The Ombudsman was approached by a resident of Shakespearova Street in Maribor, who informed us about the poor condition of this street and the residents' long-standing efforts to have it repaired. This had already been promised in 2022, but it did not happen, although the Municipality of Maribor announced that it would draw up a plan for the renovation of municipal roads, a so-called "master plan," for the following year. The petitioner's street was initially included in the plan, but was later removed. In addition to the local city district, the initiator also contacted the mayor herself on January 25, 2024, with a letter, but did not receive a response.

The Ombudsman first contacted the MOM City Administration with an inquiry, and later also the mayor's office. Due to inconsistencies[1] in the content and delays in responses, the Ombudsman made several inquiries, but the mayor's office did not respond to the petitioner's letter from January 2024 until June 11, 2025. The Ombudsman therefore found a violation of the principle of good administration in the proceedings in question and considered the initiative to be justified. We hope that similar inconveniences will not occur in the future. 17.2-4/2024

[1] For example, MOM did not respond comprehensively to the Ombudsman's questions; it did not provide a convincing explanation as to why it did not respond to the initiator's letter; It provided the Ombudsman with incorrect documentation; it did not follow up on the announcements of the implementation of ancillary procedures necessary prior to the renovation of this street, and in its responses it referred to a person who was not the Ombudsman's initiator.