Civil Rights Commission — Davenport, IA
Date: 2026-01-13
Time: 12:00

CIVIL RIGHTS COMMISSION MEETING

 CITY OF DAVENPORT, IOWA

 Tuesday, January 13, 2026; 12:00 PM

 Virtual Via Zoom:
 https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84869608008?pwd=MUhuMUNSUnp4WlZndk9tbXZiMlY1UT09

I. Roll Call

 Virtual Via Zoom:
 https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84869608008?pwd=MUhuMUNSUnp4WlZndk9tbXZiMlY1UT09

II. Approval of Agenda

III. Approval of Minutes

 A. December 2025 Minutes

IV. Director's Report

 A. December 2025 Director's Report

 B. December 2025 Case Status Report

V. New Business

 A. E-0077-0042-17

 B. Selection of Officers

VI. Old Business

VII. Closed Session Pursuant to Iowa Code 21.5(1)(f)

 A. ED-0118-0002-15

VIII. Closed Session Pursuant to Iowa Code 21.5(1)(f)

 A. H-0050-0015-21

IX. Public Comment and Presentation

X. Adjourn

XI. Next Meeting

CIVIL RIGHTS COMMISSION MEETING

 CITY OF DAVENPORT, IOWA

 Tuesday, January 13, 2026; 12:00 PM

 Virtual Via Zoom:
 https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84869608008?pwd=MUhuMUNSUnp4WlZndk9tbXZiMlY1UT09

I. Roll Call

 Virtual Via Zoom:
 https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84869608008?pwd=MUhuMUNSUnp4WlZndk9tbXZiMlY1UT09

II. Approval of Agenda

III. Approval of Minutes

 A. December 2025 Minutes

IV. Director's Report

 A. December 2025 Director's Report

 B. December 2025 Case Status Report

V. New Business

 A. E-0077-0042-17

 B. Selection of Officers

VI. Old Business

VII. Closed Session Pursuant to Iowa Code 21.5(1)(f)

 A. ED-0118-0002-15

VIII. Closed Session Pursuant to Iowa Code 21.5(1)(f)

 A. H-0050-0015-21

IX. Public Comment and Presentation

X. Adjourn

XI. Next Meeting
 City of Davenport
 Civil Rights Commission
Department: Civil Rights Action / Date
Contact Info: | 1/13/2026
Subject:
December 2025 Minutes

Attachments:
None
 City of Davenport
 Civil Rights Commission
Department: Civil Rights Action / Date
Contact Info: | 1/13/2026
Subject:
December 2025 Director's Report

Attachments:
1. January 2026 Director's Report
DIRECTOR’S REPORT FOR THE DAVENPORT CIVIL RIGHTS COMMISSION FOR
 December 2025

I. CASE STATUS
 1. One “right to sue” letter was issued in the month of December.
 2. One case settled in mediation in the month of December. This case involved
 allegations of race discrimination in employment. The case resolved for $8,000 for the
 Complainant and relief in the public interest.
II. OTHER ACTIVITY
 1. The Director completed case processing documentation.
 2. The Director followed up on the correspondence to City Administrator Gleason relating
 to the November Joint Meeting regarding finance and relocation and the delayed hiring
 of part-time employee.
 3. The Director worked with outside counsel to compile materials supporting legal matters
 pertaining to the Commission.
 4. The Director continues to await the receipt of an updated proposal on the property
 proposed for the office relocation as mentioned last month, the previous bid related to a
 larger, general remodel, rather than being tailored to the specific requests submitted by
 the Commission.
 5. The Director still has not received commitment from the CFO to attend the Commission
 meeting to go over the answers to the questions posed following the Joint Work session
 with the City Council, the initial request was for attendance at the November meeting.
 6. As reported in November, the Director was notified by the Human Resources Director
 that Human Resources could not process a personnel action, due to the current state of
 residence of the staff member. After the request for further information on an expected
 timeline for processing the personnel action, the Director received an email stating that
 the Commission would need to hire a consultant to ascertain the appropriate manner to
 hire the employee, the options given were:
 1. Engaging an outside consultant with specialized expertise in California hiring
 practices.
 2. Establishing a direct contract with the individual to provide services.
 3. Partnering with a staffing agency with a local office in California to employ this
 individual.
 This directive appears to conflict with the city code which states that the Director of
 Human Resources shall “provide staff services for the City and for various boards,
 consultants, study commissions and other governmental agencies regarding personnel
 needs and problems.” Dav. Mun. Code § 2.50.050(E). The Commission relies on HR to
 fulfill this statutory responsibility, which includes supporting the onboarding and
 employment of Commission staff regardless of their state of residence. This matter has
 not been resolved to date. It appears that the ongoing delays due to a lack of response
 from Human Resources, slow processing of personnel actions by both Finance and
 Human Resources, have continued.
 7. There remains no resolution to the internal complaint regarding the interception of the
 Commission’s confidential mail, submitted on December 20, 2023.
 8. The Director continues to monitor COVID-191 rates and its impact on office functions.
 9. The Director worked on case resolution documents.
 10. The Director worked on litigation.
 11. The Director continued reviewing applications for the open positions.
 12. The Director continues to work on the update of training materials and professional
 development opportunities related to the staffing realignment related to the forced
 departure of the Asst. Director/Housing Programs Manager.
 13. The Housing Analyst resigned and the position is being staffed on an interim basis by the
 Civil Rights Intake staff member.
 14. The Civil Rights Intake Specialist worked on housing investigations.
 15. The Civil Rights Intake Specialist worked on housing inquiries.
 16. The Civil Rights Intake Specialist worked on case resolutions.
 17. The Senior Civil Rights Analyst worked on case intakes.
 18. The Senior Civil Rights Analyst worked on investigations.
 19. The Senior Civil Rights Analyst worked on case resolutions.
III. OLD BUSINESS
 1. Ongoing discrimination, harassment and bullying of Commission staff.
 1. Retaliatory actions against Commission staff and further examples of different
 treatment.
 2. Legal Department refusal to accept Commission referral.
 3. Use of racial slurs in City Hall. City’s failure to initiate complaint investigation.
 4. Investigation of hostile working environment, still no findings over a year after the
 initiation of the investigation.
 5. Continued refusal to process vacation correction, despite receiving their legal opinion
 which clearly indicates that the Commission’s procedure for processing the correction
 was appropriate and the subsequent resolution directing the reversal of any decisions
 infringing on the Commission’s decision making authority.
 6. Constructive discharge of Commission employees.
 7. The Commission continues to face delays and obstructive actions by City Administration
 that have hindered resolution of matters previously presented to the City Council. These
 actions appear to be intended to undermine the Commission’s mission and reflect
 ongoing retaliation and retaliatory harassment in response to substantiated complaints of
 discrimination and harassment.
 8. Office Relocation - The Director conducted a preliminary accessibility audit of the
 property, there appears to be sufficient room for the Commission and it appears to be able
 to be updated within the budget set for the office remodel. The city submitted a copy of
 the preliminary report of the property, which appears to highlight the same issue included
 within the preliminary accessibility audit submitted by the Commission. There is an
 updated assessment of the property which outlines a substantial remodel of the building,

1 Also, measles, influenza and RSV.
 beyond what was requested by the Commission, the Director received notice from
 Interim City Administrator Nicole Gleason that they had not been provided the
 Commission’s scope which was submitted in August 2025 and the city staff would be
 redoing the proposal based upon the data requested from the Commission.
 9. Council Resolution - The resolution was passed July 23, 2025 however past actions have
 not been corrected.

IV. NEW BUSINESS
 1. Staffing delays.
 City of Davenport
 Civil Rights Commission
Department: Civil Rights Action / Date
Contact Info: | 1/13/2026
Subject:
December 2025 Case Status Report

Attachments:
None
 City of Davenport
 Civil Rights Commission
Department: Civil Rights Action / Date
Contact Info: | 1/13/2026
Subject:
E-0077-0042-17

Attachments:
None
 City of Davenport
 Civil Rights Commission
Department: Civil Rights Action / Date
Contact Info: | 1/13/2026
Subject:
Selection of Officers

Attachments:
None