It is the policy of Mecklenburg County Government to ensure that program, service, and activity communications with participants and members of the public with disabilities are as effective as communications with others. To this end, the County will furnish appropriate auxiliary aids and services as necessary to afford an individual with a disability an equal opportunity to participate in, and enjoy the benefits of, any County program, service, or activity.
Auxiliary Aids and Services — Auxiliary aids and services that the County may provide for individuals with hearing impairments include: qualified interpreters, note takers, transcription services, written materials, telephone handset amplifiers, assistive listening devices, assistive listening systems, telephones compatible with hearing aids, closed caption decoders, open and closed captioning, telecommunications devices for deaf person (TDDs), video text displays, or other effective methods of making aurally delivered materials alternatively available.
For individuals with visual impairments, Metro may provide: qualified readers, taped texts, audio recordings, Brailled materials, large print materials, or other effective methods of making visually delivered materials alternatively available.
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Accessible public communication (auxiliary aid/service) requests must be made:in advance to enable time to fulfill the request (while the County will make good faith efforts to fulfill all accommodation requests, those relating to public meetings and hearings should be submitted at least one week in advance, and those relating to on-going services and programs should be submitted at least 48 hours in advance); and
- to the Departmental ADA Liaison of the department or agency responsible for the program or service in advance of the meeting, hearing, service, or activity (if the responsible agency is unknown, a request may be submitted to the Mecklenburg County ADA Coordinator at Timmothy.Tibbs@MecklenburgCountyNC.Gov. Please see the ADA Liaisons by Department when making a request:
In determining what type of auxiliary aid or service is necessary, the County will give primary consideration to the requests of the individual with disabilities (other considerations include whether another effective means of communication is available, means of communication would result in a fundamental alteration in the service, program, or activity; means of communication would result in undue financial burden on taxpayers). As necessary, the responsible agency ADA Liaison or ADA Coordinator will confer with the requesting party to identify how effective communication can be achieved in the context of the subject program, service or activity, and may ask for technical assistance and information on how to obtain a particular auxiliary aid or service.
Grievance Procedure: If the requesting individual is dissatisfied with the ADA department contact person's proposed auxiliary aid or service, the individual is encouraged to
file a grievance with the Mecklenburg County Government ADA Coordinator.