In many cases, these taxpayers aren't sure which is the right department to call.

Often, in an effort to prompt action, they also call their City Council members for help as well. But regardless of who they call, the administration is ultimately responsible for solving these problems.

That's where the 3-1-1 system is playing a key role.

* 3-1-1 gives taxpayers one

number to call for all nonemergency services.

That means there's no more guessing about where to call with a specific concern. And while there's nothing wrong with contacting a council member for assistance, our goal is to make sure that government works for everyone, regardless of who you are, what district you live in or what the concern is.

* 3-1-1 also provides, for the

first time, a way to track all service requests to ensure that they're completed, and it provides department managers with valuable data on how they're delivering service and helping them engage in the constant improvement of those services.

* 3-1-1 also serves to relieve

the 9-1-1 system by reducing the huge volume of nonemergency calls inappropriately going to 9-1-1.

Similarly, 3-1-1 can be a tremendous boon to members of Council by reducing the number of minor informational calls that are made to their offices and serving as a clearinghouse for requests that come in to all 17 City Council members.

But, to be clear, in no way, shape or form is 3-1-1 meant to displace or replace City Council's constituent services. The system will not and should not hamper the good work that Council members do in listening to constituents' problems and holding the city administration and its departments accountable for providing efficient and effective customer service.

The 3-1-1 system is less than a year old and has had to sustain budget cutbacks owing to the impact of the great recession on Philadelphia and the city's revenue collections. It is a work in progress, as any new service agency would be.

But through monthly problem-solving meetings, we are addressing the issues surrounding the development of our 3-1-1 system.

Council staffers are attending these meetings and more should take advantage of the opportunity. Where any persistent problems are uncovered, I remain committed to meeting with any Council member to deal with the issue.

IN FACT, I recently met with Council members to get their input into the ongoing development of our 3-1-1 system. And we are making weekly reports to Council on feedback relating to system performance.

I wholeheartedly agree with Councilman Greenlee in his recent op-ed that the 3-1-1 system is not in competition with the constituent service function in each City Council office.

Our mutual job is to work effectively and at the lowest cost to resolve our customers' problems.

Taxpayers in Philadelphia deserve nothing less.

Camille Barnett is managing director of the city of Philadelphia.