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Wednesday, December 31, 2008

3-1-1 Is Up and Running

Shortly after 10 a.m. today, Mayor Nutter took the first official call into the new 3-1-1 non-emergency call line, formally kicking off the long awaited service in Philadelphia -- and providing recycling information to a curious resident.

"We promised you at the begininning of this year that we'd have 3-1-1 up and running by the end of the year," Nutter said during a press conference. "Now all Philadelphians only need one number."

Nutter said all non-emergency calls -- whether it's an inquiry about your trash day or a request to fill a pothole -- should now be made to  3-1-1. The 3-1-1 service will be available 24 hours a day, seven days a week via telephone. Or citizens can use a walk-in center located in room 167 in City Hall. 

"3-1-1 can even say God bless you," Nutter joked after someone sneezed.

The call center had a "soft start" back in October, when calls to the City Hall switchboard started getting transfered to 3-1-1. The center, staffed with 57 call-takers and seven supervisors, is currently fielding 3,500 calls per day, according to Call Center Director Rosetta Carrington Lue.

Managing Director Camille Barnett said the city spent about $1 million in start-up costs for the center, including software, consulting and training.

Click here for the 3-1-1 website.
Posted by Catherine Lucey @ 11:31 AM  Permalink | 15 comments
Comments   
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 12:03 PM, 12/31/2008
    Wow. That's a good idea. I can never find any of the information I need through the different departmental websites. Especially L&I.
    — DrexelDragonFan
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 12:16 PM, 12/31/2008
    good idea, maybe. But that money could be better spent on the libraries, in my opinion.
    — writerstephen
  • Comment removed.
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 1:18 PM, 12/31/2008
    writerstephen let go of the library issue. i dont want to see them closed, but the fact of the matter remains that the city shouldn't have to pay for all of them. It's time the people in the city of phily become engaged in the city again. it's time for people to step up and take a stock in the city... and letting people own/run/finance a portion of the libraries, mummers parade and skating rinks etc... is an essential step in moving this city in the right direction.
    — Wayne from West Chester
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 1:35 PM, 12/31/2008
    311 is at LEAST a 15 year old concept, it is only NEW in Philly. Baltimore, NYC and other metro areas have had it for years. Good start towards modernization though...well done.
    — offshore
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 1:38 PM, 12/31/2008
    the hard part will be EDUCATING the public, so that the 911 system can shed some load. A thorough and coordinated PR campaign will hopefully follow in short order to gove the 911 troops a break.
    — offshore
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 2:37 PM, 12/31/2008
    with all due respect, measuring citizen requests and the departments response to them is far more important than one library branch, or even 11 of them.
    — dreinterests
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 4:02 PM, 12/31/2008
    Why are we spending money on a 311 call center when the city is closing libraries and fire companies in the face of a "financial crisis." It seems like this 311 call center thing was unnecessary at the moment and makes me feel even more certain that Nutter has no idea how to run a city properly. Sheesh, he could have learned some of basics playing Sim City! THAT'S HOW BAD HE IS!!!
    — sariajacobs2000
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 4:07 PM, 12/31/2008
    It's not running. I let it ring, and ring, and ring, and ring, and finally on its own accord it went to a busy signal. 311 is a good idea, the Mayor deserves props, but it is long overdue here. It is supposed to be a way to capture data on service calls and follow up that city agencies are responding, not a way to screen calls for VIP callers who get id'd as such by the system. Some new day, new way. I don't mind paying for libraries, but the city has to collect property taxes from my neighbors who are not paying.
    — CleanupPhilly
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 4:09 PM, 12/31/2008
    We need 311 but we need the money for the city to address the issues that 311 will capture. The city is owed half a billion in overdue property taxes. We can't afford to ignore that there are seven zip codes where more than 20% of owners owe property taxes, eight zip codes where greater than 30% of all owners owe taxes in Philly, but there are FOUR zip codes where over 40%, almost HALF, of all owners are not paying property taxes for years at a time. Here's the money we need to have a great city, hiding in plain sight: http://www.hallwatch.org/proptax/about/redelinq/stats/delinqbyzip/index_html?skey=pcent&rkey=pcent
    — CleanupPhilly
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 4:17 PM, 12/31/2008
    Homicides down 15%, 311 in place (though apparently swamped). It's a good first year, but not if the mayor ignores revenue issues like property tax and other debt collection at foreclosure. You can't get around the need to get tough on the deadbeats in the city, and the city can't play anymore. Even Street, who is a big housing advocate, and poverty/neighborhood issue mayor, sent 23,000 properties to foreclosure for collection of back taxes. He did it because it had to be done. Now Nutter has to foreclose on lien debt owed the city or else just sell the lien debt and let someone else collect it like Rendell did, which the city auditor referenced in his recent press conference covering his recommendations. Everyone is dancing around this issue gingerly, but there is no more time to wait and no more money to wait for. We should be foreclosing on empty properties, vacant lots, and multiple properties owned by the same owner or with the same contact or mailing address. There is a way to get the money without hurting the poor, but we can't do nothing. The press is going to have to get involved in this policy debate. Why are you content to let this happen behind closed doors, with an oblique reference to what Rendell did by the city auditor the only public indication of what is on the table? It's obvious it's at issue but no public knowledge or input is welcome.
    — CleanupPhilly
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 4:23 PM, 12/31/2008
    It's not just closing libraries that's a problem -- getting rid of bulk trash pick ups is a horrible idea. People are dumping in alleys now in anticipation of the need to get their bulk trash in the street as fast as possible. That's why I was calling 311, but not getting through. The city needs to maximize revenue by collecting what is owed it using all means at its disposal including sheriff sales or sales to private lien collectors of this debt. We can't keep borrowing, we have to start paying.
    — CleanupPhilly
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 4:41 PM, 12/31/2008
    I agree with you CleanupPhilly. I've been asking about property tax collection as well. When I lived in Germantown, most of my neighbors had thousands in back taxes. It made me sick to my stomach alot of the time. You don't even have to evict them. Just tell them they have 60 days to get on a payment plan. If they're not on a payment plan then sell the house on sheriff's sale. You'd see alot of people grab a hold to that plan and pay into the system. Even just 50 or 100 bucks a month would do wonders.
    — gtown_teach
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 7:56 PM, 12/31/2008
    sarahjacobs2000(might as well be SarahPalin2000) you have no idea what you are talking about. first off, no fire houses are being closed - they are simply cutting back the number of engines at some firehouses that don't have the same demand they used to 10-20 years ago. your mad sim city skills should have taught you that the demographics and real estate development of a city shifts over time. your basis for passing judgment on the nutter administration is that after the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression he had to cut 11 libraries out of the dozens still in operation? seriously?
    — Phillyguy4413
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 9:00 PM, 12/31/2008
    Phillyguy - First of all, my name is not Sarah. Second of all, even though some equipment is being removed, it has the effect of removing that particular engine or ladder company, depending on the equipment being moved. I am not passing judgment on Nutter's administration after the so-called worse economic downturn since the Depression. I am passing judgment based on the fact that Street left Nutter with a huge surplus that seems to have disappeared overnight, that Nutter is spending money in unnecessary places (like giving his entire staff significant raises) while closing things like libraries, pools, and yes, fire companies. (Removing equipment, closing facilities - its the same effect.) Yes, my mad Sim City skills taught me that demographics change over time, but not OVERNIGHT. The fact is, Nutter thinks he is king of Philly and doesn't care about anything more than being right. How much is he spending to appeal the library decision and nurse his wounded pride? Just suck it up, and start doing your job.
    — sariajacobs2000


15 comments
About The Philly Clout Team
PhillyClout
Chris Brennan, a native Philadelphian and graduate of Temple University, joined the Daily News in 1999. He has written about SEPTA, the Philadelphia School District, the legalization of casino gambling, state government, the mayor, the governor, City Council and political campaigns.
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David Gambacorta spent a small eternity writing about cops, drug dealers and serial killers. Now he’s writing about power and politics ­– which sometimes reminds him of the old crime beat. He joined the Daily News in 2005. And yes, he knows you’re not quite sure how to pronounce his last name. E-mail tips to gambacd@phillynews.com
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Catherine Lucey joined the Daily News in 2002 and has written about murderous drug gangs, political protesters and Harry Potter. After covering the 2007 mayoral election, she moved over to the City Hall bureau where she has been reporting on the Nutter administration.
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Jan Ransom, a native New Yorker, joined the Daily News in 2010 after graduating from Howard University. She has since written about the difficulty of filing police complaints, tax deadbeats and life after violent home invasions. She joined the Daily News City Hall Bureau in 2011 and has plunged headfirst into reporting on administration budget battles and City Council shenanigans.
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