Nutter won't commit to technology upgrade for 3-1-1 center

Mayor Nutter yesterday praised the city's 3-1-1 nonemergency call line, which has been in service for a year. But he stopped just short of pledging funds to the program for a technology update.

"It's one of a million things we want to do," said Nutter, who faces another tight budget year. "We have to look at all of our technology needs."

The 3-1-1 line provides a number for citizens to call with nonemergency complaints or questions. Since it began on Dec. 31, 2008, the line has taken 1.2 million calls and 60,000 service requests, according to city officials.

The top requests were for property maintenance, streetlight outages and abandoned vehicles, according to city stats.

During a news conference in the City Hall 3-1-1 call center, Nutter said 3-1-1 made the city more accessible and efficient.

Since its rollout, some changes have been made due to the city's financial limitations. Plans to spend millions on customized software were put on hold. And in August, 3-1-1 stopped operating 24 hours a day. Now operators are available weekdays from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. and on Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Still, some of those cost-saving moves weren't permanent. Managing Director Camille Barnett said the city still needs to invest in a customized software system, which she estimated at $5 million to $7 million. But Nutter would not commit to putting that money in his budget for the 2011 fiscal year, which starts July 1.