Administrative Regulation 5.02-2

ADMINISTRATIVE REGULATION:   AR: 5.02-2 DATE APPROVED: January26, 2010
SUBJECT: Communicating with Citizens ORIGINATING DEPARTMENT: County Administrator/County Attorney

POLICY:

Employees shall treat all citizens with respect, regardless of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, or disability.

County employees shall strive at all times to be courteous, efficient and fair in dealing with the public. 

Employees shall strive to fulfill citizen requests as completely and quickly as possible with superior customer service practices. 

If a citizen states that he or she has a problem, then it is to be accepted as a problem needing attention. The citizen’s version of the problem should be heard completely before attempting to analyze, respond, or offer a solution. 

When a citizen’s request has to do with or can only be handled by another department, the employee contacted should attempt to obtain the information for the citizen immediately or ascertain when and by whom it will be provided. When the request is received via telephone and the information must be provided by another department, the employee should immediately transfer the telephone call to a staff member who can satisfy the request. 

A citizen seeking alternative recourse should be encouraged to present their argument in writing to a supervisor with the authority to review. 

Employees should pursue alternative legitimate courses of action to resolve the issue if the citizen’s request can be accommodated as requested. 

When a citizen disagrees with a policy, procedure or regulation, emphasis should be placed on the need for equal protection and/or equal treatment of all people. 


FOOTNOTES & REFERENCES TO RELATED AR’s: Supersedes AR 5.02-1 dated October 6, 1998