Historical Note
In 1970, Ordinance 99092 established the joint Seattle/King County
Office of Citizen Complaints, adopting County Ordinance 473. The City paid the
proportion of the joint use program equivalent to the ratio of the population
within its city limits to that of the total population of King County. The
responsibility of the Ombudsman was to investigate complaints from citizens
regarding the actions or decisions of the administrative agencies of the City
or County.
The Ombudsman was director of the Office of Citizen Complaints and was
appointed by the city and county councils. This official had the power to
investigate citizen complaints against City and County agencies and was also
authorized to subpoena and to administer oaths to witnesses. After
investigation, the office made recommendations, although findings and
recommendations were not binding on the agency.
The Office stopped receiving City funds in 1982.
Content Description
Ombudsman annual reports date from to 1971-1978. Reports include an
explanation of the Ombudsman's role, an overview of the year's activities,
staffing and budget information, case summaries, lists of cases by City and
County departments, case statistics, and projects resulting from a high number
of complaints regarding a specific issue or other subjects of complaints. There
are two reports for 1978; the second deals primarily with criticisms of the
Police Department’s disciplinary process.
Additional Ombudsman annual reports are included in the Seattle
Municipal Archives Published Documents Collection.
