Hunter
12/29/20
The Iowa Office of Ombudsman released their 2020 fiscal year report Monday, showing how state and local governments were tested by the coronavirus pandemic.
The Ombudsman’s office accepts complaints from citizens who believe that a state or local government agency has acted unfairly, unreasonably, inefficiently, or contrary to law, rule or policy. They investigate those complaints, but Ombudsmnan Kristie Hirschman says she and her assistants try to resolve those issues first.
Hirschman says COVID-related problems were found particularly at the beginning of the pandemic, when business closures and restrictions caused a huge spike in unemployment claims. Callers expressed frustration with the inconsistent answers they were getting about the processing of claims. Nevertheless, Hirschman said that overall, the agencies took practical approaches to continuing operations while preventing spread of the virus.
In the report, it was noted that the total number of complaints and information requests to the Ombudsman increased for the sixth consecutive year.
Current and past reports can be found under www.legis.iowa.gov/Ombudsman.