DCP investigator says two complaints are open; board told details are withheld while probes continue

The Department of Consumer Protection’s investigation division told the Landscape Architecture Licensing Board that two complaints received between Nov. 1 and Dec. 31 remain open and under investigation, and that boards are not provided case details until investigations are concluded. Miss Hammel, who presented the division’s status report, said the division runs a bi-monthly report that shows a case’s creation and closure dates but intentionally withholds identifying information while a file remains open.

“That spreadsheet shows the file number and the board but you will not see anybody’s name or any information until it was closed,” Miss Hammel said, explaining that records show an open/closed status, date created, and resolution notes only after legal or an investigator has completed work. She added that site inspections are done by investigators for occupational matters and that, for licensed professionals, legal conducts compliance meetings before a matter returns to the board.

Why it matters: the board often uses the division’s spreadsheet to track complaint trends and to decide whether to pursue administrative hearings. Miss Hammel described how complaints are categorized (anonymous, third party, referrals from building departments or associations, or consumer complaints) and how the division records whether a matter is referred to legal, closed as a civil matter, or results in fines after a final order.

Board members pressed for clearer display fields in the report (for example, an explicit “under investigation” column) and for a regional view the investigation team can provide to help chairs and members interpret the report. Miss Hammel acknowledged limits in the current IT output (the report is distributed in PDF) and said she is working with IT to clarify some columns and improve readability.

What happened next: staff agreed to forward the board’s questions about the proposed fee-related legislation and the investigation procedures to the DCP legislative liaison, CJ Strand, and to the legal director, Caitlin Anderson, for clarification. No board action was taken on specific cases; the board will be informed when matters move to legal or reach a final decision.

The meeting’s public record shows no names or settlement figures for the two open files; Miss Hammel said fines and respondent names appear on the public report only after legal renders a final decision in order and the department posts the results.