| ITEM #: 9. DATE: 07/11/2022 AI #:952 |
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CITY COUNCIL ACTION REPORT
| SUBJECT: | UPDATE TO THE CITY OF GOODYEAR TITLE VI IMPLEMENTATION PLAN |
| STAFF PRESENTER(S): | Christine McMurdy, Project Management Coordinator |
SUMMARY
As a subrecipient of Federal Transit Administration (FTA) funds through the City of Phoenix and Valley Metro, the City of Goodyear must comply with the requirements of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Every three years, the City is required to update our Title VI Plan. None of the updates negatively affects the City of Goodyear.
Recommendation
ADOPT RESOLUTION NO. 2022-2254 APPROVING AND ADOPTING THE CITY OF GOODYEAR TITLE VI IMPLEMENTATION PLAN DATED FEBRUARY 2022. (Christine McMurdy, Project Management Coordinator)
FISCAL IMPACT
There is no fiscal impact resulting from this action.
BACKGROUND AND PREVIOUS ACTIONS
On December 14, 2015, the City of Goodyear approved Resolution 15-5732 approving and adopting the city’s Title VI Plan. Section 601 of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 states that "No person in the United States shall, on the grounds 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."
The City of Phoenix is the designated recipient of federal transit funds for the region. The City of Goodyear receives these funds as a pass-through from the city of Phoenix to provide transit service and maintain the Goodyear Park and Ride. As a sub-recipient of these funds, the city is required to submit a Title VI program for transit services to the City of Phoenix every three years. The last update to the city’s Title VI Plan was in May 2019.
Federal guidelines require Title VI Programs and updates to be approved by the City Council and signed by the City Manager. In the Program and each update, sub-recipients are required to:
Take reasonable actions to ensure that no person is excluded from participation in or denied the benefits of, its transit services on the basis of race, color or national origin as per Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Section 601.
The updates to the City of Goodyear Title VI Plan are:
· Complaints from the public need to be more transparent. If a transit complaint is received directly by the City instead of by Valley Metro, the City must send the complaint to Valley Metro customer service where all of the region’s complaint records are maintained for FTA review;
· The complaint forms were updated to add in Streetcar as an option;
· The Language Assistance Plan was updated to reflect that Spanish is the secondary language most frequently encountered for transit services. ;
· The City of Goodyear adopts Valley Metro’s public outreach process, which is based on their Title VI Public Participation plan. The best example of this is the upcoming change to the Zoom route in October 2022. Valley Metro staff are notifying the public about the change to the route that will move the service out of Goodyear to south Avondale. Valley Metro partners are required to notify the public when there are any changes to transit services (i.e. route changes, departure/arrival times, fares, etc.).
The City of Phoenix is the designated recipient of federal transit funds for the region. The City of Goodyear receives these funds as a pass-through from the city of Phoenix to provide transit service and maintain the Goodyear Park and Ride. As a sub-recipient of these funds, the city is required to submit a Title VI program for transit services to the City of Phoenix every three years. The last update to the city’s Title VI Plan was in May 2019.
Federal guidelines require Title VI Programs and updates to be approved by the City Council and signed by the City Manager. In the Program and each update, sub-recipients are required to:
Take reasonable actions to ensure that no person is excluded from participation in or denied the benefits of, its transit services on the basis of race, color or national origin as per Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Section 601.
The updates to the City of Goodyear Title VI Plan are:
· Complaints from the public need to be more transparent. If a transit complaint is received directly by the City instead of by Valley Metro, the City must send the complaint to Valley Metro customer service where all of the region’s complaint records are maintained for FTA review;
· The complaint forms were updated to add in Streetcar as an option;
· The Language Assistance Plan was updated to reflect that Spanish is the secondary language most frequently encountered for transit services. ;
· The City of Goodyear adopts Valley Metro’s public outreach process, which is based on their Title VI Public Participation plan. The best example of this is the upcoming change to the Zoom route in October 2022. Valley Metro staff are notifying the public about the change to the route that will move the service out of Goodyear to south Avondale. Valley Metro partners are required to notify the public when there are any changes to transit services (i.e. route changes, departure/arrival times, fares, etc.).
STAFF ANALYSIS
Ensuring fair and equitable access to transit services is a fundamental priority for Goodyear. The Title VI Plan update provides guidelines to ensure transit services are planned, developed and implemented in a non-discriminatory manner.
The City of Phoenix and Valley Metro provide local and express transit services in Goodyear. Both Valley Metro and the City of Phoenix developed their updated Title VI reports, which were approved by their respective Board and City Council, in 2021. Member cities like Goodyear, adopt sections of the Valley Metro plan for adoption to be consistent with the region.
The City of Phoenix and Valley Metro provide local and express transit services in Goodyear. Both Valley Metro and the City of Phoenix developed their updated Title VI reports, which were approved by their respective Board and City Council, in 2021. Member cities like Goodyear, adopt sections of the Valley Metro plan for adoption to be consistent with the region.