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Office of Citizen Complaints warns budget reductions could force investigator cuts
Summary
OCC Director reported a $4.6 million baseline budget and said mandatory 1.5% reduction targets could require eliminating an investigator position; OCC requested funding for two vehicles and an additional attorney and IT analyst to improve case processing.
Director Hicks presented the Office of Citizen Complaints' budget situation and warned that across-the-board reduction targets would force difficult staffing choices. The OCC's baseline budget is about $4.6 million, with approximately 89 percent of that funding committed to personnel costs; Director Hicks said the office aims to maintain current staffing but faces a 1.5 percent reduction target in consecutive budget cycles.
Hicks said the OCC currently has an investigator caseload that averaged roughly 18–19 cases per investigator (depending on filled positions) and that, to meet the reduction target, the office would need to eliminate an investigator position — a change that would increase average caseloads. The OCC also presented a case for adding one attorney and an information-systems business-analyst assistant to reduce legal and IT bottlenecks that slow sustained-case completions.
The director warned that the OCC’s vehicle fleet is aging (some vehicles date from 1999) and must be retired under city environmental policy by 2015; OCC requested funding for replacement vehicles to maintain field-investigation capacity and to support the chief investigator’s constant field role.
Commissioners asked for detail on vacancies and hiring timelines; Director Hicks said two investigator slots remained unfilled this fiscal year, that the OCC had a civil-service list to hire from and that hiring was pending names from the Department of Human Resources. The OCC recommended against cutting investigator roles without replacement because of the impact on case completion times and compliance with Controller recommendations for timely investigation closures.
No formal action was taken; commissioners requested follow-up information and clarification on how proposed reductions would affect caseload distribution and performance measures.
