Education
Taxation
Other Duties
The Ombudsman
Many citizens of
New York are confused about the difference in the Public Advocate's
Office and the 311 line, which is for information and referral. If a
citizen is unsure which department he needs to call for help with a
particular problem, he should dial 311 from any telephone. The
operators who answer this call are very knowledgeable about all of
the services that are available from the government. They are
equipped to do two things almost exclusively. The first is to listen
to your problem and refer you to the corect agency or government
entity that will help you to solve your problem. They do not attempt
to assist you or advise you, simply to direct you to the appropriate
place. Secondly, the 311 operators can receive your complaint about
an agency or government entity and pass it on to the appropriate
person at that agency. They do not do any follow up to ensure that
your problem was addressed or that a solution was found. They simply
report the issue.
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A citizen who is expecting help with a government agency is advised
to contact the New York Public Advocate's Office. It is this
organization that employs individuals in the Ombudsman's Department
who will help a citizen who has a problem with a government agency
or entity. It is these Ombudsmen who are trained to interpret a
problem and ensure that it is being handled by the correct
department. They take on the citizen's issue in a case-worker type
fashion and follow the problem to its conclusion. There are many
avenues that an employee of the Public Advocate's office will take
to solve a problem. It is these people who will educate a citizen on
his or her appeals or review process and the help them through the
procedure every step of the way.
The procedure is quite simple. A citizen contacts the Ombudsman's
office and gives the details of the case or problem. The officer
will determine the best course of action and assign that case to an
Ombudsman on the staff who specializes in these types of problems,
whether it is traffic tickets, potholes or zoning issues. That
person will contact the citizen within seven business days and the
process of solving the problem will begin.
Contacting the appropriate agency and following the directions given
by an expert are two things that can help to insure that a problem
will be solved in a positive and timely manner.
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