An “unacceptable” level of rudeness toward the public by Toronto city bureaucrats is becoming a worrisome trend, says City of Toronto ombudsman Fiona Crean.

In unveiling her 2013 annual report at City Hall Wednesday, Crean said 70 per cent of the 1,827 complaints her office fielded included allegations of poor communications and inadequate information provided by city staff.

“It’s not returning phone calls, it’s rudeness; it’s problems that need fixing in a timely fashion such as basement flooding, where no responses are occurring or little to no explanation is provided,” Crean told reporters.

“It’s the notion that somehow it’s the resident’s problem and not the public servant’s.”

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City agencies that drew the most complaints included Toronto Community Housing, the Toronto Transit Commission and bylaw inspectors working for municipal licensing and standards.

It may be that city workers’ bad behaviour is due to stress, she said, noting that some 2,540 civil service jobs have been left vacant.

“There’s no question that resources are tight,” she said. “It’s a difficult time to be a public servant. The stress is tremendous, but there’s never an excuse for poor communication.”

Crean said she has been speaking with city manager Joe Pennachetti about how to crack down on rudeness and unresponsiveness.

The policies about dealing with the public are in place but need better enforcement by management, she suggested.

At the same time, Crean said complainants are becoming more hostile. Citizens have shouted at and cussed her staff, and security has had to be called to intervene.

Crean said she has detected a new level of desperation among complainants, including people who have lost jobs and housing.

“There are more frustrated residents,” she said. “People are less patient, less tolerant, and when you add in poor communications, then you have a real challenge.”

The increase in complaints overall, up 28 per cent from 2012, may reflect “growing social inequality” in Toronto, she said.

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“We have more complaints from seniors, from people who are poor, from people with disabilities, people with diminished capacity.”

“People are becoming poorer; the waiting list for subsidized child care is over 15,000 now. The number of working poor has spiked from about 16 per cent to 21 per cent.”

“The greater the marginalization, the more residents depend on public services.”