Like public, ombudsman has few answers

Office lacks authority to compel city officials to quickly address citizen complaints

“This is not a wimpy town. We can take bad news; just give it to us.” John Eddings, city ombudsman

By Darren A. Nichols and Cameron McWhirter / The Detroit News

    DETROIT — The head of the city complaints department knows how it feels to be rebuffed by the bureaucracy. It happens to him all the time.

    John Eddings, the city ombudsman, is charged with looking into citizen complaints about city services. But he and his 11-member staff can’t always help the aggrieved, he acknowledged.

    Department heads sometimes comply when he phones with a request to resolve a complaint, Eddings said. Other times, they won’t. The complaints department has no more authority over the bureaucracy than does the City Council, which appoints the ombudsman. City departments are answerable only to the mayor.

    “The system is not that fine-tuned,” Eddings said. He called it “a failure of interpersonal relations” when city agencies rebuff his office’s efforts on the behalf of residents.

    Eddings said one reason for dissatisfaction among residents is that city department heads promise more than they can deliver, such as fast response times to complaints. He argued that straight talk would help.

    “Citizens tend not to complain if they have information — Detroiters are tough,” he said. “This is not a wimpy town. We can take bad news; just give it to us. Let’s start with a real-life picture.”

    The ombudsman’s office each year compiles a top-10 list of complaints based on the 30,000 to 40,000 calls it receives annually. Abandoned vehicles remained at the head of the list for the second straight year; next came dangerous buildings.

    The department, with a budget of $1.4 million this year, also investigates whether city ordinances are effective, whether there are inadequate administrative procedures and whether enforcement is effective. The City Council appoints the ombudsman to a one-time, 10-year term. He is paid $144,207 a year.

Top 10 complaints

Here is the ombudsman’s 2000-2001 top 10 complaint list

1. Abandoned vehicles

2. Dangerous buildings

3. Flooding sewers

4. Litter

5. Untrimmed trees

6. Street lighting

7. Weeds on vacant land

8. Excessive water bills

9. Unrepaired water systems

10. Income tax income refund delays

Source: City Ombudsman’s office

You can reach Darren A. Nichols at (313) 222-2396 or dnichols@detnews.com