It is definitely time the City of Lehi Utah to appoint, select or hire an Ombudsman

It is definitely time for the City of Lehi to appoint, select or hire and Ombudsman. Lehi has grown dramatically in the past several years and expects that growth to continue for many years to come. Most cities of Lehi's size have an Ombudsman.  

What is an Ombudsman and what is their role?

Here is the Merriam-Webster definition:

1. a government official appointed to receive and investigate complaints made by individuals against abuses or capricious acts of public officials;one that investigates, reports on, and helps settle complaints.

Wikipedia defines the role and responsibility of an Ombudsman as follows: 

An ombudsman or public advocate is usually appointed by the government or by parliament, but with a significant degree of independence, who is charged with representing the interests of the public by investigating and addressing complaints of maladministration or a violation of rights. In some countries an Inspector General, Citizen Advocate or other official may have duties similar to those of a national ombudsman, and may also be appointed by a legislature. Below the national level an ombudsman may be appointed by a state, local or municipal government. Unofficial ombudsmen may be appointed by, or even work for, a corporation such as a utility supplier, newspaper, NGO, or professional regulatory body.

The typical duties of an ombudsman are to investigate complaints and attempt to resolve them, usually through recommendations (binding or not) or mediation. Ombudsmen sometimes also aim to identify systematic issues leading to poor service or breaches of people's rights. 

In politics:

In general, an ombudsman is a state or local official appointed to provide a check on government activity in the interests of the citizen, and to oversee the investigation of complaints of improper government activity against the citizen. If the ombudsman finds a complaint to be substantiated, the problem may get rectified, or an ombudsman report is published making recommendations for change. 

The major advantage of an ombudsman is that he or she examines complaints from outside the offending state or local institution, thus avoiding the conflicts of interest inherent in self-policing. However, the ombudsman system relies heavily on the selection of an appropriate individual for the office, and on the cooperation of at least some effective official from within the apparatus of the state or local community (county, city, town or municipality)

Why does the City of Lehi need an Ombudsman?

Right now, complaints to the City of Lehi fall on deaf ears.  The City is self policing itself and there is no one at the City looking after the interest of the citizens of Lehi.  Hundreds of complaints are directed towards the city with no central person or organization receiving these complaints, looking into them and getting back to the resident who filed the complaint.  The city is operating on the good old boy network and looks after its own best interest rather than the interest of the citizens (who by the way pay their salaries).  The city is failing to enforce and adhere to its own city code without consequence.

Right now, citizen complaints are merely a distraction and NOT taken seriously by anyone in city government.  You can complain all you want and no one seriously cares what you think.  

An Ombudsman is a citizen advocate.  Complaints about or against the city would be sent to the Ombudsman who would look into the complaint and get back to the citizen.  Right now, if your complaint is even heard, rarely does anyone from the city get back to you and rarely does anyone at the city look into your complaint.

Right now, there are no checks and balances in the city.  City employees, officials and administrators do whatever they want without consequence.  Nobody is holding them responsible or accountable for performing their job in the best interest of the citizens.  

To be blunt, those who work for, appointed or elected to positions in the city are out of control and are not being held accountable for their damaging behavior.  The health, safety, long term welfare of the citizens of the city of Lehi are put in jeopardy every day by those who suppose to be protecting their interest.

It is time for the City of Lehi to appoint, select or hire an Ombudsman.  If they don't, it indicates to me that they want to continue to run the city without oversight and in their best interest and not the interest of the citizens.

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