ADA Policy
Policy Statement
It is the policy of the City of Meridian that no qualified individual with a disability shall, solely on the basis of his or her disability, be excluded from the participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any of its programs, services, or activities as provided by Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA). It is further the policy of City of Meridian that all reasonable efforts will be made to provide nondiscrimination in all of its programs and activities regardless of the funding source.
Grievance Procedure under The Americans with Disabilities Act
This Grievance Procedure is established to meet the requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, as known as ADA. It may be used by anyone who wishes to file a complaint alleging discrimination on the basis of disability in the provision of services, activities, programs, or benefits by the City of Meridian, MS. The City of Meridian’s Personnel Policy governs all employment-related complaints of disability discrimination.
The complaint should be in writing and contain information about the alleged discrimination such as name, address, phone number of complainant and location, date, and description of the problem. A complaint form is available on the City of Meridian’s website homepage, www. meridianms.org. Alternative means of filing complaints, such as personal interviews or a tape recording of the complaint, will be made available for persons with disabilities upon request.
The complaint should be submitted by the grievant and or designee as soon as possible, but no later than 30 calendar days after the alleged violation.
Within 15 calendar days after receipt of the complaint, the City of Meridian’s ADA Coordinator will meet with the complainant to discuss the complaint and the possible resolutions. Within 15 calendar days of the meeting the ADA Coordinator will respond in writing and where appropriate, in a format accessible to the complainant. The response will explain the position of the City of Meridian and offer options for substantive resolution of the complaint.
If the response does not satisfactorily resolve the issue, the grievant and or designee may appeal the decision in writing within 15 calendar days after receipt of the response to the Mayor of the City of Meridian.
Within 15 calendar days after receipt of the appeal, the Mayor will meet with the complainant to discuss the complaint and possible resolutions. Within 15 calendar days after the meeting, the Mayor will respond in writing and where appropriate, in a format accessible to the complainant.
Responses from these two city offices will be retained by the City of Meridian, MS, for at least three years.