This grievance procedure is established under the Americans with Disabilities Act. If you believe there has been discrimination on the basis of disability in the City of Rochester's services, programs, or activities, you can use this procedure to file a complaint. Employment-related complaints related to disability discrimination are covered by the City's organizational policy on the Americans with Disabilities Amendment Act.

Any claims should be submitted no more than 60 days from the date of the alleged discriminatory incident. Complaints outside of 60 days will be reviewed and be considered for this process, but it may be more difficult to effectively investigate your complaint.

You can file this complaint by any of the following options:
1. Filling out the digital Grievance Claim form.
2. Calling (507) 328-2029 to reach Jacob Metz, the City staff coordinating this process. Community members using a TTY can dial 711 for the Minnesota Relay Service to contact Jacob. Be ready to give his number (507-328-2029) to the communications assistant if you call 711.
3. In-person at City Hall, which is located at 201 4th Street SE, Rochester, MN 55904.

How your complaint will be investigated:
1. City staff has within 15 calendar days to acknowledge receipt and respond.
2. An Access Team (based on the nature of the complaint) will meet to discuss your complaint and decide next steps. That Access Team will have within 30 calendar days to respond in writing.
3. You will receive that written report with a summary of the Access Team's examination of your complaint and recommended next steps.
4. If you wish to appeal that response, you will have 30 calendar days from the date the response was sent. Your response should include a statement of why you are not satisfied with the Access Team's report.

The City seeks to offer necessary aids and services for effective communication with community members who have hearing, sight, or speech disabilities for City events, programs, or services, unless doing so significantly changes City programs or operations or is too difficult or expensive to provide.

You can submit a request for accommodations:

1. Via the Reasonable Accommodations Form
2. Calling (507) 328-2029 to reach Jacob Metz, the City staff coordinating this process. Community members using a TTY can dial 711 for the Minnesota Relay Service to contact Jacob. Be ready to give his number (507-328-2029) to the communications assistant if you call 711.
3. In-person at City Hall, which is located at 201 4th Street SE, Rochester, MN 55904.

Each accommodation has a specific turnaround time, which you can view once you select it on the form. Please make requests as early as possible before the scheduled event.

We'll try our best to meet requests received without enough advance notice, but full accommodation may not be possible.

Community members using a TTY can dial 711 for the Minnesota Relay Service to contact us. Be ready to give our number (507-328-2900) to the communications assistant if you call 711.