Memorandum

City of Lawrence

City Manager’s Office

 

TO:

David L. Corliss, City Manager

 

FROM:

Jonathan Douglass, Management Analyst

 

CC:

Debbie Van Saun, Assistant City Manager

Ron Hall, Director of Information Systems

 

DATE:

November 13, 2006

 

RE:

Overview of 211 and 311

 

 

 

211 and 311 are often created as “one-stop shops” for citizens to find information on social and government services, respectively. The primary customer service advantages of 211 and 311 systems are 1) easy to remember telephone numbers, 2) 24/7 access to social service or government information via telephone, and 3) fewer calls transferred from one employee/agency/department to another.    

 

Overview of 211

 

211 has been implemented in many areas as a way to connect people to community services and volunteer opportunities. Implementation of 211 is being spearheaded by United Way of America with cooperation from local United Ways and other agencies. The intent of 211 is to provide callers with information and referrals to social service providers in their communities such as food banks, shelters, counseling, protective services, healthcare, job training, etc. 

 

Many residents of Douglas County have access to a statewide 211 service based in Wichita through United Way of the Plains (some phone providers, however, are not able to connect to 211). Callers are connected to a call center in Wichita which has a database of social service providers in Douglas County.

 

Headquarters Counseling Center (HQCC) and other social service agencies in Douglas County are concerned that the Wichita-based 211 service does not adequately serve the needs of Douglas County because their information may be incomplete or outdated. HQCC already provides a service similar to 211, but has much more detailed information than the Wichita-based 211. 

 

HQCC prefers not to promote the Wichita-based 211 service due to its limited knowledge of services in Douglas County. HQCC will soon be studying the possibility of establishing a local 211 that would better serve the residents of Douglas County.  The attached letter from Marcia Epstein explains the position of Headquarters Counseling Center on this issue.

 

Overview of 311

 

311 was first envisioned as a way for citizens to make non-emergency calls to public safety agencies, thus removing unnecessary calls from the 911 system.  Implementation of 311 systems has been shown to reduce the percentage of abandoned 911 calls, reduce the average answer time for 911 calls, reduce the percentage of 911 calls receiving a recorded message, reduce the average percentage of time operators are busy on calls, and increase the average time between 911 calls.

 

311 has since evolved into a system for handling all non-emergency calls to local governments, and is seen as a way to improve customer service.  311 systems in other communities offer services such as complaint tracking, automatic generation of work orders, answering general service questions, reporting service problems, information regarding public meetings and upcoming events, etc.

 

Costs associated with implementing and operating 311 include hardware (telephone systems), software (Customer Relations Management applications), personnel (24/7 staffing with highly trained operators) and facilities. There are many options for setting up a system, including centralized call center vs. call takers located in individual locations, live answer vs. interactive voice response (IVR), joint 311/911 call center vs. independent systems, etc.   

 

Inter-Agency Cooperation

 

Citizens of Lawrence are served by three local governments: the City of Lawrence, Douglas County, and USD 497. There is substantial coordination of the services of these three governments. There are numerous joint funding arrangements and services such as the Planning Department, the Fire & Medical Department, and the 911 dispatch center. The City and County provide funding for some programs in the schools such as WRAP. When citizens have a problem or a question, they often do not know which governmental entity to call. 

 

For these reasons it makes sense to coordinate a 311 system to serve customers of all three governments. Unfortunately, only city and county governments are eligible for 311 service. Any school related calls would simply have to be directed to the school district.

 

Implementing an inter-agency 311 system would be technologically challenging and would require extensive cooperation to design, fund, and operate.  Such a system would also be an innovative approach to customer service and intergovernmental relations.     


Costs to Implement and Operate 311

 

City staff has met with AT&T representatives twice to discuss general issues related to 311. Many of the costs to implement and operate a 311 system are unpredictable at this time, and depend on the specific type of system that is desired. The one known cost (if AT&T is used) would be a monthly $965 fee for each central office (CO) in the system. The City of Lawrence represents one CO, but the number of COs would increase if the County or other cities in the County became involved. This figure does not include the costs for initial system set up or to provide staffing for the system.

 

The Unified Government of Wyandotte County and Kansas City, Kansas, is in the planning stages for a 311 system (see the presentations given by the Unified Government and others at a MARC luncheon). The estimated startup cost for their system is $1.3 million, with annual operating costs of around $600,000. Wyandotte County’s population (and expected call volume) is approximately 50% greater than Douglas County’s, so it is likely that a 311 system in Lawrence/Douglas County would be significantly less expensive.

      

Next Steps

 

The next step toward implementing a 311 system is to hire a consultant to help the City and County determine their goals, needs, and expected return on investment related to 311. The consultant could then produce specifications exact enough that a provider could submit a proposal for the actual design and installation of a system. If the City Commission is interested in taking this next step, staff can begin talking with the County to assess their interest, then draft an RFP for consideration by the Commission. A consultant’s fee could range anywhere from $5,000 to $25,000 or more.

 

Staff will continue to review this issue and will place a request for funding consideration on a future City Commission agenda.