Office of Oversight and Public Accountability launches online portal for complaints, compliments and community requests

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — The City of Grand Rapids’ Office of Oversight and Public Accountability (OPA) today announced the launch of an online portal that lets residents submit complaints, compliments, appeals, expungement assistance requests, Community Informed Training (CIT) proposals and Know Your Rights (KYR) workshop requests directly to the office through a single intake.

The portal, accessible at grandrapidsopa.siviltech.com, was built in partnership with Sivil (sivilco.com)— a digital forms and workflow platform U.S. cities and government agencies use to replace paper across oversight, permits, public records and other resident-facing services.

As an office created in partnership with the community in 2019, OPA has always been committed to making public safety oversight transparent, accessible and responsive,” said Brandon Davis, managing director of the Office of Oversight and Public Accountability. “This new portal strengthens that commitment by bringing multiple pathways into one clear front door. Whether a resident wants to file a complaint, request a workshop, seek expungement assistance or offer a compliment, they can now do it in a way that is simple, consistent and easy to navigate. This is what our T.R.U.E. Justice values look like in practice: Transparency, Responsibility, Unity, Equity and Justice working together to support stronger relationships between the community and public safety.

The portal consolidates what had previously been a patchwork of separate forms, emails and phone calls. Residents can now use one intake to:

• Submit a compliment recognizing positive interactions with public safety staff.
• File a complaint about an interaction with Grand Rapids Police or Fire Department personnel.
• Appeal a prior Grand Rapids Police Department Internal Affairs case decision.
• Request expungement assistance through Project Clean Slate.
• Propose Community Informed Training topics for public safety departments to conduct.
• Request a Know Your Rights workshop for a neighborhood, school, faith community or organization.

Each submission is routed to the appropriate OPA staff with built-in case tracking, deadlines and an audit trail.

OPA was established by City Manager Mark Washington in 2019 to serve as an independent liaison between the community and Grand Rapids’ public safety departments. The office is guided by T.R.U.E. Justice and runs programs including Operation Fresh Start, the Civil Rights Youth Academy, Know Your Rights, Community Informed Training, Project Clean Slate and Cure Violence.

“Public-sector teams know what their forms and workflows need to do, whether the work is oversight, permits or public records,” said Tony Rice II, CEO & co-founder of Sivil. “Sivil exists so software isn’t the bottleneck. Grand Rapids OPA bringing six distinct community pathways into a single intake, without losing the specificity each one needs, is exactly the kind of work we built Sivil for.”

The portal is available now at grandrapidsopa.siviltech.com. Residents can also reach OPA at (616) 456-4672 or OPA@grcity.us.

About the Office of Oversight and Public Accountability

The Office of Oversight and Public Accountability (OPA) was established in 2019 to serve as an independent liaison between the community and the City of Grand Rapids’ public safety departments. OPA’s mission is to create and improve just outcomes and respectful relationships between public safety and the community through transparency, accountability, restorative justice, empowerment, and engagement. Learn more at grandrapidsmi.gov/departments/oversight-public-accountability.

About Sivil Technologies, Inc.

Sivil Technologies, Inc. (Sivil) is a digital forms and workflow platform that U.S. cities and government agencies use to replace paper across oversight, permits, public records, and other resident-facing services. Learn more at sivilco.com.

# # #