Archive for Council
Consumer complaints ring loudly in 2009
Posted by: | CommentsFrom passengers protesting maltreatment by foreign airlines to telephone users who criticise excessive call charges, consumers’ complaints rose by over 90% between 2008 and 2009, the Consumer Protection Council has said.
As of mid December 2009, the Council said it had received 2,300 complaints from consumers who felt their rights were abused by service operators in different sectors – a wide leap from the less than 1,200 it received in 2008.
Yet, the total amount of such reports of violations for the whole year becomes insignificant when compared with the “millions of abused Nigerians” which the council acknowledges exist; “many of whom are in the grassroots.”
The Director General, Ify Umenyi, said the council opened new offices in all the zones during the year and that this helped improve consumers’ closeness with the council. It also plans several response centres in all the 774 local governments.
“Can one make complaints on every of such case in a place where you are almost sure nothing will come out from?” But the council believes the almost double record of complaints in 2009 reflected the impact of the new regional offices built in Bauchi, Awka, Katsina, Port Harcourt and Oshogbo and hopes the installed lines will improve on thatfor 2010.
“Besides physical presence, aggrieved customers can exploit the services of our new call contact center by dialing the vanity number -0700-call-cpc,” Ms. Umenyi said.
Many of the 2300 complaints during the year dwelt on adulterated consumer products, disparity between advertised and selling prices, alleged maltreatment by airline companies, excessive phone charges and calls dropping.
“About 85% of the complaints were resolved during thirty mediation meetings,” Ms. Umenyi said.
Adam Lambert’s AMA performance draws complaints
Posted by: | Comments• Adam Lambert’s sexually-charged AMA performance drew 1,500 complaints, according to this AP report.
ABC said more than 1,500 people complained, what it termed a “moderate” response, and the Parents Television Council also said it had heard from upset members.
“They’re outraged,” said Timothy Winters, president of the Parents Television Council. “They just can’t believe the nature of the content, the explicit nature, and how much graphic content there was.”
Pastor leaves trail of complaints
Posted by: | CommentsAn Omaha girl told her pastor that her body belonged to God, not to him.
The pastor disagreed. He said having sex with him was OK, and “This is what love is.”
Those allegations are contained in new documents reviewed by The World-Herald in the case of a Lincoln pastor accused of sexually assaulting the girl in Omaha and Council Bluffs.
Attorneys for the girl, now 17, say she will need psychological treatment and will suffer from the abuse for the rest of her life. She and her father are suing Efrain Umaña Sr. for damages for emotional pain and distress, according to a lawsuit filed in Pottawattamie County District Court.
He also faces criminal charges in Douglas and Pottawattamie Counties.
She alleges in the civil suit that Umaña, who is now 54, raped her at least three times: once at her home in Omaha, once at the church in Council Bluffs and once in Umaña’s car. She said she was in fourth or fifth grade at the time of the assaults.
Umaña’s attorney, Andrew Wilson, said Umaña denies the girl’s allegations.
The girl and her family regularly attended the church in Council Bluffs where Umaña formerly preached, Templo Monte Horeb. It is near 30th Street and 5th Avenue.
Umaña had influence and authority over her and used that power to sexually abuse her, attorneys John McHale and Robert Knowles said in the lawsuit.
The girl and her father also named the church as a defendant in the same lawsuit, alleging that the church was negligent in failing to check Umaña’s background. They also say the church failed to supervise Umaña
Umaña worked as a Lincoln Public Schools bus driver from 1992 to 1997. In 1993, three students reported that they felt uncomfortable around Umaña, according to memos obtained by The World-Herald.
The students reported that he hugged them, said things like, “Hi, Babe” and told them how pretty they were. He also kissed one and grabbed at their coats, according to the documents. One girl reported that she told him the bus was cold and he said, “Yes, but you and me are hot.”
In 1994, three elementary school students reported that Umaña grabbed them in inappropriate places. Umaña denied the allegations to school officials. In 1997, Umaña was terminated
According to a letter the church sent to Umaña, his dismissal resulted in part from a report by a 17-year-old parishioner that she’d had a physical relationship with him. She later sued and said the case was settled out of court for $18,000.
A 14-year-old girl also reported that he made advances.
He was dismissed from another Lincoln church, at 1305 N. 52nd Ave.
The church was an affiliate of the International General Assembly of the Church of God, of Cleveland, Tenn. A Church of God trial found him guilty of ecclesiastical charges of unbecoming ministerial conduct.
Few complaints at City Council hearing about taxes and rising fees
Posted by: | CommentsThe El Paso City Council completed its campaign to raise fees on admissions, inspections and various services while holding the line on property taxes Tuesday.
Although taxes to support city operating expenses will go down in the year starting Sept. 1 despite police and fire raises and a major new zoo exhibit, increasing payments on long-term debt for major projects is forcing a small tax increase of 1.3 percent over the city’s effective tax rate.
Only two people spoke up Tuesday at the first of two public hearings on the tax rate, projected at 63.6 cents per $100 valuation. The current tax rate is 63.3 cents and the effective tax rate is 62.75 cents.
Those rates mean the city tax on a home taxed at $100,000 after exemptions was $633 for the current tax year and will go up $3 if the council approves the proposed tax rate.
If the city were able to drop to the effective, no-increase rate, the city’s tax on the same home would be $627.50 if it did not rise in value. That, however, is a goal the city will not reach because of falling sales taxes.
The council will conduct the last hearing on the tax increase at next Tuesday’s meeting and plans to adopt the budget and the new tax rate for fiscal 2009-10 at its Aug. 25 meeting.
Increases in bridge tolls and parking meter rates are initially expected to produce an $800,000 revenue surplus that several council members said they would like to use to hold the tax rate at the current 63.3 cent level.
The increases mean that the cost of admission for a family of two adults and two older children will go from $16 to $32.
While there have been protests, he said, “I have heard of no one that said, ‘Please raise my taxes and don’t raise the price to go to the zoo.’ ”
Although the city is barred by a contract with the city’s major commercial trash hauler, Waste Management and its subsidiary El Paso Disposal, from imposing franchise fees until 2014, the council did discuss the possibility of requiring haulers to enter no-fee franchise agreements with the city.
Such agreements would allow the city to regulate the activities of haulers that could address various longstanding complaints by residents about overflowing dumpsters at apartment complexes and buildings.
“You can set standards and requirements, and those are the conditions of your franchise,” she said. “Now, we don’t have enforceable standards.”
Iran council asks for more time for vote complaints
Posted by: | Comments“We are urging you to allow us to extend the deadline to receive further complaints five more days,” the Guardian Council said in a letter.
The Guardian Council has rejected demands for a rerun from two losing candidates, former prime minister Mousavi and pro-reform cleric Mehdi Karoubi.
The legislative body said the extended deadline would pave the ground for removing any ambiguities over the disputed vote.
“As the legal deadline to review the complaints ends on Wednesday, extending the deadline will help the council to remove ambiguities,” the letter said.
Ten days of protest against elections that confirmed hardline anti-Western President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in office have produced unprecedented protests and a public split in the Islamic establishment.
Defeated candidates accuse the authorities of rigging the election and have demanded a rerun.
Moderate cleric Karoubi, defeated in the 12th June poll, signaled on Tuesday opposition would continue, calling on Iranianas to hold ceremonies on Thursday to mourn those killed at protests.
Gadsden City Council hears complaints from residents
Posted by: | CommentsIt was unofficial “complaint” day Tuesday for the Gadsden City Council, with several residents complaining about police service and protection, solid waste pickup, rezoning and the need for additional public improvements in some neighborhoods.
The council first heard from the Rev. Joe Moody of Miller Avenue, who said he was a consultant for the Lincoln/Miller Heights Improvement Association.
“We want to have a healthy and attractive community,” Moody said, adding that only “minimal development” has been started and completed in that area.
Moody said requests have been submitted and discussed “but we are far from what we need.”
He said the community is concerned about a number of issues including drug activity and “unsavory” activity in Burnett Park, poor lighting, the need for speed bumps and the need for improvements such as curbs and gutters, improved drainage and streets being paved. He said “occasionally” a police officer will come through the neighborhood, but more patrols are needed.Councilman J.R. Countryman said he agreed to a certain point with Rosson, noting that the developer showed city officials a nice shopping center.
“What ended up was a liquor store and a car wash – nothing similar to what the man said he would do,” Counryman said.
Countryman said he would like an ordinance or law passed requiring developers to develop property as originally planned, or the city could revoke a zoning change.
“They offer you the moon and don’t do nothing and put the money in their pocket,” Countryman said.
Brandy Hilley of the 3000 block of Shahan Avenue complained that a call to police was not answered for 45 minutes.
She said when an officer arrived, he asked residents if they would “like for me to get out of my car and dance around it.”
The call was not a life-threatening situation, according to Hilley, but it should have been treated in a timely fashion. She said police need to do their job and make the neighborhood safe. Several children, including Hilley’s, almost have been hit by cars and she said larger speed bumps are needed to slow traffic.
Complaint to council moves potholed street to top of repair list
Posted by: | CommentsTHE PROBLEM: Ivy Westmoreland’s 1950 Chevy DeLuxe hasn’t been out of her garage much lately, but it’s not because it doesn’t run – she’s afraid of her street.
The condition of the street along a three-block stretch west of Main Street has worsened over the last nine months or so, she said. She wrote a letter, gathered 47 signatures on a petition and protested to the mayor and council at a meeting this month.
Then she was told Mt. Vernon was on the city’s schedule for resurfacing in 2011. “To me, this is unacceptable,” Westmoreland said. “I felt as if they didn’t care about the concerns of the citizens living on this street.”
STATUS: Westmoreland’s complaint and petition to the council prompted city leaders to reconsider, said City Manager Graham Mitchell, and Mt. Vernon became a higher priority.
The original 2011 timetable was based on a systematic assessment of pavement and roadbed quality on Lemon Grove streets a few years ago, Mitchell said.
At the time, Mt. Vernon ranked lower than many busier Lemon Grove streets. But engineers took another look after Westmoreland’s council comment and discovered the road had gotten worse.
“We are moving this street up on the list,” Mitchell said. The work could be scheduled by the end of June, he said, depending partly on any stimulus money the city receives.
NEED A PROBLEM SOLVED: Is there a problem that government hasn’t taken care of despite your complaints? Whether it’s a confusing street sign or persistent leaky pipe anywhere in San Diego County, Just Fix It might be able to help.
Denver group files complaint about Fort Collins candidate Boucher
Posted by: | CommentsA Denver-based watchdog group is alleging that Fort Collins City Council candidate Andrew Boucher violated city campaign laws by soliciting donations for another candidate
The complaint was filed by Colorado Ethics Watch, which said it uses “hard-hitting, direct legal action against government officials for abusing the public trust.” It centers on a letter Boucher wrote Feb. 18 to about 200 friends and acquaintances in which he announced he would challenge District 5 incumbent Kelly Ohlson and solicited campaign contributions.
At the end of the letter, Boucher included a postscript that encouraged people to donate to Aislinn Kottwitz, who’s running in District 3.
The Fort Collins City Code says it’s illegal for one candidate committee to make a financial or in-kind contribution to another candidate committee. Colorado Ethics Watch said Boucher’s request for donations to Kottwitz constituted an in-kind contribution.
“Candidates are not supposed to contribute to other candidates,” said Luis Toro, senior counsel for Colorado Ethics Watch.
But the City Code says a “person is a candidate if the person has publicly announced an intention to seek” a City Council seat. The first line of Boucher’s Feb. 18 letter said, “I’m running for the Fort Collins City Council against Kelly Ohlson.”
Colorado State University student Theodore Gates also is seeking the District 5 seat.
Colorado Ethics Watch has filed a number of complaints in recent years alleging ethics violations, most frequently against Republicans but also occasionally against Democrats. Boucher is a Republican, though Fort Collins municipal elections are non-partisan.
Noise Complaints
Posted by: | CommentsNoise can seriously disrupt peoples’ live, causing loss of sleep, interference to activities and emotional stress. Fortunately, most complaints can be resolved between neighbours though a direct approach, however, if this is not successful Council’s Environmental Health Officers or local Police can assist.
The Environmental Protection (Noise) Regulations 1997 set prescribed standards for noise so that it is kept to acceptable levels. The noise regulations also define procedures and penalties if the prescribed standards are exceeded. Council’s Environmental Health Officers are authorized persons under the provisions of the Environmental Protection Act 1986 and have been trained in the use of noise monitoring equipment to measure noise levels.
Noise complaints commonly dealt with by Environmental Health Officers are those of a continuous and excessive nature and include air conditioners, swimming pool filters, stereo music, construction noise and power tools.
The noise regulations aim to be fair and some allowances are made in the noise regulations for the use of equipment on residential premises such as power tools, lawn mowers and musical instruments providing the time of day, duration of use and volume is not unreasonable. Construction noise is also exempted providing it is not unreasonable and does not occur before 7.00 am and after 7.00 pm between Monday and Saturday. Construction noise is not allowed on Sundays or Public Holidays without special approval.
Police Officers are also empowered under the noise regulations to deal with noise complaints and should be contacted for after hours complaints particularly when involving noisy parties and antisocial behaviour.
If you wish to lodge a noise complaint you will need to complete a form which can be obtained by phoning Council’s Environmental Health Section on 92720648 during office hours. Police Communications should be contacted for complaints involving noisy parties, loud music or disturbances after office hours