In hopes of being more welcoming to the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and questioning and/or queer community, the Jefferson City Commission on Human Relations may pursue some policy changes.
In October, the Human Rights Campaign — a national organization that advocates for the LGBTQ community — released its 2018 “Municipal Equality Index,” which ranks more than 500 cities in the United States based on criteria such as non-discrimination laws, inclusiveness in city services and municipality employment policies.
Jefferson City received a 20 out of 100 this year. Last year, it received a zero after it did not complete the survey.
On Friday, the commission dove into the results with PROMO Executive Director Steph Perkins, focusing heavily on policy changes it could potentially make. PROMO is a nonprofit organization in Missouri that advocates for the LGBTQ community.
One of commission Chairman Mitchell Woodrum’s top priorities is to improve verbiage in the city’s equal employment policy so it includes language that would protect city employees from discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity. This is a goal Perkins recommended too, adding the commission could also consider adding a transition-related policy that would protect transgender individuals who are in the process of transitioning.
“From an outside perspective, this is probably the easiest points you could get just by changing the policy around city employees,” Perkins said.
Jefferson City does offer health care benefits for LGBTQ city employees, Perkins said, which is “a big deal … because there are only a handful of cities in the state that have this.” In the Human Rights Campaign’s index, Jefferson City received points for offering this benefit.
The city could also pursue an ordinance that would prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity in employment, housing and public accommodations, Perkins said, adding Missouri does not have LGBTQ-inclusive, statewide non-discrimination laws.
Woodrum told the News Tribune last month he hopes the commission will pursue a non-discrimination law prohibiting employers from discriminating against employees based on their sexual orientation or gender identity.
One area Perkins said the city could also improve in is law enforcement. Jefferson City received a zero in the law enforcement category of the index because the report indicated the city does not have a LGBTQ police liaison or task force that can listen to community members’ concerns related to LGBTQ issues. The city also did not report the 2016 hate crimes statistics to the FBI.
Gail Strope, Jefferson City human resources department director, said Police Chief Roger Schroeder was the police department’s LGBTQ police liaison. However, the Human Rights Campaign later told the city the police chief cannot be the liaison as “it has to be someone who can escalate (the concerns) to the chief,” Strope said.
Strope added Schroeder has reassigned the LGBTQ police liaison responsibilities to a different individual so the city should receive points for this next year.
Other items Jefferson City received points for were providing an inclusive workplace at the city, resurrecting its Human Relations Committee, assigning a LGBTQ liaison in the city’s executive office, and having city leaders take a public position on LGBTQ equality.
By improving the city’s LGBTQ score, Woodrum said, it will let the LGBTQ community know it welcomes everyone.
“I think it’s important to have an index like this (because) LGBTQ people, young professionals, other minorities, they might not know that much about Jefferson City. But when they see a good score, they’ll think, ‘Hey, that’s a great place to live,’” he said. “So, I think it’s good for Jeff City to have those people come to our city because they know that we are an all-welcoming community.”
Jefferson City was one of eight Missouri cities listed in the report. Columbia and St. Louis received perfect scores. Other Missouri cities and their scores are: Kansas City, 97; St. Charles, 39; Springfield, 19; Independence, 18; and Cape Girardeau, zero.