St. Cloud City Council established a joint-powers agreement Monday that creates a regional human rights office.
Fear and cultural factors prevented her from seeking help from women's organizations.
The office and Human Rights Commission will provide services of education, outreach, enforcement and mediation to the cities of St. Joseph and St. Cloud. Other area cities are being approached to also participate.
The St. Cloud Housing & Redevelopment Authority has approved using $70,000 in Community Development Block Grant funds annually for five years for the regional office. The City Council will take final action on the CDBG funding in April.
The city of St. Cloud will close its Human Rights Office and allocate those funds to the regional office. Other participating cities will contribute dollars on a per-capita basis, at about 81 cents per person.
Under the agreement the state Human Rights Department will take complaints, preinvestigate for dispute resolution and send the complaint to state office staff if necessary. State staff would serve as staff for the new Human Rights Commission and would provide education and outreach in the community.
St. Cloud has long sought a regional human rights office. In 2008 it established a similar joint-powers agreement with Waite Park. That agreement fell through after Waite Park pulled out, citing concerns about finances.
St. Cloud has its own Human Rights Office that is overseen by the City Attorney’s Office. City officials have sought a regional approach because