HomeMy WebLinkAboutItem #42 - Discussion ItemA
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Howard V. Gary 6-
City Manager
CITY p- t.'f• •11 FL.DRID4
August 17, 1982
FILE
- Neighborhood Ombudsman Program
September 9, 1982
Dena Spillman, Director
Commission Meeting: Committee
Department of CommunityDevelopment
of the Whole Discussion
At the July 22, 1982 City Commission meeting, Commissioner Perez
proposed setting up a pilot ombudsman program consisting of three
individuals located in fire stations in neighborhoods representing
the tri-ethnic population of the City. The administration agreed
to report back to the City Commission on this item at the September
City Commission meeting.
The Department of Community Development already operates and ad-
ministers a city-wide Citizen Response Center which is designed to
provide a direct link between residents and city government by
assisting individuals with service requests and information on City
operations. V.hen requests for City services are received (i.e.,
trash collection, zoning enforcement), staff reports the request to
the appropriate City Department and provides follow-up until the
service is delivered. The program provides information and referral
for clients to otl= government and social service agencies for
requests that are not within the jurisdiction of the City of Miami.
The office, which is located at 1145 N.W. llth Street, is staffed
by three Community Involvement Specialists who are also responsible
for the City's Community Development Citizen Participation Program.
Almost all inquiries received by the Response Center (approximately
26,000 yearly) are resolved over the telephone. Whenever it has
_= been necessary, staff has gone into the community to talk to resi-
dents regarding their request or concern.
We have discussed the use of selected fire stations for the neigh-
borhood ombudsman program with the Fire, Rescue and Inspection
Services Department. In order to ensure the security of the stations
during fires and/or emergencies, they recommend some remodeling to
provide adequate office space or exterior entrance doors.
In order not to interfere with the operation of the Fire, Rescue
and Inspection Services Department and to save money, it is recom-
mended that the Little Havana Community Center, 900 S.W. 1st Street,
the Culmer/Overtown Neighborhood Service Center, 1600 N.W. 3rd Avenue,
and Legion Memorial Park, 6447 N.E. 7th Avenue, be utilized as three
al pilot sites during a six month evaluation period.
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Howard V. Gary
8/17/82
pg. 2
The Department of Community Development already has staff at the
Little Havana Community Center and at the Culmer/Overtown Center
(the City Overtown Jobs Program) who can be trained to provide
ombudsman services.
The use of Legion Park would merely require office furniture and
the installation of a telephone at a cost of approximately $1,000
for 6 months. The Legion Park office could be staffed one day
per week by outstationing one of the current Citizen Response
Center staff from the main office.
The use of these three sites would not require any additional staff
costs. The only cost aside from setting up an office at Legion
Park would be for advertising the program and printing flyers
(approximately $5,000). Recorded public service announcements fea-
turing the Mayor and Commissioners will also be used to promote
the program.
If this meets the approval of the City Commission, we will initiate
the program in Legion Park during the month of October and publi-
cize the availability of the service at all three sites.
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