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A modern government serves its citizens best

Currently, Hoboken’s citizens have two options for accessing city services. We can go to City Hall directly and try to speak to someone in a particular department. Or, city services can be accessed through a series of cumbersome phone numbers depending on the particular need or service required by the caller. The current system makes it difficult for citizens to access services to which they are entitled.

A 311 call center serves a great unmet need

A 311 call center is a 24 hour a day, 7 day a week access point for certain city services and non-emergency public safety services. Residents would be able to report service issues, check on the status of previous service requests, obtain information about City programs and events, and file police reports. For example, if there is a broken parking meter, an individual can report the problem with a quick phone call to 311. The parking authority will then be required to report back to the 311 office the status of problem, which will then be transmitted to the citizen submitting the complaint.

The system would be fully transparent and allow residents to track the progress of complaints. Through a combination of one easy to remember number, a staff of trained operators, and specialized software to automatically route service requests to the proper department, Hoboken can work to make city government more effective for its citizens.

Other benefits of the 311 call center program include allowing the city to oversee the performance and efficiency of individual departments through the system’s regular reports. Additionally, the 311 system can be used by the city to take preventative measures against future problems. For example, in Chicago, the city was able to track “water in the basement” complaints during heavy rainstorms to targeted geographical locations, thereby identifying areas of heavy flooding to adjust the sewer system to prepare for future rainstorms. Similarly, in Chicago the system was able to track tenant “no heat” complaints and in subsequent years send warning letters to landlords in the fall.

The 311 call center program has been successfully implemented in New York City, Newark, Chicago, Baltimore, San Francisco and Washington, D.C. and many others. Why not Hoboken?

A functional web portal is an essential step in modernizing Hoboken's government services

Unfortunately if you've visited the Hoboken city website recently you know that you are immediately confronted with a cluttered website that offers no easy means to access the information on the site. Not only that, there is no meaningful automation of service delivery through our website.

There are quick, simple, steps we can take immediately at low cost to do things like:

Offer full local transit information, including maps.
Offer Hoboken Parking Authority services such as renewals for lots and tags.
Allow citizens to resolve parking citations online.
Present full city department contact information.
Allow citizens to resolve appropriate municipal court matters online.
Present open access to budgeting and other government documents