Tonight, Athens-Clarke County Commissioners plan to vote on the first Human Relations Commission (HRC) Workplan.
Established in 2021, the HRC aims to facilitate communication between the Mayor and Commission and the Athens community, according to ACC officials. In Jan. 2022, the HRC announced three main objectives: to increase the accessibility of the Unlawful Discrimination Ordinance (NDO,) community engagement, and to propose policies that uphold human and civil rights.
While commissioners generally seem to support the HRC, in a non-voting meeting in April, some called the HRC’s policy recommendations deadline sluggish. District 6’s Jesse Houle criticized the HRC’s proposed annual workplan, which asks the HRC to submit policy recommendations by Dec. 2023.
However, other commissioners were less critical of the HRC’s timeline. District 5’s Dexter Fisher asked the commission to be mindful of the pressure of starting a new countywide project.
The Commission can vote to approve, deny, or to institute a Commission Defined Option (CDO) on the HRC Workplan at tonight’s meeting.
