[HISTORY: Adopted by the Town Board of the Town of Bath 10-17-1984. Amendments
noted where applicable.]
A.
The Town of Bath hereby adopts an internal grievance procedure providing
for prompt and equitable resolution of complaints alleging any action
prohibited by the Office of Revenue Sharing's (ORS) regulations
[31 CFR 51.55(d)(2)] implementing Section 504 of the Rehabilitation
Act of 1973, as amended (29 U.S.C. § 794). Section 504 states,
in part, that "no otherwise qualified handicapped individual . . .
shall, solely by reason of his handicap, be excluded from the participation
in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under
any program or activity receiving federal financial assistance . .
."
B.
Complaints should be addressed to: Supervisor, Town of Bath, Municipal
Hall, Bath, New York 14810, who is designated to coordinate Section
504 compliance efforts.
A complaint shall be filed in writing, containing the name and
address of the person filing it, and shall briefly describe the alleged
violation of the regulations.
A complaint shall be filed within 15 days after the complainant
becomes aware of the alleged violation. (Processing of allegations
of discrimination occurring before this grievance procedure was in
place will be considered on a case-by-case basis).
An investigation, as may be appropriate, shall follow a filing
of a complaint. The investigation will be conducted by the Supervisor.
This chapter contemplates informal but thorough investigations, affording
all interested persons and their representatives, if any, an opportunity
to submit evidence relevant to a complaint. Under 31 CFR 51.55(d)(2),
the Town of Bath need not process complaints from applicants for employment
or from applicants for admission to post-secondary educational institutions.
A written determination as to the validity of the complaint
and description of resolution, if any, shall be issued by the Supervisor,
and a copy shall be forwarded to the complainant no later than 30
days after its filing.
The Section 504 coordinator shall maintain the files and records
of the Town of Bath relating to complaints filed and actions taken.
The complainant may request a reconsideration of the case in instances where he or she is dissatisfied with the determination. Any request for reconsideration shall be made to the Town Board, in writing, within 15 days of receipt of the determination under § 16-5 hereof.
The Town Board, upon receipt of a request for reconsideration,
shall afford the complainant an opportunity to be heard and, after
hearing the complainant and reviewing the action taken by the Supervisor,
may dismiss the application or may make any determination as to validity
and resolution thereof which could have been made by the Supervisor.
In fulfilling its reconsideration functions under this section, the
Supervisor shall not sit as a member of the Town Board.
The right of a person to a prompt and equitable resolution of
the complaint filed hereunder shall not be impaired by the person's
pursuit of other remedies, such as the filing of a Section 504 complaint
with the Office of Revenue Sharing, United States Department of the
Treasury. Utilization of this grievance procedure is not a prerequisite
to the pursuit of other remedies.
This chapter shall be construed to protect the substantive rights
of interested persons, to meet appropriate due process standards and
to assure that the Town of Bath complies with Section 504 and the
Office of Revenue Sharing regulations.
