-South.; ..... NOW, THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, :by the CounCil of'-the City of Bakersfield, as .f011ows~ I'. NAME: There is hereby crea~ed an official City' board~ which shall be known as the City of .Bakersfield int.er-Group Relations Board. II. PURPOSES: The.purpOses of said Board shall be: a. To 'advise the Council-on problems 'involving local' inter-group relations.. b. To encourage and or sponsor educational activities which .'tend to promote inter-racial, -inter- faith and inter-ethnic harmony, progress and inte- gration. . --. To inVestigate individual complaints .Iregarding, III. alleged racial, et. hnic or religious. diScrimi- nation and to-h01d hearing ther'e~n. but oniy pursuant to procedural/rules which guarantee due process and absolute fairness to all parties involved· MEMBERSHIP: a. Board membership shall be, as folt'ows: There shall be nine Board members who shall have been residents of the City of. Bakersfield for not less than one year'prior tO.the date' of their appointment to said Board. b. Each Council member sha,ll have an absolute·r.ight to appoint one person to the Board'~ The remaining Board members Shall be 'nominated bythe Mayor but their actual appointment. shall be approved by majority vote Of the CoUncil. In nominating and'appointing said'Board members both the Council members and the Mayor shall make every reasonable e'ffort 't'o insUre'that a wide cross section of community,interest'and viewpoints are represented on the.BOard/and that' the local business'community, organized labor, school administrators and the various religi6us, racial and ethnic groupS.of our 'City are z'fairly represented on the Board~ All Board members shall serve without'pay. The chairman and other Officers of the Board shall be elected by .majority vote of the Board --members~ ............... L.~ ....................z The term of each Board member shall be one year and Board members shall be eli.gib!e for re- appointment in the manner specified.above,' IV. f..The Mayor, Chief of Police, city Attorney and City Manager shall be ex offiCio. members of'the Board, but they shall have no voting .rights. MEETINGS: The time and place of Board meeting shall be as-follows: VI. Regular meetings .of the Board shall be. held once per month on 'a fixed day of each month and at a fixed time to.be determined by the Board at its first.meeting which said first meeting shall be convened by the Mayor. Special Board.meetings~may .be called by the Board chairman or by-not less than four members of the Board and any such special meeting shall be held only upon at' lease two (2) days written notice having been mailed to-all Board'members. Board meetings shall be held in an appropriate and fixed City facility to be provided. by the City Manager. EXPENSES: b o, a.. The expenses of the Board shall'be limited to necessary clerical help' and clerical supplies other expenses specifically authorized approved by the Council· Funds for all SuCh Board ~XpenSes shall be derived from.the COuncil. ContingehCy.Fund or from such Other appropriate City fund.as may from. time to timebe designated by the CoUnCil. c.--The--'C~ty~Manager 'shali"arr~ng~for"~ComPetent' clerical.assistance to ~e present at all"Board meetings· . GUARANTEE OF DUE PROCESS AND FAIRNESS: In-order to. inS'Ure the maximum of due process and..fairness to. all' per. so, ns. having Contact with the' Board and to insure zealous protection of indi- viduaI~ human and property. rights ~it~Out r'egard.to race, Creed or color the Board with the assistance and advice of the·.City At, torney and .sUbject to the same being appr.OVed~..by this Counc'il shall develop detailed written rules. of pr'Ocedure. whiclh. shall govern, limit and cont.rot any and all general 'or 'indiVidual°/faCt finding proceedings. or hearing which shall*be "Conducted by '~the .Board. In the' case of hearing on individual 'complaints'of dis6riminatiOn, said 'rUles Of procedure shall not be inconsistent'/With,"the"fol!owing statement of principles and guidelines-': ~'... . a.. Individual and the · publit .at large" should. be zealously protected from unwar'rant'&d Charges of racial or religious .diSdrimination and therefore' before the Board .acts upon or in any manner considers any complaint of discrimination oh account of race, cr'eed Or .cOlor the 'BOard Shall require that any ~person or persons making SUch complaint do so in writing'.slgned and verified under penalty of perjury. The same may be .made upon information and belief· It shall be unlawful' and '.shall constitute a misdemeanor for any Board member to reveal. the fact of or the contents of any Such.veri'fied complaint at any time before the person persons or entity complained has been afforded a full and fair opportunity to appear before the Board-.~n~d~pre.sent-~y-,-an-d--a-l~-mat~ters-~-~.n-refU~ tation of said complaint. Thereafter, if 'the Board shall determine that said complaint. is unmeritorious, untrue or. unsupported by sub- stantial, reasonable and believable.'evidence the Board shall immediately dismiss. said VII. complaint. ~ . c. If the Board after full and fair.hearing shall determine that the complaint is supported by a preponderance'of the'-evidence, it shall then through recommendations, persuasion'and concili- ation endeavor to-.correct~ said wrong. ' d. All Board. hearings upon any such individual complaint shall be private and confidential unless otherwise requested by-the person against- whom such complaint has'beeh'made. Any person appearing.before the Board shall be entitled to appear with counsel. ' f. All other mee[ings and proceedings of the-BOard shall be open and, public. ~-~. g. In all of its pr0ceedings"~the Board shall. keep in mind the principle that its purposes are intended to be primarily accomplished'by . persuasion, education, and conciliation. LIMITATIONS ON JURISDICTION: a. The Board shall have no power to impose any penalty upon any person or organization. b. The Board shall have no power. to act on or hear any individual complaint'within the ,purview of Section 3.60.010 of the Bakersfield Municipal Code· VIII. REPORTS: ~I activities and,proceedings and all such records 'shall be open to public inspec[ion .~xcept that any individual complaints. of.discr'im~na,tion and IX. proceeding 'thereon shaii" be 'private.' and ·confi- ~ - dential to the extent .provided above.- . From time to time,· as it deems, advisable, but· not less than twice each year, the Board, shall submit to and fi.le with"the Council-Compr, ehenslve · reports covering the Boards activities 'and progress in the fulfillment of= its purposes'" MISCELLANEOUS PROVIS IONS: " ' a. Not more than three* (3), weeks after'it'he adoption of this resolution the Mayor shall"see that the. ,. first meeting of the Boar,d is Convened...' The Council members shall ,announCe ,the names- of their individual appointees at the next. r. egular meeting of this Council and the fact. of'their said appointment and at the same time the' Council shall-act on the remaining proposed'Boar'd 'members who the Mayor shall have'-then nominate, d. · The CounCil hereb'y-declares that. it is..the official policy of "the city of Bakers·fieid to. encourage equal-opportunities ..'f0~r ali persons in all spheres without regard to race., .!creed' or color. d. 'The Board shall' immediately ,undertake · its functions at its 'first,'meeting· .! .... e. All City'department 'heads and employees .'shall'. cooperate with the Board,in the fulfillment Of its purposes. b~ .. ... x, PoweRs RgSF, RVF D TO.'THF,.COUNCIL: .. .. ': .......' ....~::~" ......a:" Th'i~' ~C6~'i'~' 'S'h~ ~_!~ t' '~a I, ~ '~t ime s~ have-::-the--powe r to amend, alter or..modify or even .abrogate the' terms and prOviSions of this resolution. XI. The Council' shal.l' h~ve.'the power to .remov. e any .. . member gf the;' Board,.'Upon' good cause :ther'efor'e" being. shown, and nO · such person. thus' .removed. shall be re-appointed tO the Board except by vote of this 'CounCil. ' EFFECTIVE DATE: This resolution 'Shall. become'.: effective immediately upon approval by this.counCil except that no .hearing shall be hel'd upon indi~idual'complaintS.0f' discrimination until'.the .Board' has first received a'written opinion:.f'rom the. City Attorney ConCerning the possible app.li~cation'of:.the So'Called Brown Act and the City Attorney,shall apprOve'the legality .of all Board investigations. -' .' '. : " i ' ' .... o0o .~ :. :. .'I HEREBY CERTIFY that the 'foregoing'resolu[ion was 'passed'and adopted by the. Council of the'City~.of .Bakersfie·ld. at.a regular 'meeting thereof held on the 1st day of July,.. 1963, by':the., following vote: .:. ". AYES, ~, I, DOOLIN, M,~RCHBANKS~/'~'e~ R.UCKER, STIERN ABSENT: · ' Council of the City'of Bakersfield. ...... .:....