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4041 Schedule A - Complaints PolicyTHE CORPORATION OF THE TOWN OF TILLSONBURG ADMINISTRATIVE POLICY 1-009 COMPLAINTS POLICY APPROVAL DATE: September 26, 2016 Page 1 of2 REVISION DATE: SCHEDULES A. Policy Statement The Town of Tillsonburg is committed to a consistent and uniform process to respond to complaints received from members of the public regarding programs, facilities, Town services, staff and/or operational procedures. This policy outlines the process to be followed for the handling of public complaints. The Town of Tillsonburg recognises the importance of public input and welcomes complaints as a valuable form of feedback. Such information helps to improve the quality and level of the services provided by the Town, as well as interaction between Town staff and the public. B. Scope Complaints are expressions of dissatisfaction in regards to a particular action or lack of action taken by a municipal employee or member of Council, the operation of a municipal facility or the quality of service provided by the Town of Tillson burg or by a person or body acting on behalf of the Town. Written complaints filed with the Town of Tillsonburg necessitate a timely and appropriate response and shall be processed in a courteous, impartial and professional manner. All complainants will be treated with respect and will not receive adverse treatment or any form of reprisal. Anyone who uses or is affected by Town services can make a complaint. This includes: • Local & Area Residents • People who work in or visit the Town 11-009 COMPLAINTS POLICY Page2 of21 • Local businesses • Community groups & Organizations • Volunteers for the Town of Tillsonburg • Individuals/Businesses/Corporations hired by or are working in partnership with the Town C. Definitions Complaint: Means a submission by a member of the public regarding their dissatisfaction about a municipal program, facility, Town service, staff member or operational procedure. Vexatious: Means a comment(s) or complaint(s) which are made without sufficient grounds for the intended purpose to cause an annoyance or frustration. D. Responsibilities of Municipal Employees Employees: All employees are to have knowledge and awareness of the Town's requirement to receive complaints, the process through which a complaint can be made and the service standards that apply to complaints. Managers: Managers are responsible for facilitating prompt response to all complaints to ensure that service standards are achieved. Directors: Directors are responsible to ensure that the proper complaint forms are available for the receipt and response of all complaints according to the service standards set out. Directors hold responsibility for compliance to the Complaints Policy. 1. What guides the Town in its complaint handling? • Accessibility: Information on how to submit a complaint is made readily available in a number of formats and complaints can be submitted in-person, on- line, by e-mail, phone, fax and by regular mail. • Accountability: Complaints are handled in a fair, respectful and transparent manner, in a timely fashion. • Confidentiality: Complaints will be processed in a confidential manner and information shall be collected, used and disclosed in accordance with the Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (MFIPPA). 11-009 COMPLAINTS POLICY • Customer-focus: The Town of Tillsonburg is committed to continuous improvement in service quality and delivery. • Responsiveness: Complaints received in writing are tracked and the Complainant is kept informed throughout the formal complaint process. Page 3 of31 • Simplicity: The Complaints Policy has been designed to be simple to understand and easy to use and includes information on how to submit a complaint and what should be included within the complaint. 2. What is not included in the Complaint Process? The formal complaint process does not include: • Requests for service; • Feedback and compliments; • Inquiries; • Anonymous complaints. In these cases, the Complainant will be referred to the appropriate municipal department or government authority. These communications and requests shall be handled through other mechanisms and processes. 3. Types of Complaints A complaint may be submitted in regards to a municipal employee, a member of Council, a municipal by-law or policy infraction by an employee of the Town, and municipal services and facilities. a) Municipal Employees (i.e. A negligent act by an employee causes damage to Town or private property.) Complaints regarding the conduct of municipal employees shall be processed in accordance with the provisions of the Complaints Procedure and/or the Employee Code of Conduct, as deemed applicable. b) Individuals/Businesses/Corporations (i.e. Discourteous behaviour expressed by an individual hired by the municipality towards a resident.) Complaints regarding the conduct of individuals, businesses or corporations hired by the municipality to provide a particular municipal program or service, shall be directed to the Town Clerk. c) Council (i.e. Inappropriate use of one's position by a Council member.) Complaints regarding the conduct of members of Council are processed in accordance with the provisions of the Council Code of Conduct. Please 11-009 COMPLAINTS POLICY Page 4 of41 refer to the Town website to submit a Code of Conduct Complaint on-line or contact the Town Clerk for more information. Complaints regarding the conduct of Closed Meetings are to be submitted to the Ontario Ombudsman's Office. The forms and process are outlined on the Ombudsman's website at: https://ombudsman.on.ca/Make-a- Complaint.aspx. Additional information regarding this type of complaint can be obtained from the Town Clerk. d) By-Law or Policy Violations (i.e. A Health & Safety Infraction by an employee.) Complaints regarding By-law and/or policy violations by municipal staff or individuals hired by the municipality shall be processed in accordance with the provisions of the Complaints Procedure and any disciplinary action taken shall be undertaken as per the Town's Personnel Policy. e) Municipal Services or Facilities (i.e. Failure to maintain a public space within a municipal building in a safe and/or accessible manner.) Complaints received regarding the provision and/or quality of municipal services, programs and facilities shall be entered into the Town's Active Citizen Response (ACR) program and will be forwarded to the appropriate department for resolution and/or action. 4. Submitting a Verbal Complaint A verbal complaint may be submitted in-person at the Town of Tillsonburg Customer Service Centre, 10 Lisgar Avenue or by phone at (519) 688-3009. Customer Service Representatives will ask callers a series of questions in order to best direct a complaint and/or resolve a complaint in an informal manner at first contact. 5. Submitting a Written Complaint Written complaints shall be submitted to the attention of the Town Clerk who shall direct each complaint to the appropriate Director and/or Manager for review and appropriate action. Written complaints can be submitted in the following manner: 1) In-person at the Town of Tillsonburg Customer Service Centre-10 Lisgar Avenue; 2) On-line at www.tillsonburg.ca; 3) By E-mail to clerks@tillsonburg.ca; 4) By Fax to (519) 842-9431; 11-009 COMPLAINTS POLICY Page 5 ofsl 5) By Mail to the Town Clerk, 200 Broadway, 2"d Floor, Tillsonburg, ON N4G 5A7. 6. What should be included within a complaint? Written and verbal complaints submitted should include the following information: 1) Details of what happened. 2) Where did this happen? Is it within the Town's areas of responsibility? 3) When? 4) Who was involved? 5) What was said or done? 6) Is this an ongoing issue? 7) What kind of resolution is being sought? 8) Contact details of the Complainant. a) Anonymous complaints or complaints lacking sufficient information may not be investigated; b) Frivolous and vexatious complaints, as determined by the Town Clerk or CAO in consultation with the appropriate Department may not be investigated. 7. Logging of Complaints All written and verbal complaints received by the Town of Tillsonburg shall be logged into the Town's ACR program for tracking purposes and to direct the complaint to the appropriate Department Head for review and appropriate action. 8. Responding to a Complaint The following Service Standards will be adhered to by all staff responsible for receiving and/or responding to complaints submitted to the Town: 1) Complainants shall receive an acknowledgement of receipt of their complaint within five (5) business days of the department receiving the completed complaint form. Service complaints requiring immediate attention shall be responded to in accordance with the issue as set out in ACR. This acknowledgement must identify who will be following up on the complaint as well as their contact information. If a complaint was received by a department in error and it should be handled by another department, the complaint will be forwarded to the appropriate department and the complainant will be advised that their complaint has been forwarded, and be provided with the contact name of the responsive department; 2) A Final Response must be sent to the complainant within thirty (30) business days, barring exceptional circumstances; 11-009 COMPLAINTS POLICY Page 6 of61 3) Complaints may be prioritized, depending on the circumstances. Staff shall notify the Complainant of the proposed response timelines; 4) The following information shall be provided in the Final Response to the Complainant: • A brief summary of the nature of the complaint and pertinent facts; • Details about how the investigation was conducted; • An outline of the findings of the investigation; • The decision of staff and suggested appropriate resolution along with the rationale supporting the proposed resolution. Resolutions may include an explanation, apology, reconsideration, reimbursement, restitution and/or change in policy, which are all possible remedies. The Apology Act provides that apologies are not admissible as evidence of fault or liability. 9. Communication of the Final Response 1) Staff shall keep a written/electronic copy of the Final Response to the Complainant on file as per the Town's Records & Information Management Policy and provide a copy of the Final Response to the Complainant in accordance with subsection 8(2) of this policy; 2) Staff shall identify and implement any action(s) or form of resolution as provided for within the Final Response. If the Complainant is satisfied with the proposed resolution, the complaint file shall be closed. 10. Appealing a Decision Should a Complainant be dissatisfied with the recommended form of resolution included within the Final Response provided to them, they may submit an appeal to the Town Clerk who will review the matter in consultation with the CAO to determine if additional or an alternative resolution can be achieved. In the event that a Complainant remains unsatisfied with an alternative resolution(s) proposed by staff in the case of an appeal to the Town of Tillson burg, the complaint may be submitted to the Ontario Ombudsman's office in accordance with the provisions of Bill 8, Public Sector & MPP Accountability and Transparency Act, 2014. The forms and process are outlined on the Ombudsman's website: https://ombudsman.on.ca/Make-a-Complaint.aspx 11-009 COMPLAINTS POLICY Page 7 of71 11. Monitoring & Tracking Complaints Complaints submitted to the Town of Tillsonburg shall be tracked from their initial receipt to their resolution. a) All written complaint records will be kept securely and in accordance with the corporate Records & Information Management Policy requirements and legislative responsibilities. b) Each staff person responsible for receiving complaints shall log each complaint in the Active Citizen Response (ACR) program to ensure adequate tracking of complaints and resolutions undertaken. The complaints records will be needed for ongoing review and analysis so as to capture recurring and/or systemic issues and improve upon customer service and satisfaction. c) When entering a complaint into the (ACR) program, staff shall ensure that the appropriate documentation has been attached, including any photos, drawings, letters, emails, or faxes submitted by the complainant, details of direction given to staff and how the complaint was resolved and when, along with a copy of the Final Response provided by staff to the complainant. d) If action is taken on a complaint, staff shall ensure that a record of this action is logged in the ACR program and shall provide sufficient details in the event of escalation to the Senior Leadership Team, the CAO or to the provincial Ombudsman. 12. Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act a) All complaints will be processed in accordance with the Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act and other applicable legislation. The identity of the complainant will be made known only to those who need to know in order to consider the complaint. All participants in the complaints process shall keep the details of the complaint confidential except as may be required by law. If the matter should go to arbitration, it may be necessary to release the inquirer's name and contact information during the resolution process. b) Complaints received by one department are to be limited to that specific department unless the complaint involves more than one department. c) Nothing contained in this Policy is intended to neither conflict with nor deviate from the provisions of the Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (MFIPPA). 11-009 COMPLAINTS POLICY PageS ofsl 13. Delegation Complaints received by the Town of Tillsonburg shall be delegated to the appropriate Department Head through the (ACR) program for assignment to staff for follow-up. The Town Clerk is delegated the responsibilities related to the receipt and processing of written complaints received by the Town of Tillsonburg and shall direct complaints to the appropriate Department Head in accordance with the nature of the complaint. 14. Policy Administration & Review This policy shall be administered by the Town Clerk or his/her designate. This policy will be reviewed every four (4) years to coincide with the term of Council or as required based on revisions to Corporate practices or Provincial legislation. ·