TITLE VI OF THE CIVIL RIGHTS ACT OF 1964 POLICY

             I.      INTRODUCTION

PURPOSE:  The purpose of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 is to prohibit programs which receive federal funds from discriminating against participants or clients on the basis of race, color or national origin.  The intent of the law is to ensure that all persons, regardless of their race, color or national origin, are allowed to participate in these federally funded programs.

To insure that the Village of Nashville meets its compliance responsibility, the following procedures have been established by Resolution of the Village Council to provide for the monitoring of Title VI compliance activities and complaint processing in all Village operations and programs which receive federal funding either in whole or in part.

            _____________________________________                             ______________

            Frank Dunham, Village President                                                          Date

          II.      TITLE VI POLICY AND PROCEDURES

A.     POLICY:  The Village of Nashville reaffirms its policy to afford all individuals the opportunity to participate in federal financially assisted services and adopts the following provision:

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.

In applying this policy, the Village of Nashville will not engage in activities that constitute illegal discrimination against persons on the basis of their race, color or national origin in violation of Title VI. Only to the extent that any of the following activities constitute such illegal discrimination, the Village will not:

1.      Deny any individual with any services, opportunity, or other benefit for which such individual is otherwise qualified;

2.      Provide any individual with any service, or other benefit, which is inferior (in quantity or quality) to, or which is provided in a different manner from that which is provided to others;

3.      Subject any individual to segregated or disparate treatment related to such individual’s receipt of services or benefits;

4.      Restrict an individual from the enjoyment of services, facilities or any other advantage, privilege or benefit provided to others;

5.      Adopt or use methods of administration, which would limit participation by any group of recipients or subject any individual to discrimination;

6.      Address any individual in a manner that denotes inferiority because of race, color, or national origin;

7.      Deny any segment of the population the opportunity to participate in the operations of a planning or advisory body that is an integral part of a federally funded program;

8.      Fail to provide service or information in a language other than English when significant numbers of potential or actual beneficiaries are of limited English speaking ability;

9.      Subject an individual to discriminatory employment practices under any federally funded program whose object is to provide employment;

10.  Locate a facility in any way, which would limit or impede access to a federally-funded service or benefit.

B.     PROCEDURES:  The responsibility for complying with the provisions of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 is vested in the Village Council, which is accountable for the administration of the Village of Nashville and its departments. However, the Village President (Coordinator) has the responsibility of ensuring that all departments comply with the Plan.

The Coordinator will:

Ø      Collect, analyze and report the statistical data (race, color and national origin) of participants in and beneficiaries of federal financially-assisted services provided through the Village; The analysis will be used to:

§         determine how effectively programs are reaching eligible groups;

§         assist in the selection of locations for compliance reviews;

§         identify areas for additional outreach efforts; and

§         provide status reports to measure progress of program delivery.

Ø      Prepare a Title VI Self-Survey; and

Ø      Prepare an annual compliance report based upon the Village’s compliance efforts. 

C.     PUBLIC AWARENESS AND NOTIFICATIONS:  Pamphlets and posters designed to inform Village employees, clients and prospective clients of their obligations and rights under Title VI and of the availability of services will be distributed periodically as deemed necessary and as funding is available.

D.    ORIENTATION:  Village employees will also receive some orientation regarding the obligations and rights involved in the Title VI program. Training programs for all employees will be conducted as may be appropriate.

E.     COMPLIANCE IN PROCUREMENT PROCEDURES:  The Village will require an assurance of compliance with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 from sub-recipients and contractors upon entering into any contract which involves federally funded programs. All formal Title VI complaints against the village will be referred to MDOT.

F.      COMPLAINT PROCEDURES:  A complaint alleging discrimination against the Village of Nashville may be filed with the Village Clerk

1.      The Village Clerk has the primary responsibility for receiving, acknowledging, and investigating complaints and for reporting the findings to the Village Council. Complaints must be filed in writing and immediately sent to the Village Clerk. The form can be filled out by the complainant or by his/her representative. Departmental Coordinators shall receive a copy of any complaints filed.

2.      Unless a complaint is being filed externally, all complaints should first be filed with the Village Clerk.  The Village Clerk’s investigative efforts regarding any complaints will be conducted in cooperation with the department head whose department is the subject of the complaint. The Village Clerk, in cooperation with the respective department head and in consultation the Village Attorney, has broad latitude to review a complaint and make a finding. Procedures can include, but are not limited to, discussing the complaint with the complainant, the alleged offender, and the initial reviewer, to determine the facts. The Village Clerk will conduct and complete such fact-finding within a thirty (30) day time frame. The Village Clerk and the complainant may mutually agree, in writing, to allow for additional time to determine the facts. Once the investigation is completed, the Village Clerk will prepare a written report of findings. If the report concludes that there was a violation of Title VI, the department head’s and/or sub-recipient’s proposed corrective action shall be included in the report.

3.      The Village Clerk will maintain a Title VI complaint log to show identifying information, type, and status of each complaint filed. When any investigation is concluded, the Village Clerk will keep a copy of the report on permanent file. Within five (5) consecutive work days after the completion of this report, the written findings will be communicated to the complainant. The complainant may choose to appeal the charges externally, if she/he has not done so already.

4.      To allow time to file sequentially with the Village and then externally with an appropriate outside agency or court, as the complainant chooses, the complaint within the Village system shall be filed no later than thirty (30) calendar days after the alleged discrimination occurred.

5.      If a complaint is filed within the Village, and it is filed externally during the same time, the external complaint supersedes the internal complaint filing; accordingly the Village’s complaint procedures will be suspended pending outcome of the external complaint.