City Councilor Ariel Mendez told the City of Bend Accessibility Advisory Committee on Oct. 23 that equity remains a council priority and that the city has hired a third-party consultant to review internal and external equity programs.

Mendez said the council is examining whether vehicle-for-hire accessibility requirements are enforceable at the local level, noting the city attorney suggested one enforcement avenue could be litigation. "There’s a difficult question of if it’s a federal law that we require vehicles for hire to comply with…what is the city's role in terms of enforcing that?" Mendez said, adding he hopes the city can identify funding or creative approaches to expand accessible transportation without suing.

On transportation safety, Mendez said the council’s new zero-transportation-fatalities goal requires a 30-day post-crash review to confirm a death was traffic-related. Because reporting is routed through hospitals, the county medical examiner and law enforcement, year-to-date fatality counts can change after the 30-day lookback.

Mendez also reported on the Community Crisis Response Team (CCRT), a 2023 Deschutes County partnership designed to provide non-law-enforcement mental health response. Comparing three years before and three years after CCRT implementation, he said average monthly calls decreased from 167 to 86 — a 48% reduction — and that Bend Police Chief described the program as working as intended.

Cassandra, Accessibility & Equity Manager, briefed COBAC on national developments affecting local services. She said the U.S. Department of Education eliminated about 121 positions in the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services, which enforces the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). Cassandra warned the staffing reductions could have significant local impacts for children with disabilities and solicited advocacy and monitoring of pending litigation seeking to enjoin the cuts.

Cassandra also noted October observances — National Disability Employment Awareness Month and Disabled Women’s Equal Pay Day on Oct. 23 — and encouraged committee members to engage with upcoming listening sessions hosted by Disability Rights Oregon in Bend.

Committee members congratulated Bend Parks & Recreation and COBAC affiliates for winning the Oregon Parks and Recreation Association 2025 Innovation Award for Miller’s Landing.