CITY OF SEATTLE
RESOLUTION _________________
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A RESOLUTION expressing the City Council’s intent to improve the accommodation of people with hearing disabilities in City facilities.
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WHEREAS, hearing assistance is essential for those with hearing loss to be fully engaged in work, family, and community and to have healthy, productive lives; and
WHEREAS, compliance that technically meets Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) requirements may not be sufficient for many people with disabilities;
WHEREAS, people with hearing loss are often required to request accommodations far in advance of the need, placing an extraordinary burden of proactive, highly visible requests upon the person with a hearing disability; and
WHEREAS, current technology provides superior quality of accommodation to people with hearing loss and no longer places a proactive burden upon a person with hearing loss; and
WHEREAS, the City Council intends to continue to improve accessibility for persons with hearing loss using the best technology and practices feasible; NOW, THEREFORE,
BE IT RESOLVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SEATTLE, THE MAYOR CONCURRING, THAT:
Section 1. The City of Seattle shall include the best feasible technology for providing access for people with hearing disabilities in City facilities used for public meetings and activities in all new projects and when renovating existing public spaces.
Section 2. The Executive shall report on efforts to include hearing assistive measures with all requests to the Council for budget or other authority to develop or renovate public spaces in City facilities designed to accommodate public meetings and activities.
Section 3. The Director of the City’s Department of Finance and Administrative Services shall report to the Finance and Budget Committee, or its successor, by March 1, 2016 on how the City will accommodate people with hearing disabilities in City public facilities using the most current and most effective technology.
Adopted by the City Council the ____ day of ____________________, 2015, and signed by me in open session in authentication of its adoption this________ day
of ______________________, 2015.
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President ___________of the City Council
The Mayor concurred the _____ day of _______________________, 2015.
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Edward B. Murray, Mayor
Filed by me this ____ day of ________________________, 2015.
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Monica Martinez Simmons, City Clerk
(Seal)