Past Projects » City of Madison, Dept. of Civil Rights Public Input Forums

City of Madison, Dept. of Civil Rights Public Input Forums

As part of his 2005 executive budget, Mayor Cieslewicz included a proposal for the creation of the Department of Civil Rights that would include the existing Affirmative Action and Equal Opportunity Commission offices. The resulting department would heighten the visibility of equal rights, underscore the benefits of diversity, rejuvenate anti-discrimination efforts and address quality of life issues.

In order to expand citizen participation, an Ad Hoc Committee was created to solicit public input on the proposal and report back to the Common Council on its findings. To provide this input, the public had chances to speak out on the proposed Department of Civil Rights in a series of events that the Ad Hoc Committee sponsored. The forums were facilitated by Carol Lobes from the Center for Democracy in Action.

The City of Madison government suspended the usual hearing testimony format to create a more interactive, less intimidating process; one that encouraged participants to thoughtfully and respectfully share their ideas.

As a result of the Forums, the Ad Hoc Committee recommended the following:

  1. Restructure the Equal Opportunities Commission (department) and Affirmative Action Department into a single Department of Civil Rights with one Director.
  2. Continue the current missions of both the Affirmative Action (AA) and Equal Opportunity Commission (EOC) departments under the new Department of Civil Rights.
  3. Maintain the three commissions (AAC, EOC and Commission on People with Disabilities-CPD) and organize them with designated co-membership seats, so that all three commissions have a representative on each commission.
  4. Create a system of accountability for ensuring equal opportunity and affirmative action.
  5. Provide Funding for Fair Housing Testing and language assistance and develop specific goals for each of these initiatives as part of an overall Department of Civil Rights strategic plan.
  6. Continue to fully support the investigative, hearing and decision-making components of the EOC complaint process. Co-locate the EOC and AA. Study the staffing and organizational structure of the Department of Civil Rights through normal City processes to ensure that administrative support; supervisory roles, position descriptions and compensation maximize the DCR's ability to effectively carry out its mission.
  7. Develop an ongoing dialog process with city residents to ensure that civil rights issues within the community are addressed and resolved.

For more information:

Collaborative Partners:

Janet Piraino, Madison Mayor's Office; Annette Miller, Madison Mayor's Office.