Hoping 3-1-1 is the right call

City spends millions on new one-stop info line, will efficiency follow?

By SUE-ANN LEVY

Last Updated: 26th October 2008, 5:06am


Coun. Peter Milczyn is convinced that when the city's new 3-1-1 phone system is finally up and running -- sometime next June -- it will be a much-needed "tool to drive productivity" at City Hall.

He feels the one-stop customer call-in information system -- designed both to answer inquiries and to respond to requests for service -- will quickly "shine a light" on inefficiencies and problems in the city's operations.

As he notes, it will also be much easier for the average person to contact the city with a complaint.

"You won't get bounced around from number to number, you don't get voice mail and you will be told how long it will take to fix your problem," said Milczyn, who as chairman of the now defunct e-city committee was intimately involved with the project from the get-go in 2004.

The thought of contacting a live person at Socialist Silly Hall-- without getting transferred around by apathetic city workers -- sounds like utopia for anyone who has tried to deal with the city as of late.

But if productivity is indeed the end game, the project's implementation hasn't exactly been a model of efficiency.

According to city documents, plans for the service -- which is already being used in 30-40 cities throughout North America including New York, Chicago, Miami, Ottawa and Calgary -- were first introduced in June of 2004. A report to council that December indicates the 3-1-1 customer service model (melding 251 public inquiry lines and comprising 100 call-takers) would be phased in over three years ending in December 2007.

The launch date is now set for the middle of next June, following a testing period starting at the end of March.

Milczyn blames the executive management team for not being "terribly engaged" -- which cost them at least a year at the outset. He says council balked "with good reason" at the initial $65-million price tag for the project. It has since fallen to $46 million, then $27 million, and finally to its current resting place, $35 million.

"It was very frustrating (at first) because they (staff) were finding all kinds of reasons why it would be difficult or impossible," he said, noting there was also a delay with the technology contract because of pricing issues.

DEFUNCT OVERSIGHT

The oversight committees Milczyn sat on, along with councillors like Mike Del Grande and Denzil Minnan-Wong are now defunct -- a product of the highly controlled executive mayor system. Nevertheless, Milczyn says he's still in touch with the 3-1-1 staff team on a regular basis, even if there's not the same oversight.

During a tour last week of the sparkling new 3-1-1 contact centre -- located in the refurbished former council chamber of Metro Hall -- project director Neil Evans said during their first phase of operations next June, they expect to answer general inquiries and take service requests related to the solid waste, transportation and water departments.

By April of 2010, they intend to be on stream with requests and inquiries pertaining to the municipal standards and licensing branch and forestry department.

He said they've spent 42% of their $35 million capital budget to date, adding that their 2009 operating costs won't be approved until April. At least $6 million, however, will be spent on the 113 call takers expected to initially staff the 24-7 operation.

According to city documents, some $300,000 could also be spent on the 17-day training sessions that will be given to each call-taker. And Evans says there are 30-plus staff in the 3-1-1 project office.

CALL CENTRE

The 21,200-square-foot call centre -- complete with 60 speakers emitting white noise, double computer screens on each desk, the latest phones, special lighting, a kitchen and lounge area -- cost $4 million to renovate and $800,000 so far to outfit, says the manager responsible, Stan Walton.

Evans contends the public will deal with a "maximum of two" city employees and their call handled within two minutes. When a service request is made, customers will be told the relevant number of days it will take to fix the problem and given a confirmation number to follow up either by phone or online.

Driving productivity is also a lofty goal. But I asked Milczyn if he felt this regime and this mayor would be prepared to listen to what is exposed by the 3-1-1 system.

"I would like to think nobody is opposed to becoming more efficient and more productive," he said. "The trick will be in how quickly and effectively we act on what we find out from all of this."