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 Town of Blacksburg, Virginia will not discriminate against qualified individuals with disabilities on the basis of disability in its services, programs, or activities.

Employment

The Town of Blacksburg 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 Town of Blacksburg will generally, upon request, provide appropriate aids and services leading to effective communication for qualified persons with disabilities so they can participate equally in Blacksburg’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 Town of Blacksburg 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 Blacksburg 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 Town of Blacksburg should contact the Town Manager’s office, 300 South Main Street, P.O. Box 90003, Blacksburg, VA 24062-9003, telephone 540-443-1005, as soon as possible but no later than 48 hours before the scheduled event.

The ADA does not require the Town of Blacksburg 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 Town of Blacksburg is not accessible to persons with disabilities should be directed to:

Blacksburg ADA Coordinator
300 S. Main St.
P.O. Box 90003
Blacksburg, VA 24062-9003.

Complaints can also be made using At Your Request or by emailing Joshua Middleton at jmiddleton@blacksburg.gov.

The Town of Blacksburg 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.

Town of Blacksburg 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 Town of Blacksburg. The town’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 the following:                                               

Joshua Middleton, ADA Coordinator        
300 S. Main St.
P.O. Box 90003
Blacksburg, VA 24062-9003 

or to jmiddleton@blacksburg.gov

Within 15 calendar days after receipt of the complaint, the ADA Coordinator or his designee will meet with the complainant to discuss the complaint and the possible resolutions. Within 15 calendar days of the meeting, the ADA Coordinator or his 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 Town of Blacksburg and offer options for substantive resolution of the complaint. If the response by the ADA Coordinator or his 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 Town Manager or his designee. 

Within 15 calendar days after receipt of the appeal, the Town Manager or the manager’s designee will meet with the complainant to discuss the complaint and possible resolutions. Within 15 calendar days after the meeting, the Town Manager or the manager’s 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 the ADA Coordinator, appeals to the Town Manager, and responses from these two offices will be retained by the Town of Blacksburg for at least three years.