SUDBURY -- Complaints about people not social distancing or working unsafely during the pandemic have led to an increase in calls to Greater Sudbury's wrongdoing hotline.

A report headed to the city's audit committee June 16 says between June 2019 and May 2020, there was a total of 165 calls to the line, compared with 124 last year and 142 in 2018, when it was established.

Since the pandemic emerged in March, the line has received about 30 complaints related to either unsafe business practices, social gatherings or social distancing concerns.

"The reason for this increase is the large number of complaints about the failure to maintain social distancing and safe business practices during the pandemic," auditor general Ron Foster writes in his report to the committee.

While the number of complaints increased, Foster said far fewer of them required detailed investigations – just 18 per cent, compared to 30 per cent last year and 32 per cent in 2018.

"The number of active complaints under investigation at the end of May 2020 was seven, compared to six in 2019 and 15 in 2018," he said in the report. "These trends are favourable and reflect the steps taken by staff to implement formal customer service standards for investigations in 2019."

Complaints about politicians have dropped in the last two years, after surging after the controversial Kingsway Entertainment District was approved. Nine complaints were received in 2018 complaining about the mayor or councillors, one last year and none in 2020.

This year also marked the first time Foster deemed a complaint to be "vexatious or frivolous," and overall the number of complaints requiring more investigation dropped to 60, compared to 81 in 2018 and 69 last year.

One of the most common complaints was about staff conduct. In January of this year, a staffer posted something inappropriate on social media, prompting a complaint.

"The post was removed and management provided social media training to the employee," Foster said in his report.

When callers alleged someone is breaking the law – as they did in five cases this year - those complaints are referred to police. And another 11 complaints had nothing to do with city operations.

Costs of operating the hotline have decreased from $49,500 in 2018 to $44,000 this year.

The full audit committee agenda can be found here.

https://agendasonline.greatersudbury.ca/