TITLE
The Mayor and City Council shall discuss and possibly take action on approving the 2016 updated Title VI Non-Discrimination Implementation Plan related to Section 5311 transit funding. Discussion and Action.
AGENDA ITEM DESCRIPTION
Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 states “No person in the United States shall on the grounds of race, color, or national origin, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any program or activity receiving Federal Financial assistance.” (42 USC 200d)
This agenda item is a 2016 update to the Title VI Implementation Plan. This plan is mandated by the Federal Transit Administration for any agency receiving Section 5311 transit funding. Generally, the new plan goes into more detail on how the City Of Maricopa Express Transit (COMET) ensures that all people who use the COMET are treated equally. There is one specific change and one new specific provision: (1) The new plan includes changing the Title VI Coordinator from Mike Sawyer, the Total Transit Compliance Officer, to David R. Maestas, COMET Program Manager, thereby ensuring more direct local control and compliance with Title VI requirements. (2) New Provision: This is the first-time inclusion of a Spanish COMET User Guide and written provisions to provide other key documents in Spanish, or translation service for transit related public meetings upon request. This is required because of the Maricopa population of 1,011 Spanish speaking persons (U.S. Census Fact Finder) who speak English less than “very well.” Under the U.S. Department Of Justice’s Safe Harbor provision of Title VI, we must provide key documents in Spanish as well as English if a Limited English Proficiency (LEP) population exceeds 1,000 persons or 5 percent of the overall population, whichever is less. This is the only population in Maricopa that exceeds the LEP Safe Harbor Provision threshold.
This item is presented by Development Services Director Martin Scribner and Transportation/Transit Planner David R. Maestas.
STAFF RECOMMENDATION
Staff recommends that the Mayor and Council consider and approve the 2016 Title VI Non-Discrimination Implementation Plan.