Open Municipal Government Toolkit – Complaints
Download the Open Government Toolkit Instructions
One way that a municipality can demonstrate its commitment to Open Government is to establish a process for receiving and responding to complaints. A Complaints Policy outlines a consistent and uniform process to respond to complaints about programs, facilities, services, employees or operational procedures. A Complaints Policy allows a municipality to address concerns as well as learn from experience to improve services.
Your municipal website should include clear instructions about how an individual can file a complaint. One example is as follows:
Our municipality has a Complaint Policy (link to the policy) which outlines our process for receiving and handling complaints.
Step 1: Speak with us. Please speak to one of our employees about your concerns. We want to make things right and will try to resolve your issue at the first point of contact. We want to improve our services based on your feedback.
Step 2: Make a complaint in writing. If you are unsatisfied with our response, please submit a formal complaint in writing to our Chief Administrative Officer. You can submit your complaint by letter, fax or email.
Step 3: If our Chief Administrative Office is the subject of your complaint, please outline your concerns in writing and send your correspondence to the Mayor.
Downloads
Complaints Policy (Macro-Enabled Word)
Complaints Policy (Word)
Open Government Toolkit Instructions (pdf)