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North Hempstead’s
311/TownStat system Receives National Award
On September 16, 2011, the International City and County
Municipal Association (ICMA), an organization with over 9,000
town, city and county members, awarded North Hempstead its
Municipality of Distinction Award for the Town’s 311 Program.
Only 11 municipalities in the nation earned this award in
2011.
Supervisor Jon Kaiman created the 311 Call Center in 2005 as a
centralized unit to answer inquiries from Town of North
Hempstead constituents. The 311 Service Representatives are
the first point of contact for anyone trying to reach various
departments within the town. By acting in this capacity, the
service representatives are often able to answer queries
without transferring the call to the respective departments.
An incredible 169,344 service requests were placed into 311 in
2010 alone!
This initiative has succeeded in improving responsiveness
while allowing employees to manage their workloads. The system
also provides an ability to measure how well services are
delivered for better tracking.
Requests for service are entered into a work-order format and
sent to the appropriate department for review and immediate
processing. Those work-orders are tracked to ensure that
requests are completed and the constituent is satisfied.
The 311 Call Center is staffed by professional, friendly
operators who are waiting to answer resident’s calls, take a
service request, or direct them to a Town agency for further
assistance.
This innovative, modern and effective branch of the Kaiman
administration will continue to expand and provide
unprecedented access and accountability to local government.
TownStat
Jon has adopted a new trend in government of employing a
Performance Measurement and Management system to improve
resource and personnel management throughout the Town.
Through the management strategy known locally as TownStat,
Town officials are monitoring the efficiency and effectiveness
of how North Hempstead addresses constituents’ concerns. By
tracking and reporting on our performance, and in turn making
operational adjustments based on reliable data, the town can
make better decisions with respect to personnel, planning and
budgeting, while also setting realistic goals and expectations
for those of us both inside and outside Town Hall.
TownStat has helped North Hempstead establish a new level of
objective accountability to North Hempstead residents. Among
other things, the town has improved the effectiveness of the
town’s 311 Call Center, the primary conduit between the Town
and constituents. In addition, the town has shed light on how
well we serve you and where to make improvements. TownStat,
for example, can be used to give council members a snapshot of
concerns that surface in their individual districts so they
can better prioritize outreach efforts.
Did you know that in 2010:
5,352 senior
residents utilized the free Food Shopping Transportation
Program
4,782 senior
residents utilized the Medical Transportation Program
505 trees were
planted and 873 potholes were filled in 2010
With the help of
residents reporting lost dogs to 311, the animal shelter
reunited 104 dogs with their owners
Building
Department issued 4,503 permits
Code Enforcement
conducted 4,818 code inspections
The North
Hempstead Green Team picked up 12,940 pounds of litter off our
streets, thanks to residents calling 311 to report the waste
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