(a) There is hereby established in the office of the Clerk of Council a Bureau of Complaints to be administered and controlled by a Chief subject to the provisions of the Charter and ordinances of the City, and to the supervision and direction of the Clerk. The Chief and the necessary personnel to carry out the functions of the Bureau shall be appointed by the Clerk with the approval of Council.
(b) The Bureau shall receive complaints of citizens concerning the public service, refer such complaints to the appropriate department for investigation and report, advise the complainant of the result of such investigation and report and do and perform such related functions as Council shall require.
(c) The Chief shall maintain an Information and Complaint Desk in the lobby of the City Hall and at such other places as Council may direct, for the purpose of directing the public to the proper departments and receiving complaints concerning the service to the public by the several departments of the City government.
(d) In the handling of complaints the Chief and his or her assistants shall adhere to the following procedure:
(1) Receipt of complaints, written or verbal;
(2) Acknowledgment to the complainant of the receipt thereof, if received by mail;
(3) Investigation and report by the department affected shall show name and address of the complainant, date and nature of the complaint, as well as a statement of what has been done to take care of the complaint and the reason, if any, for the lack of service;
(4) Forwarding of one (1) of the copies of the complaint to the department concerned, and retention by the Bureau of one (1) copy in a file known as the open file;
(5) Investigation and report by the department concerned shall be completed within five (5) days unless unusual conditions prevail. Such report shall be made upon the blanks herein prescribed;
(6) Report from the department concerned shall be entered on the duplicate held by the Bureau and shall be transferred to a closed file;
(7) Advise complainant of the report from the department concerned;
(8) A complete written report shall be furnished to the Mayor and Council each month.
(Ord. No. 672-52. Passed 5-19-52, eff. 5-21-52)