Calls made to city’s snitch line rarely relevant

Topics included discarded couch

A hotline set up by the City of Windsor for residents to file concerns about municipal employees and their conduct has been getting calls for everything but that.

“The hotline is not being used fully for what was intended, but when you put the number out to the public, they will often call the first one they see,” said city CAO Onorio Colucci.

There were 17 hotline complaints in the most recent threemonth period concluding at the end of June, according to an update report provided last week to city council.

Among complaints listed were a neighbour hosting loud backyard parties, a couch abandoned in front of a neighbour’s house, garbage left behind in a city park and a resident complaining about immigration in the city.

“What we are getting are service issues,” Colucci said. “We refer that to 311 where it should have gone in the first place.”

Valid complaints are followed and initially investigated by the city’s retained auditing firm PricewaterhouseCoopers.

There were a few legitimate calls reported to the hotline. One was about a contractor allegedly being used in violation of city bylaws. Another caller was angry over the way a building inspection was performed. There was also a complaint about receiving parking ticket non-payment notices after a payment was made online.

“There are some that are valid hotline issues and followed up by our staff,” Colucci said. “The good news is there are not many true complaints related to fraud or abuse.

“There are costs associated with this. From our point of view, (reporting the hotline complaints) is about transparency and internal controls. Administration is supportive of the process.”

The good news is there are not many true complaints related to fraud or abuse.