After resolving nearly a 1,000 complaints about city service in her first nine months on the job, Toronto's ombudsman is asking for more money to expand her office next year.
"In order to look at the systemic fix and manage individual complaints, there's no question I need more resources," Fiona Crean said after releasing her first annual report Thursday.
The report showed the ombudsman's office received 1,057 complaints and enquiries about poor customer service, 956 of which the office resolved without a probe, six of which it investigated formally. Of those investigations, four are ongoing, Ms. Crean said, and the office is still working on the rest of the complaints.
Torontonians complained most about service at Municipal Licensing and Standards, Revenue Services and the Toronto Community Housing Corporation.
Complaints the office helped resolve included the case of a man who nearly lost his driver's licence when the city initially refused to cancel a parking ticket mistakenly issued on a day he and his car were out of town; the case of a woman who tried to trade in 1,145 old TTC tokens for new ones after the transit agency changed the deadline, but didn't update its brochures; and the case of a homeowner who had a fire hydrant planted in the centre of her front yard without adequate warning.
Ms. Crean said her office focused on resolving individual complaints in 2009. If the ombudsman's office is to solve systemic problems, she said, the cash-strapped city will need to increase the office's $1.2-million and allow her to hire two or three more staff.
The city manager has asked all departments for a five-per-cent budget cut ahead of the Feb. 16 budget launch. "I'm really confident that the city will not be pennywise and pound foolish," Ms. Crean said. "I've heard very clearly from the public not only their need, but their demand for our service."