Johnston County ADA Compliance Notice

NOTE:

Revised: April 1, 2017

Notice Under the Americans with Disabilities Act

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

Employment: Johnston County 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 Opportunity Commission under title I of the ADA.

Effective Communication: Johnston County will generally, upon request, provide appropriate aids and services leading to effective communication for qualified persons with disabilities so they can participate equally in Johnston County'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: Johnston County 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 Johnston County offices, even where pets are generally prohibited.

Anyone who requires auxiliary aid or service for effective communication, or a modification of policies or procedures to participate in a program, service, or activity of Johnston County, should contact Paulette Williams, ADA Coordinator, as soon as possible but no later than 48 hours before the scheduled event. Paulette William's contact information is as follows:

(Mailing)
PO Box 1049
Smithfield, NC 27577

(Physical)
204 S. Second Street
Smithfield, NC 27577
Telephone: 919-938-4706
Email:  paulette.williams@johnstonnc.com 

Keep in mind that while we work very hard to meet everyone's needs, the ADA does not require Johnston County to take any action that would fundamentally alter the nature of our programs or services, or impose an undue financial or administrative burden.

Complaints that a program, service, or activity of Johnston County is not accessible to persons with disabilities should be directed to the Johnston County ADA Coordinator, Lu Hickey. Alternative means of filing complaints, such as personal interview or tape recording of the complaint will be made available for persons with disabilities upon request.

Johnston County 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.

Johnston County Grievance Procedure under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)

Revised: April 1, 2017

Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) requires that public entities adopt and publish grievance procedures to assure the prompt and equitable resolution of complaints. The purpose of this ADA grievance procedure is to implement procedures that assure that any employee or citizen who has a grievance alleging non-compliance by Johnston County with the provisions of the Americans with Disabilities Act may report and resolve that grievance by following the procedure outlined below.

Employee: Any employee who has a complaint alleging non-compliance by Johnston County with the provisions of the Americans with Disabilities Act shall resolve that complaint using the grievance procedure outlined in the Johnston County Personnel Policy.

Citizens: Any citizen who wishes to file a complaint alleging discrimination on the basis of disability in the provision of services, activities, programs, or benefits by Johnston County may report the grievance to the ADA Coordinator for Johnston County.

The grievance shall be made in writing and submitted on the grievance report form. Alternative means of filing grievances or complaints, such as personal interview or 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:

Paulette Williams
ADA Coordinator
PO Box 1049
Smithfield, NC 27577

Within 21 calendar days after receipt of the complaint, the ADA Coordinator or designee will review the complaint and may meet with the grievant, either in person or by telephone, to discuss the complaint and possible resolutions, if the ADA Coordinator or designee determines such a meeting would be helpful to the determination. Within 21 calendar days after the meeting, or within 30 days after receipt of the complaint if there is no meeting, the ADA Coordinator or the designee will respond in writing, and where appropriate, in a format accessible to the grievant.

If the response by the ADA Coordinator or designee does not resolve the issue to the satisfaction of the grievant, the grievant and/or his/her designee may within 30 calendar days of the date of the ADA Coordinator's written response, appeal the decision to the County Manger. Any appeal should be in writing. Alternative means of filing an appeal, such as personal interviews or a tape recording of the appeal, may be made available for persons with disabilities requiring use of such alternate means upon request.

Within 21 calendar days after receipt of the appeal, the County Manager or a designee may meet with the grievant, either in person or by telephone, to discuss the complaint and possible resolutions, if the County Manager or designee determines such a meeting would be helpful to the determination. Within 21 calendar days after the meeting, or within 30 days after receipt of the appeal if there is no meeting, the County Manager or the designee will respond in writing, and where appropriate, in a format accessible to the grievant, with a final resolution of the grievance or complaint.

All written complaints received by Lu Hickey or her designee, appeals to the County Manager or his/her designee, and/or responses from these two offices will be retained by Johnston County for at least five years.

Download Johnston County ADA Compliance Complaint Form (PDF)

Page last updated on:  July 31, 2024