HI HLA D PARK-The
and Park City COWlcil
with pr for�
city � - appr .
resolution and rejecting the
other.
The council approved a
propo al by City Treasurer
Lucille J · a SlSO-a
. . on aU hotel d Ioda
. expe for city offici
I . I to special eoefereeces,
I£JgbIand Park M yor Mar
tha G. Scott bad beea aiticized
by Jo _ and others for req
ing city payment of a hotel biD of
J
T r I hold
hear ng on
andlcap bill
State Representative Ethel
Terre (D-High1and Park
nounced th t the House Civil
Righ Committee, ich
chair will be taking up a bill
dealing with handicapper Jiahts
t10:30 a.m., Tuesday, April 26,
in Room 471, in the Roosevel
Building in Lansing.
The bill, HB 5250, ould
amend the state'
Handicapper ' Civil Rights Act
to clarify language th t prohibits
employment discrimination
gain .t handicapped workers.
Rep. Terrell stated, "The Act
protect the employment" rights
of a worker whose handicap is
not related to his or her ability to
do a particular job. It also ys
that an employer has a respon-
ibility to make reasonable ac
commodations that would
enable a qualified handicapped
worker to meet the job require
ments. However, the 1986 Carr
. v. General Moton ate Supreme
Court interpretation of the law
effectively re iev emplolyers
of this re pon ibility.
"Handicappers feel this
decision greatly, reduce the
employment rig ts established
by the Leg; lature. HB 5250 is
designed to strengthen the
Handicappers' Civil Rights Act,
so th t more handicapped
orker can find and retain seH
ustaining employment. I urge
all wh can, to attend this most
important meeting." she ide
. ',HB 5250 ould prohibit di -
cr mination again t person
wit� handicap that, either with
r ·th lUt . pccial accommoda
tion, did not prevent the in-
ividu I from performing th
dutie of a particular job, unJe
the ccommodation ould im-
pale
e r.1t d
the Handicappers' Civil Rights
ct tatute . of limitatio to
lIow handicapped persons to
t e legal action for emp oy
ment . rimin ti n without rc
pri t.o.the Canv. Gen rat Moton'
$465.09 a Dight for both herself
and her administratrie assistant
Mary E. Thomas at the tion
al League of Cities Conference
last month, totaling Sl,395.27 for
the three days. Instead of II'
ing payment, Jones asked the
city council to clarify the city's
po it ion on hotel payments,
recommending a ISO limit.
Mayor Scott' public infor
mation officer, Karen Marie
Dumas tated that since the
mayor as sharing the room
with her dministr We •
tant, Mary E. Thomas, the daily
rate for each of them was
5232.50, closer to Joaca' sug
gested guideline than ome
member of the media ted.
Council President Lindsay
Porter supported Jones'
proposal, stating it impor-.
tant for the city to reduce expen
ses s much as possible in order
to h ve a balanced budget and
pay b ck its loan to the ate.
Porter added the city had set
establi. hcd limits a long time
ago for other expenses as
sociated with conferences, but
h d nOI considered hotel bills
before Ms. Jones made ber
recent request.
He felt that S150 a night was
"more than enough", adding,
h r, that if city officials who
. bad a good reason to spend
more, could come to the council
later and have m mbcrs grant
the request.
Councilman Comer Heath
stated the vote should be
delayed until there was input �y .
other officials. Though City
Clerk Jean Green supported the
hotel limit as did Christ' ne
Franklin, Heath tated the .
mayor's office and some council
members had given no respon
ses .
However, th meeting before
the council had voted to .send
them letter reque ting their
inpu.
Heath also objected to deal-
ing with issue of hotel bill maxi
mums witho t re ining other
expense items arguing the
council was going into the issue
011 a piecemeal fashion, because
of the emotion and publicity' -
volving the hotel bill controver
sy.
Other members, including
Porter, t ted th t cert in ex
pense items sbould be recon
sidered, bu ated city council
hould vote on the hotel bill
. ue 1 night.
Councilwoman Chris
Franklin, ho formally made
. the motion reprding hotel e -
pe ed bcca
of the city' e re fiD . at .
crisis, fel the city ould
pr . (I only
council member to go to such
conferences.
She told The ichi an
Citizen th t info tion about
at went on t such conferen-
I I
S COSTCUTTI
ces could be provided' to the
council members by audio vi ual
equipmen . This, she contended
could s ve the city SI,600 or
S2,OOO per trip, money that
might be used' to restore the
Citizen Participation Office or
other necessary city services.
Downes privately told The
Michigan Citizen that he dis
� with � idea, noting that
the conferences help �igbland
Park officials find out about
efective progrlQ)S in other areas
which can be applied in High-
nel Robert Gordon to negotiate
salarie with appointed person
nel rather than automatically
paying them the maximum level,
reserved in other cities for more
experienced employees, until
city council sets up a sliding pay
scale specifying salaries for
employees at different levels.
Councilman Dwight
Down who voted against the
resohnion, stated that he greed
with Franklin that new appoin
ees coming in sbould not
Co tJ
land P k, while letting those in
other p ces kno what High
land Par . doing. He st ted
some workshops he attended
gave valuable information in
uch areas cable T.V. COD-
t acts, and there were more
orkshops there thaD any single
oncifman could attend.
Councilwoman Fran lin
ever put her suggestion in the
f�� of a motion,
The council rejected 3-2
another resolution by Franklin
r questing Director of person-I
mseg
RAe
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ADV�' er
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