Ottawa's auditor general released his annual report Wednesday, drawing attention to the city's 311 call centre system.
Auditor General Alain Lalonde says while about 600,000 people call the centre every year with mostly garbage and parking inquiries, a survey showed about 60 per cent of callers were given incomplete or wrong information.
"It has to improve. It's a good solid program, everything is in place they just have right now to monitor its performance," Lalonde told reporters Wednesday.
The man who runs the city's help line, though, says a survey conducted by the call centre suggests 80-85 per cent of people who call 311 are satisfied with the answers they get.
"I don't think you would get that if you had that kind of inaccuracy rate that the auditor general is talking about," Stephen Finnamore told CTV Ottawa.
More inspectors for Ottawa restaurants
The auditor general also says the City needs more public health inspectors to keep watch over Ottawa restaurants, although he adds the public can still eat safely in any restaurant in the Capital.
"In the period that he did the audits, there were no significant outbreaks of food borne illness associated with eating in any restaurant and I think that is the key message," said Isra Levy, Ottawa's acting medical officer of health.
Other highlights of the auditor general's report include city employees who tried to be involved in the hiring of family members.
Overall, Ottawa Mayor Larry O'Brien says progress is being made, but the report clearly shows a number of areas that require attention from the city's manager.
"I am satisfied we're certainly heading in the direction that the city needs to move," O'Brien said.
The auditor general is set to be back in the spotlight in September when he's expected to release a report on the massive sewage spill into the Ottawa River near Petrie Island in the summer of 2006.
With a report from CTV Ottawa's Norman Fetterley
