City Council questions 311 hotline
From Sunshine Review
3 June 2008
Awash in criticism over the inadequacies of their 311 customer service hotline, the Nagin Administration sent Chief Technology officer Anthony Jones before the New Orleans City Council last month in an attempt to quell the unrest. Unsatisfied with this gesture, the Council continued to question why the millions spent on the system have failed to produce the promised results. Specifically, Council leaders demanded information on the maintenance, operation, and budget failures of the program.[1]
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[edit] 311 departments not linked
The Council was able to uncover the possible root of the problem - of the 30 city departments which are supposed to be linked to the 311 system, only 10 of them actually are. Thus, when residents call to make a complaint or check on an issue, system operators are unable to access the majority of departments and so are often unable to provide an answer - that is if they answer at all. During the meeting, city resident Juan Gaspard called the hotline and proceeded to hold his cell phone to a microphone, allowing everyone to hear the recorded song playing.
[edit] Performance ratings
However, Office of Technology workers insist that if there were technological problems, they had no idea. Between January and May of this year, they say the hotline has received 200,000 calls and of those have processed almost 80,000. Workers insist that 95% of all calls have met quality-standards.
The sharp divide between what their constituents tell them and the line the Office of Technology is feeding them is not lost of city council leaders. They want to know just what has been done with the money. Last year $1.6 million was spent to get the system up and running, paying ACS Inc. $3.2 million to install and operate the system. Councilwoman Shelley Midura has sought details on the city's contract with ACS for months, continually being denied information or outright ignored. The council has authorized the Office of Technology's budget for 2008, but put the 311 contracts' $1.2 million "in reserve" until they receive more information on the project.[2]
Of specific interest to Midura and others is why $620,000 has been earmarked for 311 system "enhancements." They had been informed that the enhancements were necessary to keep the system running, but, they question, if necessary for it to run, how can they be considered "enhancements?" Also, they want to know why $500,000 in the 311 budget is put aside to pay for Microsoft technology for the finance department and has nothing to do with 311.
Sufficient answers have not been forthcoming.
[edit] Homeland Security involvement
On Thursday, June 5, the New Orleans City Council received an update on 311 from Department of Homeland Security Colonel Jerry Sneed. While indicating that there did appear to be a problem, he made his point clear - "Don't abandon 311."[3]
Col. Sneed addressed some of the technical issues they have been having. If a resident with a cell phone provider that shows they are not in New Orleans, dialing 311 is not going to go anywhere. There have also been problems with callers not dialing from a 504 area code and those calling from outside the range of 311 in New Orleans.
Much like the workers in the Office of Technology, Sneed said he had no idea 311 was not working, and that he is working with the Mayor's office to fix the problems.
