Local Health Officer Training

Section 6: You Make the Call

In this section, we will be covering:

• How to Handle Complaints Where Resolution Is Likely to be Beyond the Municipality's Control.  We will also look at three case studies.
  • Case Study 1: Noisy cow
  • Case Study 2: Manure pile
  • Case Study 3: Outdoor wood boiler

  As stated before, some complaints or issues may have no obvious solution. These case studies require the same hands on LHO involvement as in the clear cut cases covered in Section Four.  We will discuss three examples of the kinds of "gray area", no obvious solution complaints you are likely to receive and how to go about resolving them.

  Eventual cooperation is still the hoped for outcome. It is equally important to (a) get the correct information, (b) to verify the complaint, and (c) to get good advice for solving the problem. Use the LHO Complaint Flowchart for it is a good tool to rely on.  The steps in resolving the problem are essentially the same except –that the law may not permit the municipality to take corrective action.

  Maine statutes contain laws that do not provide a direct remedy to the problem, but instead provide a legal definition or provide guidance for resolving the problem.

  Section 6 should take approximately 60 minutes to read and process.

   

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