“Dementia is increasingly prevalent in Toronto and will accelerate as the population ages,” said Fiona Crean the Toronto Ombudsman, pictured here in downtown Toronto on Wednesday December 1, 2010 ahead of the release of her report on the state of the city's affairs.Chris Young
Toronto's ombudsman is slamming the city's public service for failing to make public basic information such as its customer-service policy and how to lodge formal complaints with every department.
After releasing her annual report Wednesday, Fiona Crean said she was "flummoxed" that the city refused to publish customer-service standards that are currently available on an internal website.
Those guidelines instruct employees in basic courtesies such as returning calls within 24 hours, putting an out-of-office notification on e-mails when on vacation and, "if you're at desk, answer your telephone."
The report also indicates that only 76 per cent of city divisions had posted a description of their complaint process to the web - a 32-per-cent increase from the beginning of the year, but still short of 100 per cent.
"I'm very concerned that those are not complete yet," Ms. Crean said. "I saw both of these recommendations as being simple and straightforward, particularly the [customer-service standards]because the customer-service standards are posted on the internal website."
Ms. Crean, who became Toronto's first ombudsman in November, 2008, fielded 1,562 complaints and completed nine investigations in 2010. Her major findings of wrongdoing - including the case of a woman who suffered through 17 sewer back-ups in her home over eight years - were published and sent to council during the year.
Still, Ms. Crean said she is impressed with the municipal government's renewed focus on customer service since Mayor Rob Ford took office.
"I believe that since the new administration has come into place, there's been a much more concerted effort," she said.
She's hoping for more money to run her office in 2011, despite budget committee turning down her request for $102,000 this year to add two more employees to her 10-person staff.
Council will vote on the final budget at the end of February.
Kelly Grant