TO: Mayor Bien-Willner and Town Council Members
FROM: Jill B. Keimach, Town Manager
Jeanette Wiesenhofer, Court Director
Jeremy Knapp, Community Development Director
DATE: December 5, 2019
DEPARTMENT: Community Development
Staff Contact Jeremy Knapp, Community Development Director, 480-348-3522
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AGENDA TITLE:
Title
Discussion and Consideration of a Resident Mediation Program
Body
SUMMARY STATEMENT:
Mediation is a confidential and voluntary resolution process in which a mediator facilitates communication between parties to reach an agreement. A mediator does not impose a decision but rather facilitates dialogue between parties. Mediation provides a forum to address issues of concern in a productive and peaceful manner for parties to reach a mutually agreed upon solution.
BENEFITS
A Town offered mediation program would provide residents a conflict resolution forum to voice concerns in a civil manner and jointly reach solutions that reinforce positive community values between neighbors. In addition, mediation is a fast, fair and cost-effective way to settle disputes that might otherwise require additional involvement and resources from police, code enforcement or other Town departments.
OPTIONS
The Town of Paradise Valley has two program options for Council consideration: 1) in-house mediation or third-party mediation.
In-House Mediation
A few municipalities across the valley offer free mediation services for residents to solve neighbor to neighbor disputes. Several municipalities such as Chandler, Scottsdale and Tempe, offer in-house mediation services using trained volunteers to mediate disputes.
In-house mediation programs use volunteer residents or in the case of City of Chandler, Arizona Summit Law School students, to mediate neighbor disputes. The City of Tempe and City of Scottsdale require volunteers to complete a 40-hour mediation training course to become a mediator.
City of Chandler's Mediation Program was established in...
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