Dane County ombuds reports rise in repeat visitors, plans May presentation to Personnel & Finance

Diana Pastrana, the Dane County ombuds, told the Ombuds Subcommittee on April 15 that the office has seen 28 office visits so far in 2025 — the same number as the county saw in unique visitors for all of last year — and that most visitors are now returning or coming with multiple participants.

That pace of activity, Pastrana told the subcommittee, has included five facilitations or mediations since the start of the year and one team training scheduled for later this month. Committee members discussed outreach options, the logistics of open office hours and how to protect employees’ anonymity when using ombuds services.

"You will notice a kind of interesting alignment. We have had 28 office visits this year, which is how many unique visitors we had last year total," Pastrana said, noting the office has had 20 unique visitors so far in 2025 and that several visitors have met with the ombuds more than once. She said she groups facilitations (three or more participants) and mediations (generally one-on-one) together in reporting for participant anonymity.

Pastrana said she has not yet recorded any walk-in visitors during posted open office hours. "I have still yet to have a visitor during open office hours," she said, and reported that most initial meetings — roughly 75% in her report — have been virtual. She said callers often request scheduled phone or virtual meetings, and that managers have referred some employees to the ombuds.

Committee members and Pastrana discussed possible changes to office hours and outreach. Pastrana said posted open hours are Tuesday mornings from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. and Wednesday afternoons from noon until 4 p.m., and that she can schedule meetings before or after those times when necessary. Members suggested offering occasional early-evening availability or rotating locations to reach employees on different shifts. Pastrana expressed concerns about maintaining anonymity and building reliable signage and access if she hosted hours at other county buildings.

The subcommittee also discussed a process to allow an "excused absence after the fact" for employees who visit the ombuds during work hours; Pastrana said that option has been discussed and used a few times but that she has no data on how often the practice prevents attendance.

On outreach, Pastrana said the office has placed posters at the City-County Building with a QR code linking to scheduling on the ombuds website and that she wants to use existing county communications channels — blogs and newsletters — rather than create new ones. "I think the best option instead of creating a new pathway for marketing is to take advantage of existing systems," she said.

Supervisor Veldren and Pastrana agreed to seek a date for a final annual ombuds report presentation to the Personnel & Finance (P&F) Committee; Pastrana and the subcommittee planned to present that final report at the P&F meeting on May 5. The subcommittee set its next ombuds subcommittee meeting for June 10, 2025.

Votes at a glance: The subcommittee approved minutes from Feb. 25, 2025; the meeting adjourned by voice vote.

What the committee recorded: Pastrana summarized intake numbers, facilitation activity, a scheduled team training, outreach steps (posters and website scheduling), questions about anonymity and access, and several options for modifying office hours and outreach. She said she has the authority in her contract to request access to the employee directory but had not yet used it for outreach.