Council to consider antidiscrimination resolution

Avon Lake City Council will consider a resolution denouncing discrimination in all forms following a unanimous 3-0 recommendation Sept. 16 from Council’s Safety Committee.

Ward 4 Councilman and Safety Committee Chairman David Kos proposed an amended resolution in recognizing the mood of the nation.

“The city of Avon Lake is not a bubble,” Kos said. “We are not immune from poverty; we are not immune from drug abuse.

“We are not immune from many of the things that ail other communities across the region, state and country, and we’re not immune from discrimination in all forms. And that was the reason that I thought it was necessary to put this resolution together and to recognize this and to denounce it in its entirety.”

The proposed resolution denounces all forms of racism, homophobia, sexism, xenophobia, religious discrimination and disability discrimination and reaffirms the city’s commitment to being a welcoming place to all people regardless of race, sexual orientation, gender, nation of origin, religion, disability status or any other immutable characteristic.

Mayor Greg Zilka praised the efforts of the Safety Committee of the all-encompassing resolution.

Zilka said the legislation will move the city toward having more tolerance, compassion and understanding for all.

“I’m very impressed with this proposal,” he said. “It is very clear. It is very positive.

“At the same time, we do need to recognize that we certainly condemn all forms of violence that tries to hinder and inhibit the right of our democracy to succeed as a democracy, and certainly we are very proud of our safety forces. And it’s one of the hardest jobs in the country, as we know, and the vast majority of police officers in this country are doing a great job.

“Unfortunately, there have been a number of occasions that have become very obvious to us that we need to continue to work, dealing with some of the human element, if you will. We all react in certain ways.

“We all have certain ideas of the way things should be, but that’s not necessarily coinciding with what the standards of this country are.”

A previous version of the resolution brought to Council in July declaring racism as a public health crisis was tabled and sent back to the Safety Committee due to some concerns from the community and Council over the language.

Ward 3 Councilwoman Billie Jo David noted the feedback from the community indicated they wanted a more encompassing legislation and the city has put in the work in listening to residents to craft an empowering message.

“This is a resolution that denounces all forms of discrimination and actually welcomes and promotes diversity and inclusion,” David said. “We’ve got a lot of feedback from the community that wanted to make it more encompassing to encompass all people, and I think that this revised resolution addresses that.

“This resolution is not a judgment on our community.”

As part of the process to encourage more diversity, the city will establish a new diversity commission to ensure Avon Lake is engaging in good hiring practices and to discourage discrimination in all forms.

The commission, which has yet to be named, will be chaired by Human Resources Director Mary Siwierka, Law Director Gary Ebert, Council Human Resources Committee Chair K.C. Zuber and two Avon Lake residents to be appointed.

The commission will have an oversight responsibility and can make recommendations to Council and will meet at least once a year.

The resolution will head to City Council for first reading and potential passage Sept. 28.