Get Rid of Ombudsman's Office?

[kraig]

The Mayor has recommended to the Charter Revision Commission that the Ombudsman's Office be eliminated from the Charter. The Ombudsman is the non-political, neutral official who is charged with investigating citizen complaints regarding City service delivery & reporting findings to the Mayor and City Council.

I don't believe that resolving those complaints is actually a responsibility given the Ombudsman by the Charter, but the Office does resolve thousands of complaints annually. So why would the Mayor want to get rid of this function? If you've ever tried calling City offices to take care of your City business, you know how difficult it is to get anyone to answer the phone or return your calls. But if you call the Ombudsman's Office, they can normally assist you with your issue without you having to make a trip downtown, pay for parking, etc. I thought businessmen were supposed to be in tune to the importance of quality customer service.

I've had to deal with the Ombudsman's Office a few times when administrative departments just wouldn't do the right thing and have been extremely impressed by Ms. Brown and her staff. It was pure idiocy by the City Council for cutting her staff. Which is another reason to never support Jenkins or Brown in the future.

Mayor Bing wants to get rid of the office probably because of its effectiveness. They end up putting a lot of his staff on the hotseat.