Municipal ombudsman
What is it?
Every citizen has the legal right to submit a complaint to an administrative body, and the administrative body is legally obliged to handle the complaint in the prescribed manner.
Anyone who disagrees with the outcome of the complaint handling by the administration has the right to submit their complaint to an independent ombudsman. The ombudsman will make the final decision on the complaint.
This ombudsman may be the National Ombudsman, but municipalities may also choose to appoint their own ombudsman. The municipality of West Maas en Waal has opted for a municipal ombudsman.
The municipal ombudsman
On May 30, 2024, the council of West Maas en Waal reappointed Ms. M.J. van Dasselaar as municipal ombudsman for the period from January 1, 2025, to December 31, 2030.
Additional positions held by M.J. van Dasselaar, LL.M.
On May 30, 2024, the council of West Maas en Waal appointed Ms. L.B.F.M. Hellwig as deputy municipal ombudsman with effect from January 1, 2025, until December 31, 2030.
Procedures and data municipal ombudsman
The law stipulates that complaints must first be submitted to the municipality. Information on how the municipality handles complaints submitted to it can be found on the page Complaints about municipal actions.
If you are dissatisfied with the way in which the municipality has handled your complaint, you can submit a request to the Municipal Ombudsman to have your complaint reviewed.
Contact municipal ombudsman
You can address your request to the municipal ombudsman, but you should send the letter to the town hall. The municipal complaints coordinator will then ensure that the letter is forwarded to the ombudsman. The address is:
Municipal Ombudsman
For the attention of the complaints coordinator
PO Box 1
6658 ZG Beneden-Leeuwen
If you wish, you can also contact the ombudsman by email at degemeentelijkeombudsman@gmail.com.
Task
The ombudsman's task is to contribute to good relations between the municipality and citizens by:
- Additional legal protection. The ombudsman does this by issuing a ruling on the conduct of the municipality. This protection is additional because citizens already have the legal right to complain to the municipality and, in principle, citizens must first submit their complaint to the municipality before the ombudsman can deal with it. The ombudsman's ruling is binding on both the complainant and the municipality.
- Mediation. In this case, no full investigation with a final ruling is conducted, but the ombudsman attempts to resolve the dispute between the administration and the citizen through consultation. In special cases, the ombudsman may also intervene during the internal complaint handling phase.
- Prevention. The ombudsman can make recommendations to the municipality regarding future municipal actions, or initiate an investigation into abuses on his own initiative.
Applied standards
When assessing a complaint, the ombudsman evaluates the municipal actions against a number of standards for proper conduct. These standards of propriety have been developed by the National Ombudsman and are applied by virtually all ombudsmen in the Netherlands. The standards of propriety are based on four core values for municipal actions. Municipal actions must be:
- open and clear
- respectful
- committed and solution-oriented
- honest and reliable
The core value of "open and clear" encompasses the requirements of transparency, providing good information, listening to citizens, and justifying decisions and actions. The core value of "respectful" includes the requirements of respecting fundamental rights, promoting active citizen participation, treating people with decency, fair play, proportionality, and special care. The core value of "committed and solution-oriented" includes the requirements of customization, cooperation, a lenient attitude, decisiveness, and de-escalation. The core value of "honest and reliable" includes the requirements of acting with integrity and reliability, impartiality, reasonableness, good preparation of decisions, good organization, and professionalism.
Admissible request
The ombudsman will first check whether the request meets the legal requirements. The request must:
- be signed
- be provided with name and address
- contain a description of the conduct or conduct complained of
- indicate how the municipality itself has assessed the complaint
The ombudsman must then determine whether or not he is competent to rule on the complaint. In some cases, the ombudsman is not competent, and in other cases he is not obliged to investigate a complaint.
The ombudsman is not competent to deal with complaints about general municipal policy or generally binding regulations, among other things. Nor is the ombudsman competent if an administrative court has already ruled on the conduct that is the subject of the complaint, or if proceedings are pending before another court.
The ombudsman is not obliged to act if, among other things, a formal objection can be or could have been lodged against the alleged conduct. Nor is the ombudsman obliged to deal with the complaint if it is not submitted within one year of the municipal authority's decision. Please note that in such cases, the ombudsman is not obliged to act but remains competent to deal with the complaint.
The investigation by the municipal ombudsman
If the ombudsman decides to investigate the complaint, he will first want to clarify all the relevant facts. The ombudsman will give the complainant the opportunity to provide an oral explanation. The ombudsman will also request information from the municipality.
The ombudsman will request documents from the municipality or conduct his own investigation of the case. The ombudsman may arrange a meeting attended by both the complainant and a representative of the municipality. Once the ombudsman has established the facts, he will draw up a report of his findings. The complainant and the municipality will then have the opportunity to respond. The ombudsman will process these responses as necessary. The next step is for the ombudsman to weigh the facts against the aforementioned requirements of propriety. The question then is whether or not the municipal conduct that is the subject of the complaint is in violation of those requirements.
The ombudsman will record his decision in a ruling. This ruling will be communicated to the complainant and the municipality. The ombudsman will also publish a public version of this ruling. The public version will be anonymous, meaning that no names will be mentioned.
The Children's Ombudsman
All children have rights. For example, the right to protection from neglect or abuse. Or the right to a good education and freedom of expression.
Do you believe that an organization is not complying with children's rights? If so, please contact the Children's Ombudsman. The Children's Ombudsman monitors whether government institutions and, for example, schools, youth care, and healthcare institutions treat children well. The Children's Ombudsman is specifically for children between the ages of 0 and 18.
More information can be found on the website of the Children's Ombudsman.