Barking dogs, kids smoking and late transit buses are among the many complaints the city's wrongdoing hotline has received in its first six months of operation, says a report headed to the audit committee last week.
Call volume was much higher than anticipated, Auditor General Ron Foster reports, largely because some members of the public don't understand the purpose of the hotline.
“On June 1, 2016, the City of Greater Sudbury opened its wrongdoing hotline for citizens, employees and contractors to report complaints/allegations that could be deemed illegal, dishonest, wasteful or a deliberate violation of city policy,” the report says.
In the first few months, the hotline took in 97 complaints, of which 17 were either tests or the persons making the complaint didn't complete the process.
Of the remaining 80: 14 were referred to the bylaw department for review; four were referred to 311; two were referred to outside boards; 10 weren't related to city services; and, two were referred to police or the court system.
Twenty-two complaints were dismissed as unfounded and another two required no action, leaving 24 cases for more analysis. Of those, eight were resolved through actions, and 16 are still going through the process.
The complaints that were resolved were related to such things as reminding staff of cellphone usage policies and of the need to stick to bus schedules.
The hotline is a confidential service that allows citizens, employees and contractors to submit reports through a secure online form at www.sudburycomplaints.ca or through an impartial service provider at 705-688-7588.
Wrongdoing is defined as any kind of activity that could be deemed illegal, dishonest and wasteful of municipal resources or a deliberate violation of city policy. It includes theft, fraud or abuse of position or authority within municipal government.
Complaints may be filed regarding Greater Sudbury employees, management, contractors, mayor, members of council and political office staff.
In terms of who people were complaining about, there was one complaint about the mayor's office, which was resolved; two about city councillors, one of which is still being investigated; six about city contractors, with two complaints still current; and 39 complaints about city staff, of which 13 are current.
Foster writes in his report that the hotline is taking up a considerable amount of his office's time, and down the road will evaluate “the costs and benefits” of maintaining it.
The three complaints referred to outside agencies, for example, cost taxpayers $19,000 to investigate. The report, which can be found here, will be reviewed at the June 20 audit committee meeting.
