Mayor R.T. Rybak's proposal that Minneapolis consider ending its handling of civil rights complaints, relying instead on the state, is running into community opposition.

The proposal has become a flash point in Rybak's 2009 budget proposal among minority representatives, even though it wouldn't take effect until 2010 and probably won't be decided until next fall.

A coalition of civil rights advocacy groups has put out a statement against the proposal, and City Council members asked repeated questions at a budget hearing Monday at which no public testimony was taken from the more than 20 people who showed up to oppose Rybak's proposal.

But Gov. Tim Pawlenty has suggested that the city's handling of discrimination complaints duplicates the state's Human Rights Department. And some private attorneys who bring discrimination lawsuits applaud efforts to end a complaint investigation unit they have seen as dysfunctional for years.

Those who work in the Minneapolis Civil Rights Department argue that they have made substantial improvements recently in handling complaints alleging discrimination on the basis of race, gender, disability and several other factors. They also argue that filing with a state office poses burdens of access that will leave low-income residents less able to seek remedies for discrimination.

The city's anti-discrimination efforts date back to Hubert Humphrey's mayoralty in the 1940s, and its civil rights ordinance was enacted in 1967.

Rybak has said that he wants the city to focus on doing fewer things better in the face of large state cuts in aid to cities, rather than cutting all programs. He said he would prefer to focus money on the department's units that keep track of compliance by city contractors with hiring goals and that work with its civilian board charged with reviewing police actions.

Rybak elaborated on his proposal somewhat on Monday, saying he wouldn't move ahead with relying on the state if it is unable to handle the city's complaints because of its own budget cuts. A spokesman for the state department said that it was unable to comment Monday on whether it could handle the 200 to 300 complaints filed annually in Minneapolis. The state had about 500 cases pending as of last June 30, compared with 442 cases for the city unit as of last September.

Rybak has proposed cutting $180,000 from the department's budget, or 6.2 percent, in 2009. Cutting the complaints unit would reduce spending by another $400,000 in 2010. Pawlenty has proposed a new 10 percent cut of $358,000 for the state department atop an earlier cut.

The city unit has doubled the number of cases it closed from 134 cases in 2007 to 270 cases in 2008. Taneeza Islam, an attorney-investigator, said the unit of seven offers face-to-face service to people who want to file complaints, compared with an impersonal phone-intake process by the state.

The city unit has an all-minority staff of investigators who speak several languages among them. It has expanded its mediation program, which Director Michael Jordan said often resolves employment disputes more quickly and with less rancor.

Minneapolis attorney Beth Bertelson said that a city the size of Minneapolis should have its own discrimination enforcement unit because the state and the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission are overloaded with complaints.

But some private attorneys avoid using the city for discrimination complaints.

"If I were the mayor, I'd eliminate that department as well," said Minneapolis attorney James Kaster, who said that the city complaint-handling process is slower than the state's.

Ronald Brandon, who is credited with making improvements since taking over the unit, said it's taking time for that turnaround to overcome the department's past reputation.

Steve Brandt • 612-673-4438