Several members of Charlottesville's Dialogue on Race Steering Committee have resigned, frustrated after city council slowed plans to create the city's first human rights commission.
The goal was to create a commission that would investigate claims of discrimination. But city council voted February 6 to postpone it's creation, and institute a lengthy review process.
That decision didn't sit well with some members of the Dialogue on Race - the city-funded initiative that developed plans for the commission. Several members resigned from the Dialogue on Race Steering Committee earlier this month, many perceiving city council's decision to be a dismissal of the commission.
Kristen Szakos with Charlottesville City Council says the decision allows more people a chance to engage in the discussion, but others are more skeptical the commission will ever form.
Former committee member Dean Lhospital said, "It's not officially been buried, but the study probably makes it less likely that it will ever come to fruition."
"I really feel strongly that a public process is a good thing. And if we can get people on board, rather than just ramming it down people's throats, I think that's a good thing," said Szakos.
Council also had the price to think about. Original proposals priced the commission at $300,000 the first year, and $200,000 in subsequent years.
City council tapped an 11-member task force to study the details of the commission, and how it would help the city. Their review will take 10 months to complete.
