1. The Office of the Ombudsman is an independent, impartial office, readily available to the public, responsible to the Auditor, empowered to investigate the administrative acts of City departments, bureaus and other administrative agencies, issue reports and recommend appropriate changes toward the goals of safeguarding the rights of persons and of promoting higher standards of fairness, competency, efficiency and justice in the provision of City services.

1. A. Administrative act means an action, failure to act, omission, decision, recommendation, practice, policy or procedure.
2. B. Agent or agency includes any department, bureau, office, institution, corporation, authority, board, commission, committee of the City, and any officer, employee, or member of the foregoing entities acting or purporting to act in the exercise of their official duties. Excepting: elected officials and their personal staff.
3. C. City Auditor and Auditor refer to the elected City Auditor.
4. D. City refers to the City of Portland.
5. E. City Council and Council refer to the City’s legislative body.
6. F. Ombudsman means the public official appointed by the Auditor to receive and investigate the public’s complaints against administrative acts of City government.
7. G. Person means natural person, joint venture, joint stock company, partnership, association, club, company, corporation, business trust, organization, and/or the manager, lessee, agent, servant, officer, or employee of any of them;
8. H. Record means all records, documents, books, papers, files, photographs, microfilms, sound recordings, video recordings, magnetic storage media, computer data and all other materials, regardless of physical form or characteristics, created, generated, recorded, received, possessed or controlled by or on behalf of any agency.
9. I. State refers to the State of Oregon.

1. There is established in accordance with City Charter Section 2-509 the Office of the Ombudsman.

1. The Auditor will select the Ombudsman in accordance with the Auditor’s human resource policies and rules and other applicable laws.

1. A. The Ombudsman will be a person of recognized judgment, objectivity and integrity who is well-equipped to analyze problems pertaining to City regulations, administration, and public policy, and will have a working knowledge in local government commensurate to the powers and duties of the office. The Ombudsman will be a registered voter of the United States, and will hold a degree from an accredited college/university, or its equivalent in service to local government.
2. B. No person may serve as Ombudsman while engaged in any other occupation, business, or profession likely to detract from the full-time performance of their duties as Ombudsman or to result in a conflict of interest or an appearance of impropriety or partiality. All laws and requirements generally applicable to public employees are applicable to the Ombudsman.

The Ombudsman is an at-will employee and may be removed from office by the Auditor.

1. A. The Auditor’s Office may hire deputies who are accountable to the Ombudsman and other personnel necessary to carry out the provisions of this Chapter, when in keeping within the adopted budget for the Ombudsman's Office.
2. B. The Ombudsman may delegate to staff members any of the Ombudsman’s duties, unless otherwise specified in this Chapter.

1. A. The City will provide suitable office facilities for the Ombudsman and staff in a location convenient for the public.
2. B. The Ombudsman will annually recommend a budget proposal for submission to the Auditor, who will in turn include it in the Auditor’s budget submission to the Mayor and the Council.
3. C. The Ombudsman will be located within the Auditor’s Office, and be accountable to the Auditor. The Ombudsman will have sole discretion in choosing consultants to assist with investigations. All administrators will retain the authority to deny any request which is otherwise contrary to ordinance or which exceeds the Council-adopted budget for the office.

1. The Ombudsman’s powers and duties include, but are not limited to, the following:
2. A. To investigate, on complaint or on the Ombudsman’s own initiative, any administrative act of an agency, without regard to the finality of the administrative act, if the Ombudsman reasonably believes that it is an appropriate subject for review;
3. B. To undertake, participate in or cooperate with persons and agencies in such general studies, conferences, inquiries, meetings, or studies which might improve the functioning of agencies or lessen the risks that objectionable administrative acts will occur;
4. C. To make such inquiries and obtain such reasonable assistance and information from any agency or person as the Ombudsman may require for the discharge of the Ombudsman’s duties; and may without prior notice enter and inspect the premises of any agency.  Agencies may not restrict the Ombudsman’s access to agency employees, subject to collective bargaining obligations to the City’s recognized bargaining units;
5. D. In accordance with City Charter, subject to collective bargaining obligations to the City’s recognized bargaining units, to have timely access to and to examine and copy, without payment of a fee, any agency information and records, including confidential and legally privileged information and records so long as privilege is not waived as to third parties, subject to any applicable state or federal laws. The Ombudsman will not disclose confidential or legally privileged information or records and will be subject to the same penalties as the legal custodian of the information or records for any unlawful or unauthorized disclosure;
6. E. To request any person or agency to give sworn testimony or to timely produce documentary or other evidence that is reasonably relevant to the matters under investigation;
7. F. To maintain confidential any matter related to complaints and investigations to the extent allowable by law, except as the Ombudsman deems necessary to discharge the Ombudsman's duties or as directed by the District Attorney pursuant to a public records request;
8. G. To take appropriate measures to enforce the provisions of this Chapter, including issuing reports, submitting recommendations, or seeking authorization for legal recourse if necessary to carry out the duties of the Office of the Ombudsman;
9. H. To adopt, promulgate, amend and rescind rules and regulations required for the discharge of the Ombudsman’s duties, including policies and procedures for receiving and processing complaints, conducting investigations, and reporting findings, conclusions and recommendations.  However, the Ombudsman may not levy any fees for the submission or investigation of complaints; and
10. I. To ensure that a budget for the Office of the Ombudsman is well-prepared and administered.

1. A. The Ombudsman will receive complaints from any source concerning any administrative act. The Ombudsman may conduct a suitable investigation of a complaint that is an appropriate subject for investigation. An appropriate subject for investigation by the Ombudsman includes any administrative act that the Ombudsman believes might be:
   1. 1. contrary to, law, regulation or agency practice;
   2. 2. unreasonable, unfair, oppressive, arbitrary, an abuse of discretion, or unnecessarily discriminatory even though in accordance with law;
   3. 3. based on mistaken facts or irrelevant considerations;
   4. 4. unclear or not adequately explained;
   5. 5. performed in an inefficient or discourteous manner; or
   6. 6. otherwise erroneous or objectionable.
2. B. The Ombudsman, at the Ombudsman’s discretion, may decide not to investigate a complaint because:
   1. 1. the complainant could reasonably be expected to use, or is using, another remedy or channel, or tort claim, for the grievance stated in the complaint;
   2. 2. the complaint relates to a matter that is outside the jurisdiction of the Ombudsman;
   3. 3. the complaint has been too long delayed to justify present examination;
   4. 4. the complainant does not have a sufficient personal interest in, or is not personally aggrieved by, the subject matter of the complaint;
   5. 5. the complaint is trivial, frivolous, vexatious or not made in good faith;
   6. 6. the resources of the Ombudsman's office are insufficient for adequate investigation; or
   7. 7. other complaints are more worthy of attention.
3. C. The Ombudsman may not investigate matters currently in litigation; matters covered by collective bargaining agreement grievance procedures; or employee or applicant discrimination complaints.
4. D. The Ombudsman's declining to investigate a complaint will not bar the Ombudsman from proceeding on their own initiative to investigate an administrative act whether or not included in the complaint.
5. E. The Ombudsman will protect the confidentiality of complainants or witnesses coming before them consistent with the requirements of the Oregon Public Records Law, except insofar as disclosures may be necessary to enable the Ombudsman to carry out their duties or the disclosure of records is directed by the District Attorney (see Subsection 3.77.110 F.).
6. F. The Ombudsman will have the authority to pursue administrative review of responses to complaints through higher authorities within the City.

1. A. The Ombudsman may make recommendations to an agency for the resolution of complaints and inquiries in accordance with this Chapter and City Charter.
2. B. In seeking a resolution to a complaint or inquiry, the Ombudsman may draw the matter to the attention of the City Administrator, any agency head or division manager, the Auditor, Mayor, the Council, or the public.
3. C. Before formally issuing a report with a conclusion or recommendation that is significantly critical or adverse to an agency, the Ombudsman will consult with that agency and permit the agency reasonable opportunity to reply. The Ombudsman may require an agency to notify them within a reasonable specified time of any action taken on a conclusion or recommendation. The Ombudsman will provide the opportunity to include with a final report a brief statement by the agency.

1. A. After the Ombudsman has decided whether or not to investigate a complaint, the Ombudsman will inform the complainant.
2. B. The Ombudsman will, if requested by the complainant, report the status of their investigation to the complainant.
3. C. After investigation of a complaint, the Ombudsman will inform the complainant of their conclusion or recommendation and, if appropriate, any action taken or to be taken by the agency involved.

1. A. If, after investigation, the Ombudsman is of the opinion that an agency should:
   1. 1. consider the matter further;
   2. 2. modify or cancel an act;
   3. 3. alter a regulation, ruling, practice, policy or procedure;
   4. 4. explain more fully the act in question; or
   5. 5. rectify an omission, or take any other action, the Ombudsman will provide the agency with any conclusions, recommendations and reasons on which the Ombudsman’s opinion is based. If the Ombudsman requests, the agency will, within the time specified, inform the Ombudsman about any action taken in response to the Ombudsman’s recommendations or the reasons for not implementing them.
2. B. After a reasonable period of time has elapsed, the Ombudsman may issue final conclusions or recommendations to the Auditor, the Mayor, the City Administrator, City Council or a committee of Council, a grand jury, the public, or any other appropriate authority. The Ombudsman will include any brief statement the agency may provide if an opportunity to reply is required by this Chapter.
3. C. If the Ombudsman believes that an action has been dictated by laws whose results are unfair or otherwise objectionable, and could be revised by Council action, the Ombudsman will notify the Council and the agency of a desirable statutory change.
4. D. If the Ombudsman believes that any agency official or City employee has acted in a manner warranting criminal or disciplinary proceedings, the Ombudsman may refer the matter to the appropriate authorities without notice to that person.

1. The Ombudsman will post notices or use other appropriate means to inform community members of their rights and protections, as well as the availability of services provided for under this Chapter and City Charter Section 2-509. These notices may include posted notices in public areas or electronic postings or links through Internet websites, including a City website. Nothing in this section is to be construed as repealing any other provisions of contract, ordinance or law.

1. The Ombudsman may from time to time and will annually report the Office of the Ombudsman’s activities to the Mayor, the City Administrator, Council or any of its committees, the public and, in the Ombudsman’s discretion, to agencies.

1. City employees will cooperate with the Ombudsman in the exercise of the Ombudsman’s powers, and will not mislead or attempt to mislead an Ombudsman’s inquiry.

1. To the maximum extent allowable by law, the Ombudsman and the Ombudsman’s staff will not be compelled to testify or produce evidence in any judicial or administrative proceeding with respect to any matter involving the exercise of their official duties except as may be necessary to enforce this Chapter and City Charter Section 2-509.

1. No person who files a complaint or participates in any investigation or proceeding pursuant to this Chapter will be subject to any penalties, sanctions or restrictions in connection with their employment or be denied any right, privilege or benefit because of such action.

1. The provisions of this Chapter are in addition to, and do not in any manner limit or affect, any other provisions of law under which any remedy or right of appeal is provided for any person, or any procedure is provided for the inquiry into or investigation of any matter. The powers conferred on the Ombudsman may be exercised notwithstanding any provision of law to the effect that any administrative action will be final or unappealable.