Liz Colombo said the system helps the city become more engaged, accessible and transparent to residents. Once a request is made and is responded to, the system sends the resident making the request a follow-up email reporting the disposition of their request.
The system was established in January 2011 and there were 1,016 requests made last year.
In the first two quarters of 2012, there have been 841 requests made compared to the 477 requests in the first two quarters of 2011, according to city records.
Colombo said the top five common requests for the first two quarters of 2012 were the 118 reports of nuisance properties; 94 inquiries about recycling carts; 70 requests to fill a pothole; 68 requests for the police department; and 53 reports of street light issues.
She said the busiest departments were public works, health, police and electric.
On average for the first two quarters of 2012, it took an average of 3.3 days from the time the request is filed and the first response is sent and it took an average of 6.8 days from the initial request to completion of the request, according to city records.
Depending on the department and the type of request being made, Colombo said completion times for requests were not comparable. For example, a request to obtain a birth certificate can be resolved in less than a day compared to a request about getting street repaved, which could take months, she said.
“I think it’s impressive if a request can be closed in two weeks,” she said.
For the first two quarters of 2012, the departments with the top response times were the special utility projects who took almost no time to respond to the one request it received; finance averaged less than a day; economic development took 1.2 days; health, which had 147 requests, took 1.3 days; volunteer opportunities took 1.3 days; information technology took 1.6 days; underground utilities, took 1.9 days; community development took 2.5 days; and police took 2.9 days to respond to the 105 requests it received.
Overall, 93 percent of residents were either satisfied or very satisfied with the initial response to their request; 81.7 percent were satisfied or very satisfied with the total time it took to complete the response; 78.0 percent were satisfied or very satisfied with the quality of the response to their request; and 78.9 percent were satisfied or very satisfied with the communication surrounding their request.
City Manager Joshua Smith said he wants to make the system as easy as possible to use and find more ways to enhance it. He said the city is already working on developing a mobile application for residents to use their smartphones to take a photo and send it to the 311 online system.
Mayor Pat Moeller said residents “should continue using the 311 request system. It does work.”
To access the 311 online citizen request system, go to crm.hamilton-city.org/
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