ADA Policies

NOTICE UNDER THE AMERICANS WITH DISABILITIES ACT

In accordance with the requirements of title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 ("ADA"), the City of Trinidad, Colorado, will not discriminate against qualified individuals with disabilities on the basis of disability in its services, programs, or activities.

Employment: The City of Trinidad 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.

Effective Communication: The City of Trinidad will generally, upon request, provide appropriate aids and services leading to effective communication for qualified persons with disabilities so they can participate equally in the City of Trinidad’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.

Modifications to Policies and Procedures: The City of Trinidad 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 the City of Trinidad offices, even where pets are generally prohibited.

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 the City of Trinidad, should contact the office of Bob Just, ADA Coordinator, as soon as possible but no later than 48 hours before the scheduled event.

The ADA does not require the City of Trinidad to take any action that would fundamentally alter the nature of its programs or services, or impose an undue financial or administrative burden.

Complaints that a program, service, or activity of the City of Trinidad is not accessible to persons with disabilities should be directed to Bob Just, ADA Coordinator.

The City of Trinidad, Colorado, 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/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.

Please contact Bob Just, ADA Coordinator, by appointment at 719-846-9843, ext. 126 or at 135 N. Animas Street, Trinidad, CO 81082 (see Dona Valencich to schedule an appointment).

City of Trinidad, Colorado Grievance Procedure under the Americans with Disabilities Act 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 the City of Trinidad, Colorado. The City’s Personnel Policy governs employment-related complaints of disability discrimination.

The 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.

The complaint should be submitted by the grievant and/or his/her designee as soon as possible but no later than 60 calendar days after the alleged violation to:

Bob Just, ADA Coordinator, P. O. Box 880, Trinidad, CO 81082 or in person by appointment at 719-846-9843 ext. 126 or at 135 N. Animas Street, Trinidad, CO 81082 (see Dona Valencich to schedule an appointment).

The complaint can also be submitted online by filling out the ADA Grievance Form. 

Within 15 calendar days after receipt of the complaint, Bob Just or a designee will meet with the complainant to discuss the complaint and the possible resolutions.  Within 15 calendar days of the meeting, Bob Just or a designee will respond in writing, and where appropriate, in a format accessible to the complainant, such as large print, Braille, or audio tape. The response will explain the position of the City of Trinidad, Colorado, and offer options for substantive resolution of the complaint.

If the response by Bob Just or a designee does not satisfactorily resolve the issue, the complainant and/or his/her designee may appeal the decision within 15 calendar days after receipt of the response to the City Manager or his/her designee.

Within 15 calendar days after receipt of the appeal, the City Manager or his/her designee will meet with the complainant to discuss the complaint and possible resolutions. Within 15 calendar days after the meeting, the City Manager or his/her designee will respond in writing, and, where appropriate, in a format accessible to the complainant, with a final resolution of the complaint.

All written complaints received by Bob Just or his designee, appeals to the City Manager or his/her designee, and responses from these two offices will be retained by the City of Trinidad, Colorado, for at least three years.

This accessibility statement applies to www.trinidad.co.gov


We Value Digital Inclusion

In our effort to provide a fully accessible and optimized user experience for all site visitors, The City of Trinidad has taken careful measure to ensure an excellent user experience, regardless of the assistive technology being used to access this site or the specific abilities of those individuals seeking access to this site.

The City of Trinidad website is monitored and tested regularly by internal resources and by Siteimprove, a third-party provider of Web Accessibility testing and monitoring. This page was last updated on November 30, 2020.

We recommend using the following web browser / screen reader combinations for an optimized experience:

• For Windows users: JAWS and Internet Explorer or NVDA and Firefox
• For Mac users: VoiceOver and Safari or VoiceOver and Chrome
• For mobile users: VoiceOver for the iPhone and TalkBack for Android devices

Improving the User Experience for Users of Assistive Technologies 

Web Accessibility Guidelines

The City of Trinidad has leveraged the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.0 as reference to ensure the web content made available from this site is more accessible for individuals with disabilities and user friendly for everyone.

These globally recognized best practices (as recommended by the World Wide Web Consortium) consist of three levels of accessibility measurement (A, AA, and AAA). To the greatest extent feasible, The City of Trinidad has elected to conform to Level AA of these guidelines.

Related Links

Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI)
Design guidelines for electronic and information technology

Feedback

Dedicated web accessibility experts are available to assist site visitors with any issues accessing content and the various services and functions made available across the City of Trinidad website. Site visitors may choose to engage with the Help Desk to report and troubleshoot web accessibility related issues.

If you encounter issues with any page on our site that presents a challenge for individuals with disabilities, please submit your feedback.  

Third-Party Sites

Throughout this website, we make use of different third-party websites such as Instagram, YouTube, Twitter, and Facebook to spread news and information about The City of Trinidad products and services. These sites, which are not controlled by The City of Trinidad, may present challenges for individuals with disabilities that we are not able to control or remedy.

As made publicly available, here are the Accessibility Policies provided from these third-party sites:

• Facebook Accessibility Policy
• YouTube Accessibility Policy

The City of Trinidad is committed to ensuring that its website is accessible to people with disabilities.  New and updated web content produced by our organization will meet W3C WAI's Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.0, Level AA conformance, by March 30, 2018.  Any issues should be reported to it@trinidad.co.gov . 

APPROACHES 

The City of Trinidad will retain and independent consultant approved by the United States who is knowledgeable about accessible website development, at minimum, WCAG 2.0 AA, Title II of the ADA to evaluate the City of Trinidad’s website or shall assign qualified staff with the same knowledge. 

The City of Trinidad shall hire an independent agent who shall train staff in acceptable web content at minimum compliance with WCAG 2.0 AA, Title II of the ADA. 

Content provided for our site by third-party developers will meet W3C WAI's Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.0, Level AA conformance. 

CONFORMANCE LEVELS 

The City of Trinidad seeks to make sure our web content conforms to W3C WCAG 2.0 Level AA, Title II of the ADA. 

SCOPE 

This policy applies to all new, updated, and existing City of Trinidad web content.

MONITORING AND REVIEW

All areas of the City of Trinidad’s website will be reviewed  monthly using the process described as Website Accessibility Conformance Evaluation Methodology . Reviews are the responsibility of the IT department. Accessibility checks will be incorporated into the publishing workflow for all new content.

The Home Page of the website will include a link to a form allowing users to submit feedback on the site; this information will be compiled and considered during the review process.

THE AMERICANS WITH DISABILITIES ACT (ADA) CONTRACTORS, LICENSING, and CERTIFICATION POLICY (§35.130(b))

The City of Trinidad, CO will not directly or through contractual or other arrangements, utilize criteria or methods of administration: 

1. That have the effect of subjecting qualified individuals with disabilities to discrimination on the basis of disability; 
2. That have the purpose or effect of defeating or substantially impairing accomplishment of the objectives of the City of Trinidad 's program with respect to individuals with disabilities; or 
3. That perpetuate the discrimination of another public entity if both the City of Trinidad and the other entity are subject to common administrative control or both are agents of the State of Colorado. 

The City of Trinidad, in the selection of procurement contractors, may not use criteria that subject qualified individuals with disabilities to discrimination on the basis of disability. 

The City of Trinidad will not administer a licensing or certification program in a manner that subjects qualified individuals with disabilities to discrimination on the basis of disability, nor will the City of Trinidad establish requirements for the programs or activities of licensees or certified entities that subject qualified individuals with disabilities to discrimination on the basis of disability. The programs or activities of entities that are licensed or certified by the City of Trinidad are not, themselves, covered by title II.

The City of Trinidad, CO will provide equal employment opportunities for individuals with disabilities.

The City of Trinidad will not discriminate on the basis of disability against a qualified individual in regard to:

Prohibited Discrimination

For purposes of this policy, the term discrimination includes, but is not limited to, the following actions:

Segregation, or classification of a job applicant or employee in a way that adversely affects his or her employment opportunities or status on the basis of disability.

Participation in a contractual or other arrangement or relationship that has the effect of subjecting the City of Trinidad 's own qualified applicant or employee with a disability to the discrimination prohibited by this Americans with Disabilities title I regulations. The phrase contractual or other arrangement or relationship includes, but is not limited to, a relationship with an employment or referral agency; labor union, including collective bargaining agreements; an organization providing fringe benefits to an employee of the City of Trinidad ; or an organization providing training and apprenticeship programs. This section applies to the City of Trinidad , with respect to its own applicants or employees, whether the City offered the contract or initiated the relationship, or whether the City accepted the contract or acceded to the relationship. The City of Trinidad is not liable for the actions of the other party or parties to the contract which only affect that other party's employees or applicants.

The City of Trinidad will not use standards, criteria, or methods of administration, which are not job-related and consistent with business necessity, and:

That have the effect of discriminating on the basis of disability; or

That perpetuate the discrimination of others who are subject to common administrative control.

The City of Trinidad will not exclude or deny equal jobs or benefits to, or otherwise discriminate against, a qualified individual because of the known disability of an individual with whom the qualified individual is known to have a family, business, social or other relationship or association.

The City of Trinidad will make reasonable accommodation to the known physical or mental limitations of an otherwise qualified applicant or employee with a disability, consistent with the City of Trinidad ADA Reasonable Accommodation Policy .

The City of Trinidad will not use qualification standards, employment tests or other selection criteria that screen out or tend to screen out an individual with a disability or a class of individuals with disabilities, on the basis of disability, unless the standard, test, or other selection criteria, as used by the City of Trinidad is shown to be job related for the position in question and is consistent with business necessity.

The City of Trinidad will not use qualification standards, employment tests, or other selection criteria based on an individual's uncorrected vision, unless the standard, test, or other selection criterion, as used by the City of Trinidad , is shown to be job related for the position in question and is consistent with business necessity. An individual challenging the City of Trinidad 's application of a qualification standard, test, or other criterion based on uncorrected vision need not be a person with a disability, but must be adversely affected by the application of the standard, test, or other criterion.

The City of Trinidad will select and administer tests concerning employment in the most effective manner to ensure that, when a test is administered to a job applicant or employee who has a disability that impairs sensory, manual or speaking skills, the test results accurately reflect the skills, aptitude, or whatever other factor of the applicant or employee that the test purports to measure, rather than reflecting the impaired sensory, manual, or speaking skills of such employee or applicant (except where such skills are the factors that the test purports to measure).

The City of Trinidad will not discriminate against any individual because that individual has opposed any act or practice made unlawful by the Americans with Disabilities Act title I regulations or because that individual made a charge, testified, assisted, or participated in any manner in an investigation, proceeding, or hearing to enforce any provision contained in the Americans with Disabilities Act title I regulations.

The City of Trinidad will not coerce, intimidate, threaten, harass or interfere with any individual in the exercise or enjoyment of, or because that individual aided or encouraged any other individual in the exercise of, any right granted or protected by the Americans with Disabilities Act title I regulations.

The City of Trinidad will not allow its employees to coerce, intimidate, threaten, or harass any employee or applicant with a disability.

The City of Trinidad will not, except as permitted by EEOC regulation  §1630.14  , conduct a medical examination of an applicant or make inquiries as to whether an applicant is an individual with a disability or as to the nature or severity of such disability.

The City of Trinidad will not, except as permitted by EEOC regulation  §1630.14  , require a medical examination of an employee or make inquiries as to whether an employee is an individual with a disability or as to the nature or severity of such disability.

Effective Communication

The City of Trinidad will ensure that communication with applicants and employees who are deaf, hard of hearing, blind, low-vision, or have impaired speaking skills is as effective as communication with other applicants and employees. To achieve effective communication, the City of Trinidad will provide auxiliary aids and services consistent with the City of Trinidad ADA Effective Communication Policy .

Applicants

The City of Trinidad may make pre-employment inquiries into the ability of an applicant to perform job-related functions, and/or may ask an applicant to describe or to demonstrate how, with or without reasonable accommodation, the applicant will be able to perform job-related functions.

The City of Trinidad may require a medical examination (and/or inquiry) after making an offer of employment to a job applicant and before the applicant begins his or her employment duties, and may condition an offer of employment on the results of such examination (and/or inquiry), if all entering employees in the same job category are subjected to such an examination (and/or inquiry) regardless of disability. The City of Trinidad will collect and maintain on separate forms and in separate medical files and treat as a confidential medical record any information obtained resulting from such medical examination (and/or inquiry), regarding the medical condition or history of the applicant, except that:

The City of Trinidad will not use the results of such examination for any purpose inconsistent with the Americans with Disabilities Act title I regulations.

Employees

The City of Trinidad may conduct medical examinations in accordance with the above section ( Prohibited Discrimination, xiii. ) that are not job-related and consistent with business necessity. However, if the City of Trinidad uses certain criteria to screen out an employee or employees with disabilities as a result of such an examination or inquiry, the exclusionary criteria must be job-related and consistent with business necessity, and performance of the essential job functions cannot be accomplished with reasonable accommodation as required by the Americans with Disabilities Act title I regulations.

The City of Trinidad may require a medical examination (and/or inquiry) of an employee that is job-related and consistent with business necessity. The City of Trinidad may make inquiries into the ability of an employee to perform job-related functions.

City of Trinidad will collect and maintain on separate forms and in separate medical files and treat as a confidential medical record any information obtained under the previous sections, regarding the medical condition or history of any employee, except that:


The City of Trinidad will not use information regarding the medical condition or history of any employee for any purpose inconsistent with the Americans with Disabilities Act title I regulations.

The City of Trinidad may conduct voluntary medical examinations and activities, including voluntary medical histories, which are part of an employee health program available to employees at the work site.  

THE AMERICANS WITH DISABILITIES ACT (ADA) GENERAL PROGRAM ACCESS POLICY (§35.130)

It is the policy of the City of Trinidad, CO to ensure that no qualified individual with a disability will, on the basis of disability, be excluded from participation in or be denied the benefits of its services, programs, or activities, or be subjected to discrimination by the City of Trinidad . 

The City of Trinidad in providing any aid, benefit, or service, will not, directly or through contractual, licensing, or other arrangements, on the basis of disability— 


The City of Trinidad will not deny a qualified individual with a disability the opportunity to participate in services, programs, or activities that are not separate or different, despite the existence of permissibly separate or different programs or activities.

It is the policy of City of Trinidad, CO to permit individuals with mobility disabilities to use wheelchairs and manually powered mobility aids, such as walkers, crutches, canes, braces, or other similar devices designed for use by individuals with mobility disabilities in any areas open to pedestrian use.

City of Trinidad will make reasonable modifications in its policies, practices, or procedures to permit the use of other power-driven mobility devices by individuals with mobility disabilities, unless [City of Trinidad can demonstrate that the class of other power-driven mobility devices cannot be operated in accordance with legitimate safety requirements adopted by City of Trinidad. City of Trinidad will ensure that its safety requirements are based on actual risks, not on mere speculation, stereotypes, or generalizations about individuals with disabilities. The operation of other power-driven mobility devices in a manner or in a facility where such operation violates City of Trinidad ’s legitimate safety requirements would fundamentally alter the nature of the program.

In determining whether a particular other power-driven mobility device can be allowed in a specific facility, as a reasonable modification, Trinidad City will apply the following assessment factors:

1. The type, size, weight, dimensions, and speed of the device; 
2. The facility's volume of pedestrian traffic (which may vary at different times of the day, week, month, or year); 
3. The facility's design and operational characteristics (e.g., whether its service, program, or activity is conducted indoors, its square footage, the density and placement of stationary devices, and the availability of storage for the device, if requested by the user); 
4. Whether legitimate safety requirements can be established to permit the safe operation of the other power-driven mobility device in the specific facility; and 
5. Whether the use of the other power-driven mobility device creates a substantial risk of serious harm to the immediate environment or natural or cultural resources, or poses a conflict with Federal land management laws and regulations. 

City of Trinidad employees will not ask an individual using a wheelchair or other power-driven mobility device questions about the nature and extent of the individual's disability.

However, Trinidad City employees may make inquiries into use of other power-driven mobility devices. City of Trinidad employees may ask a person using another power-driven mobility device to provide a credible assurance that the mobility device is required because of the person's disability. City of Trinidad, when permitting the use of another power-driven mobility device by an individual with a mobility disability, will accept the presentation of a valid, State-issued, disability parking placard or card, or other State-issued proof of disability as a credible assurance that the use of the other power-driven mobility device is for the individual's mobility disability. In lieu of a valid, State-issued disability parking placard or card, or State-issued proof of disability, City of Trinidad will accept as a credible assurance a verbal representation, not contradicted by observable fact, that the other power-driven mobility device is being used for a mobility disability. A “valid” disability placard or card is one that is presented by the individual to whom it was issued and is otherwise in compliance with the State of issuance’s requirements for disability placards or cards.

THE AMERICANS WITH DISABILITIES ACT (ADA) NONDISCRIMINATORY ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA POLICY (§35.130(b)(8))

The City of Trinidad, CO will not impose or apply eligibility criteria that screen out or tend to screen out an individual with a disability or any class of individuals with disabilities from fully and equally enjoying any service, program, or activity, unless such criteria can be shown to be necessary for the provision of the service, program, or activity being offered.

The City of Trinidad may impose or apply eligibility criteria that screen out or might screen out an individual with a disability or any class of individuals with disabilities from fully and equally enjoying any service, program, or activity, when such eligibility criteria are in place to avoid a fundamental alteration in the nature of a program or because of a legitimate safety requirement. The City of Trinidad will ensure that its safety requirements are based on actual risks, not on mere speculation, stereotypes, or generalizations about individuals with disabilities. 

In those circumstances where personnel of The City of Trinidad believe that waiving eligibility criteria would fundamentally alter a service, program, or activity, The City of Trinidad must prove that waiving eligibility criteria would result in such alteration. The decision that waiving eligibility criteria would result in such alteration must be made by the Trinidad city manager or his or her designee after considering all reasonable methods or means of providing access to the service, program, or activity, and must be accompanied by a written statement of the reasons for reaching that conclusion. If an action would result in such an alteration, the City of Trinidad must take any other action that would not result in such an alteration but would nevertheless ensure that individuals with disabilities receive the benefits or services provided by the City of Trinidad.

In accordance with the requirements of title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 ("ADA"), the City of Trinidad, CO will not discriminate against qualified individuals with disabilities on the basis of disability in its services, programs, or activities.

Employment: The City of Trinidad 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 Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

Effective Communication: The City of Trinidad will generally, upon request, provide appropriate aids and services leading to effective communication for qualified persons with disabilities so they can participate equally in the City of Trinidad 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.

Modifications to Policies and Procedures: The City of Trinidad will make all reasonable modifications to policies and programs to ensure that people with disabilities have an equal opportunity to enjoy all the City of Trinidad programs, services, and activities. For example, individuals with service animals are welcomed in the City of Trinidad offices, even where pets are generally prohibited.

Anyone who requires an auxiliary aid or service for effective communication, or a modification of policies or procedures to participate in a City of Trinidad program, service, or activity, should contact the office of Bob Just, 719-846-9843 x 126, City of Trinidad ADA Coordinator as soon as possible but no later than 48 hours before the scheduled event.

The ADA does not require the City of Trinidad to take any action that would fundamentally alter the nature of its programs or services, or impose an undue financial or administrative burden.

Complaints that the City of Trinidad program, service, or activity is not accessible to persons with disabilities should be directed to Bob Just, 719-846-9843 x 126, City of Trinidad ADA Coordinator 

The City of Trinidad 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/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.

The City of Trinidad, CO will make reasonable accommodation to the known physical or mental limitations of an otherwise qualified applicant or employee with a disability, unless the City of Trinidad can demonstrate that the accommodation would impose an undue hardship on the operation of the City of Trinidad ’s business

The City of Trinidad will not deny employment opportunities to an otherwise qualified job applicant or employee with a disability based on the need of the City to make reasonable accommodation to such individual's physical or mental impairments.

Americans with Disabilities Act title I regulations do not require an individual with a disability to accept an accommodation, aid, service, opportunity or benefit which such qualified individual chooses not to accept. However, Americans with Disabilities Act title I regulations do not require the City of Trinidad to consider to be qualified, an individual who rejects a reasonable accommodation, aid, service, opportunity, or benefit that is necessary to enable the individual to perform the essential functions of the position held or desired, and who cannot, as a result of that rejection, perform the essential functions of the position.

The City of Trinidad, absent undue hardship, will provide a reasonable accommodation to an otherwise qualified individual who meets the definition of disability under the Americans with Disabilities Act title I regulations’ “actual disability” prong, or “record of” prong. The City of Trinidad will not provide a reasonable accommodation to an individual who meets the definition of disability solely under the Americans with Disabilities Act title I regulations’ “regarded as” prong.

The City of Trinidad will, upon the request of a qualified individual who is known to have, or who discloses, a disability (as defined by the Americans with Disabilities Act title I regulations, see section §1630.2 Definitions for further information), enter into an interactive process to identify an appropriate reasonable accommodation for that individual. An appropriate reasonable accommodation will overcome a qualified individual’s limitations, making it possible for the individual to perform the essential job functions of their position. An appropriate reasonable accommodation will not impose an undue hardship on the operation of the City of Trinidad ’s business, cause a direct threat to members of the public or other City of Trinidad employees, or violate legitimate safety requirements.

It is the policy of the City of Trinidad, CO to make reasonable modifications in policies, practices, or procedures when the modifications are necessary to avoid discrimination on the basis of disability.

Requests for modifications in policies, practices, or procedures will be granted unless the City of Trinidad can demonstrate that making the modifications would fundamentally alter the nature of the service, program, or activity.

The City of Trinidad is not required to provide a reasonable modification to an individual who meets the definition of “disability” solely under the “regarded as” prong of the definition of disability. Nothing in the Americans with Disabilities Act Part 35 regulations provides the basis for a claim that an individual without a disability was subject to discrimination because of a lack of disability, including a claim that an individual with a disability was granted a reasonable modification that was denied to an individual without a disability.

The City of Trinidad may impose legitimate safety requirements necessary for the safe operation of its services, programs, or activities. However, the City of Trinidad will ensure that its safety requirements are based on actual risks, not on mere speculation, stereotypes, or generalizations about individuals with disabilities.

ADA Part 35 regulations do not require the City of Trinidad to provide to individuals with disabilities personal devices, such as wheelchairs; individually prescribed devices, such as prescription eyeglasses or hearing aids; readers for personal use or study; or services of a personal nature including assistance in eating, toileting, or dressing.