1) As used in this section, the term "complainant" shall mean any person, including an officer or employee of the urban county government, who has lodged a complaint with the citizens' advocate, whether on behalf of themselves, or any other person.
2) The citizens' advocate shall handle all complaints as promptly and efficiently as possible, by observing the following minimum procedures with respect to the complainant:
a. The citizens' advocate shall solicit information from the complainant as to which department, office, officer or employee of the urban county government they feel is responsible for the problem. If it appears to the citizens' advocate that such department, office, officer or employee may in fact be responsible for the problem, the citizens' advocate shall request information from the supervisor in question pursuant to the procedure contained in A.102(3).
b. The citizens' advocate shall make the initial inquiry or commence the necessary research on each complaint no later than the next working day following its receipt, unless the work load of their office is such that this is impossible. In the latter case, the citizens' advocate shall begin work on the request as soon as their schedule makes it possible to do so.
c. The citizens' advocate shall attend all meetings of urban county government bodies, boards, agencies and commissions, committees thereof, and staff meetings, as may be required to make investigations, disclosures or recommendations concerning resident complaints.
d. In all cases, the citizens' advocate shall advise the complainant concerning the disposition of the problem as soon as the matter is resolved. In no case shall the citizens' advocate fail to make at least a status report on the matter to the complainant within fifteen (15) days of receipt of their complaint. The citizens' advocate shall continue to make status reports to the complainant at least every fifteen (15) days thereafter, until the matter is resolved.
e. In formulating recommended policies pursuant to section A.103(1)(g), the citizens' advocate shall consult and work with those complainants who have made related complaints. The citizens' advocate shall advise those complainants of any subsequent recommendations they shall make to the urban county government.
3) The citizens' advocate shall consult with experts in the field of data collection and utilization and develop a flexible, administrative procedure to be followed by all urban county government executive and administrative personnel, for the handling of responses to requests from the office of the citizens' advocate. This administrative procedure shall reflect the following:
a. All requests from the citizens' advocate shall be directed to the supervisor of the department or office out of which the matter arises or their designee. Supervisor shall mean the mayor, in the case of the office of the mayor; the chief administrative officer, in the case of the office of administrative services; department commissioners, in the case of urban county government departments; and the highest ranking official or employee, in the case of any other government office or agency.
b. In the absence of prior authority to do so by their supervisor, employees of the urban county government shall not, during working hours, deviate from their normal routine to respond to requests from the office of the citizens' advocate. However, it shall be the responsibility of each supervisor to make full and adequate provision for responding to all requests of the citizens' advocate.
c. The procedure shall permit executive and administrative personnel in the urban county government a reasonable time to investigate and respond to complaints of a grievance nature.
d. The citizens' advocate should attempt to resolve residents' complaints of a grievance nature by exhaustion of the administrative procedure established herein prior to public disclosure of abuses or irregularities on the part of the urban county government, its officers, agents or employees.
e. This procedure may be modified or altered on a case-by-case basis by the urban county council to ensure the reasonable resolution of resident complaints of a grievance nature.
4) The citizens' advocate shall not:
a. Have the power, for or on behalf of their office, to initiate lawsuits against the urban county government.
b. Spend funds for legal services to represent residents or the office of the citizens' advocate unless specifically authorized to do so by the urban county council.
c. Represent any resident, including officers or employees of the urban county government, in any type of legal or administrative proceedings. They may, as in the case of any other resident, investigate a complaint by an urban county government officer or employee.
5) The jurisdiction of the office of the citizens' advocate in investigating complaints is limited to complaints by residents of Fayette County and complaints concerning the actions of the urban county government, its officers, agents or employees.
(Res. No. 599-2023, § 2, 11-2-23)