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Notice of Policy Under the Americans with Disabilities Act
In accordance with the requirements of Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, "ADA," Larimer County Government will not discriminate against qualified individuals with disabilities on the basis of disability in its employment practices, services, programs, or activities. Larimer County Government will provide equal access for people with disabilities to all of its programs, services, and activities.
County ADA Coordinator
The position of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Coordinator was created to ensure this policy for people with disabilities is maintained. The Coordinator provides assistance to persons with disabilities who wish to engage or participate in County programs, services and activities as fully as those without disabilities. It also provides assistance to County agencies to ensure that their programs, services, and activities satisfy the requirements of the Americans With Disabilities Act.
The ADA Coordinator is responsible for:
- Responding to citizen requests for access to County programs, services, and activities.
- Coordinating County ADA compliance.
- Investigation of any public complaint alleging County noncompliance with the ADA.
- Managing the County ADA Transition Plan - The Matrix for the Accessibility of Public Buildings.
- Contact for Reasonable Accommodation.
- Anyone who requires an auxiliary aid or service for effective communication, or a modification of policies or procedures to participate in a program, service, or activity of Larimer County Government, should contact the ADA Coordinator, at (970) 498-5967 or by email at accessibility@larimer.org as soon as possible but no later than five workdays before a scheduled event.
MacKenzie Lowe
Larimer County ADA Coordinator
Risk Management Division
200 W Oak St, Suite 4000
PO Box 1190, Fort Collins, CO 80522
Phone: (970) 498-5967
Fax: (970) 498-5965
TTY: Relay Colorado - 711
Email Accessibility - accessibility@larimer.org
Work Hours: M-F. 8:00 a.m. - 5 p.m.
Employment
Larimer County Government does not discriminate on the basis of disability in its hiring or employment practices and complies with all regulations promulgated by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission under Title I of the ADA.
Services, Programs, and Activities
Larimer County does not discriminate on the basis of disability in providing access to its services, programs, or activities to program applicants and participants, whether such services, programs, or activities are County- or federally-funded. Further, Larimer County complies with all requirements of Title II of the ADA.
Effective Communication
Larimer County Government will generally, upon request, provide appropriate aids and services leading to effective communication for qualified persons with disabilities so they can participate equally in Larimer County Government’s programs, services, and activities, including qualified sign language interpreters, documents in Braille and other ways of making information and communications accessible to people who have speech, hearing or vision impairments.
Web Accessibility
Accessibility for visitors to the Larimer County website is very important to us. This site uses accessibility guidelines set by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C). A primary mission of the W3C has been to maintain the Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI). We continually monitor and correct our online communication in efforts to meet the WCAG 2.1 and 508 compliance.
Modifications to Policies and Procedures
Larimer County Government will make all reasonable modifications to policies and programs to ensure that people with disabilities have an equal opportunity to enjoy all of its programs, services, and activities. For example, individuals with service animals are welcomed in Larimer County Government offices, even where pets are generally prohibited.
The ADA does not require Larimer County Government to take any action that would fundamentally alter the nature of its programs or services or impose an undue financial or administrative burden.
Grievances/complaints that a program, service, or activity of Larimer County Government is not accessible to persons with disabilities should be directed to the County’s ADA Coordinator.
Larimer County Government will not place a surcharge on a particular individual with a disability or any group of individuals with disabilities to cover the cost of providing auxiliary aids and services or reasonable modifications of policy, such as retrieving items from locations that are open to the public but are not accessible to persons who use wheelchairs.
Public Grievance Procedure
This grievance procedure is established to meet the requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, "ADA". It may be used by anyone who wishes to file a complaint alleging discrimination on the basis of disability in the provision of services, activities, programs, or benefits by Larimer County Government.
The grievance/complaint should be in writing and contain information about the alleged discrimination such as name, address, phone number of complainant and location, date, and description of the problem. Alternative means of filing complaints, such as personal interviews or a tape recording of the complaint, will be made available for persons with disabilities upon request.
Submit Grievance
The complaint should be submitted by the complainant or his or her designee as soon as possible but no later than 60 calendar days after the alleged violation to the ADA Coordinator.
Please click the "Submit a Grievance Online" button below to view the ADA Title II Grievance form and to see multiple options for submitting this form:
Procedure
An individual who believes he or she has been discriminated against on the basis of disability in the provision of services, activities, programs, or benefits by an agency of Larimer County Government should, if possible, try to resolve the issue locally with the director or supervisor of the program or services. If this informal attempt at resolution is unsuccessful, the complainant shall follow these steps.
Step 1: Grievance
Fill out all of the information requested on the ADA Title II Grievance Form. Mail or hand-deliver the completed form to the ADA Coordinator. If the complainant needs a reasonable accommodation to communicate his or her complaint, such as an interpreter or an alternative format, it should be listed on the complaint form so that the ADA Coordinator can arrange for an accommodation for effective communication. ADA complaints must be filed within 60 calendar days after the discriminatory action or situation was alleged to have occurred.
Step 2: Meet with the ADA Coordinator for Larimer County or their designee
Within 15 business days after the complaint is received by the ADA Coordinator, the Coordinator or their designee will meet with the individual or contact him or her regarding his or her complaint.
If it is determined that the individual is a qualified individual with a disability under the ADA, the ADA Coordinator or their designee will attempt to resolve the complaint.
Step 3: Resolution of the Complaint
If the individual and the ADA Coordinator or their designee jointly agree to a resolution of the complaint, the ADA Coordinator or their designee will put the joint agreement in writing and send it to the individual. The agreement will generally contain the following items:
- A description of the complaint.
- A summary of the facts.
- A description of the resolution agreed to.
- The timeframe for resolving the complaint.
- An assurance that Larimer County will comply with the specific terms and conditions of the agreement.
For this resolution to be effective, the individual must sign a copy of the agreement and return it to the ADA Coordinator or their designee in the time specified.
Complaint Not Resolved:
If the individual and the ADA Coordinator or their designee cannot resolve the complaint, the ADA Coordinator or their designee will send the individual a notice of that fact. The notice will generally include the following:
- A description of the complaint
- A summary of any resolution proposed
- A statement addressing the issues that could not be resolved
It is important for the individual to keep copies of the original complaint or notifications received after meeting with the ADA Coordinator or their designee, as well as any other correspondence or other documentation that is related to the complaint, and bring those copies to all meetings, reviews and appeals related to the complaint.
If the complaint is not resolved, the individual may request a further review of the complaint by the county’s Risk Manager, who will review the decision of the ADA Coordinator. If additional information is required, the Risk Manager will schedule a meeting with the individual within 15 business days of having received the complaint. The Risk Manager will issue a decision on the complaint within 15 business days of having received the decision of the ADA Coordinator or their designee, or his meeting with the individual, whichever is appropriate. The decision of the Risk Manager is not appealable.
Appeals
If the response by the ADA Coordinator or their designee does not satisfactorily resolve the issue, the complainant and his or her designee may appeal the decision, in writing, within 15 calendar days after receipt of the response to the Larimer County Risk Manager:
Jeffrey L. Green, Risk ManagerRisk Management Division
200 West Oak Street, Suite 4000
PO Box 1190
Fort Collins, CO 80522-1190
Within 15 calendar days after receipt of the appeal, the ADA Coordinator or designee will meet with the complainant to discuss the complaint and possible resolutions. Within 15 calendar days after the meeting, the ADA Coordinator or designee will respond in writing, and, where appropriate, in a format accessible to the complainant, with a final resolution of the complaint.
All written grievances received by the ADA Coordinator or designee and responses from this office will be retained by the Larimer County Government for at least three years.
If the individual still believes the grievance has not been resolved, he or she may request a decision from the:
U.S. Department of Justice
950 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20530-0001
202-514-2000
Note: At any time during the grievance procedure, the complainant may refer the complaint to the U.S. Department of Justice at the address above.
Larimer County Transition Plan
The 1991 ADA regulations required all public entities, regardless of size, to evaluate their services, policies, practices, and facilities to determine whether the entity’s programs, when viewed in their entirety, were accessible to persons with disabilities. In addition, public entities with 50 or more employees were required to develop a transition plan detailing any structural changes that would be undertaken to achieve program access and specifying a time frame for their completion. Larimer County invites interested individuals to participate in the self-evaluation and transition planning processes by submitting comments. While the 2010 regulation does not specifically require public entities to conduct a new self-evaluation or develop a new transition plan, Larimer County continues to evaluate its services, programs, activities, and facilities, as documented in this ADA Transition Plan for Larimer County.
This information is available in an alternative format upon request.
