In many large cities in the United States and Canada, a resident who sees a pothole or a broken streetlight dials 311, or opens the city's 311 app. Smaller cities, towns and counties often have no 311 center. They take the same kinds of requests by phone, email and web form. This post explains what citizen request management involves, and what a smaller local government can ask for without building a full 311 operation.
A note before we start: Localtech Eye is now taking cities, towns and counties in the United States and Canada. There is no resident service in either country yet.
What 311 is
311 is a non-emergency number for city services in many North American cities. Behind the number, a 311 center takes calls, logs each one as a service request and sends it to the right department. Many cities add a 311 app and a web portal, so residents can report without a call.
The goal is simple. Residents get one easy way to reach the city for non-emergency problems. The city gets one record of every request, and can measure how fast it responds.
A 311 request is not an emergency call. If someone is in danger, call 911.
What citizen request management means
"Citizen request management" (also called "resident request management" or a "311 CRM") is the software and process behind 311. It covers:
- Intake. Requests from phone, email, web forms and apps arrive in one place.
- Routing. Each request goes to the right department by type and location.
- Tracking. Staff see every open request, its owner and its age.
- Duplicates. Several reports of the same problem link to one job.
- Status updates. Residents hear when their request is received, scheduled and closed.
- Reporting. Managers see response and completion times by type and area.
A large city may run a dedicated 311 system with its own call center. A smaller city or county usually needs the same results with a much smaller team.
The challenge for smaller cities, towns and counties
A town with a few public works staff cannot run a 311 center. But its residents still report the same problems: potholes, streetlights, damaged signs, sidewalk damage, illegal dumping, clogged storm drains. Common problems:
- Requests arrive in many places. The front desk, a shared inbox, a council member's phone and social media.
- Locations are vague. "The corner by the gas station" sends a crew on a search.
- No photos. Staff cannot judge urgency without a visit.
- Retyping. Somebody copies each request into a spreadsheet or a work order system.
- No reply. Residents do not hear back, so they call again.
What to ask for
If you manage public works, customer service or IT for a smaller local government, look for these points in a request management tool.
A complete report from the start
Each request should carry the type of problem, an exact map location, photos, the time and the resident's contact details. With those five things, staff can triage at a desk.
A boundary check
Residents near a city line or county line often do not know who owns the road. The tool should check the location against your boundary.
A link to the work order
The request should flow into the system where crews get their work, so nobody retypes it, and the cost of the job links back to the request. We cover this in From resident report to work order: closing the loop.
Updates back to the resident
Automatic status updates cut follow-up calls. Ask how the resident hears that the job is scheduled or done.
Clear rules on privacy and data
Ask who can see each report. Some systems publish reports to everyone, and some keep them private. Ask where the data is held. Privacy law differs between states, provinces and countries, so check the rules that apply to you with your own counsel.
Open standards
Some cities, such as Toronto, publish an Open311 interface, so other apps can submit requests in a standard format. Ask if a tool supports it if that matters to you.
Where Localtech Eye fits
Localtech Eye is a free resident app for iOS, Android and the web. It is live today for Queensland councils in Australia. It works like this:
- The resident picks the problem from the local government's own list.
- They add up to five photos. The app removes location details from the photo files before upload. The time and place of capture go as separate fields.
- They drop a pin on the map. The app checks that the pin is inside the local government's boundary.
- The report goes with the resident's name and contact details.
- Reports are not visible to other residents.
Today, every local government receives Localtech Eye reports by email, with the photos, the map point, the address and the resident's contact details. Staff then contact the resident directly.
For the United States and Canada, each local government's data would sit in its own database, in a region in its own country. We are now taking cities, towns and counties in both countries. There is no resident service there yet, and we will not say otherwise until a local government is live.
Learn more
For a fuller guide to request channels, triage and closing the loop, read Citizen service requests: how councils take reports. For country details, see the United States and Canada pages.
Talk to us
If you run a smaller city, town or county and want residents to report problems with photos and an exact location, book a demo. We will show you how Localtech Eye works today, and talk about what a start in your area would involve.