When there’s something wrong…in your neighbourhood…who you gonna call….not the Council!
Well if it relates to a council service go right ahead. In-fact most regional council’s welcome community feedback, and at smaller councils like the the District Council of Cleve, you can often walk through the door and speak directly to the CEO or the Mayor. But, due to ongoing nuisance complaints, the District Council of Cleve has endorsed a new Unreasonable Complainant Policy, aimed at addressing the impact of a small number of community members whose persistent complaints have placed undue strain on Council resources.
Mayor, Phil Cameron, acknowledged the unfortunate necessity of creating such a policy, expressing regret that the time and cost involved in developing the policy could’ve been better directed towards productive community outcomes.
“While we encourage community participation in Council’s decision making process and welcome feedback, a small group of individuals have repeatedly overstepped boundaries in raising concerns and lodging complaints,” he said.
“Despite Council’s fair and appropriate responses, these individuals continue to drain our limited resources.”
In cases where complaints were handled appropriately, the Council has expended significant time and financial resources, including legal costs to address ongoing challenges posed by the complainants. It’s now reached a new level where action was required to protect both Council’s capacity to serve the broader community and its resources.
The new policy sets clear guidelines regarding how complaints are processed and establishes boundaries for when a complaint has been addressed but the complainant is not satisfied and continues to seek further action without cause.
Mayor Cameron emphasized that the Council remains fully accountable for its decisions, both at the administrative level and in the Council Chamber. “When mistakes are made, we will correct them and, where appropriate, issue apologies. However, once complaints are processed and resolved, complainants must respect the outcomes and not seek to re-challenge the same issues repeatedly.”
The policy also reinforces the expectation that complainants conduct themselves respectfully, without causing undue stress or harm to Council staff or Council Members.
In conclusion, Mayor Cameron stressed that this policy is essential to mitigating the rising financial costs incurred by so-called “serial complainants,” which for a small council like Cleve, has reached unsustainable levels. “Establishing these new boundaries allows us to better serve the community while ensuring our resources are used effectively,” he said.
