Case Stories
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
In 2009, Ms P arrived home to see a fire hydrant in the middle of her lawn. She contacted the city, wanting to know why she had not been informed ahead of time, and whether the city could move the hydrant to a less prominent position.
City staff told her the new position was marked on a plan that was available to residents in the fall of 2008 at the Public Consultation Office and there had been a public meeting. City policy is to send a notice of such changes and meetings to local residents in an unaddressed letter. They also advised her they couldn’t move the hydrant, unless she was willing to bear the cost – between $5,000 and $10,000. Ms P had not seen any notices and did not know of the 2008 fall public meeting.
Result: After discussing with the Ombudsman and reviewing their own files, the city agreed that the company the city had contracted to do the work had not followed city policy for informing the public.
The hydrant was moved.
Follow @TO_Ombuds