Maura Kennedy, a spokeswoman for the Mayor's Office, explained:
"The 311 system has been on trial since October. It averaged up to 3000
calls a day until its formal launch on Dec. 31, 2008. Since then,
despite the holiday slowdown, it has averaged 3500 calls a day.
"The vast majority of 311 callers identify themselves as Philadelphia
citizens who need service from their City government other than an
urgent public-safety response. Topping their concerns are other
public-safety problems (i.e., court dates and police-district contact
info), streets issues such as trash and recycling, and utility
questions. Very few of these calls come from tourists.
"Most of the new 311 system is merely a matter of hooking up existing
operators in a different way. So 311 doesn't entail hiring a lot of new
faces. The small number of new personnel slots were first offered to
City civil-service personnel who had been laid off elsewhere as a result
of the budget crisis, but there is no plan to either favor or exclude
Free Library employees in this search, provided they have the requisite
job skills."
-- Tony West
Glenn Moyer wrote:
Citizens,
This is not for residents regardless of the propaganda! The city departments
don’t take or respond to calls unless they wish to be nasty. That is the real
and longterm problem for residents, as all long term residents know.
Residents can find an initial number in the blue pages. It’s what occurs when
that first number is dialed that has always been the problem. A 311 system has
no value to residents until a customer service overhaul is done throughout city
government. It would be the last phase of a customer service overhaul
implemented, not the first!
Why then are we implementing a 311 system while privatizing libraries?
He is planning to go ahead and transfer library employees to places such as the 311 system (designed to subsidize the tourist industry and serve tourists.) By using “overtime” staff for the 11 libraries, he will deepen the crisis to the library system rather than delaying the budget reduction with a good faith response.
When tourists come to center city, they will be informed of the 311 system in the marketing literature. If they want the tourist bureau or help getting a hotel or want to breakmyroutine in the UCD, this is a perfect system for their referrals.
This is a taxpayer subsidy for the tourist industry. Nothing else is
believable.
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