Bi-State Regional Commission

December 19, 2012 – Nearly 50 years ago, the 1964 Civil Rights Act was enacted. There continues to be an on-going need for awareness and implementation of this and new regulations related to civil rights. Gena McCullough, Planning Director, reviewed the Bi-State Title VI Program and Non-Discrimination Policy provided to the Commissioners. The document is a consolidation of the various parts of the agency’s policies and procedures formalized collectively into one format.

Title VI states “No person in the United States shall, on the ground of race, color or national origin, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance.” Additional non-discrimination requirements include Executive Orders (EO) to address environmental justice in minority and low-income populations (EO 12898), to improve access to services for persons with limited English proficiency (EO 13166) and to ensure consistent and effective implementation of Title VI (EO 12250) administered through the Department of Justice. There are other statutes that address protected classes related to age, sex, marital status, disability, etc.

December 19, 2012 — The next American Planning Association (APA) audio/visual conference is January 16, 2013 from 3:00 to 4:30 p.m. at the Bi-State Regional Commission office, 1504 Third Avenue, Rock Island, IL. Register by calling Patty Pearson at (309) 793-6302 ext 138 or by e-mail at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Please arrive by 2:45 p.m.
 
January 16, 2013 — Zoning for Small-Scale Businesses
New commercial activities, new effects, and new uses present challenges. Consider the legal, social, cultural, economic, and spatial dimensions of how small businesses have affected communities of different sizes and regions.

December 19, 2012 — Meghan Overton, Data Services Planner, provided an update on U.S. Census programs including the following:

American Community Survey (ACS) — The ACS, an annual rolling survey that replaced the former “long form” survey in decennial censuses, provides estimates of how people live. ACS data is available every year and is released in the fall in 1-year, 3-year, and 5-year survey averages depending on a geographies size. The latest data released on December 6,2012 was 2006-2011, 5-year estimates.

December 19, 2012 — Carol Connors, Equal Opportunity Administrator for Bi-State , presented the Affirmative Action Analysis and Plan. This document provides information on employment practices during the period October 1, 2010 through September 30, 2012 and Affirmative Action Goals for the next two year period. Employment practices were analyzed in relation to recruitment, selection, placement, promotion, compensation and benefits, disciplinary and termination actions, and workforce utilization. Underutilization was declared in one category for the analysis period. Bi-State’s efforts will continue to be directed towards recruiting more minority applicants for our applicant pool. The Action Oriented Program provides for continued support of equal opportunity and affirmative action, and continued aggressive recruitment of protected status applicants when positions are open.