The 311 system is intended to give Chelsea residents a number to call if they have municipal issues they would like to see taken care of, from trash pick up to potholes and sidewalk repair requests.
But at Monday night’s City Council meeting, several councilors had questions about the 311 service itself.
District 6 Councilor Giovanni introduced an order requesting City Manager Thomas Ambrosino verify that 311 employees are working either out of an officer or their home. Recupero said he’s received a number of complaints lately from residents unable to get through to one of the city’s three 311 operators.
“I don’t understand why it goes to a recorded message,” said Recupero. “People have complained to me, and I’ve called myself, and it went right to a recorded message.”
Recupero said he understands that one of the 311 employees is pregnant and working from, which he said he didn’t see as an issue. Still, the councilor said he was flummoxed as to why so many calls go unanswered.
“Who supervises these people?” Recupero said. “It’s supposed to be the DPW, but I don’t understand how you have three people and it goes to an answering machine.”
District 4 Councilor Enio Lopez said he’s also heard complaints about 311 going unanswered. He said he was also concerned because when Spanish speaking residents call the line, there is not someone there who speaks Spanish.
“I thank Councilor Recupero for bringing this up,” said Lopez. “There are some answers that need to be given to our community.”
With changes in recycling for items such as textiles and mattresses, Lopez also noted that the calls to 311 from the community are also likely to increase.
District 1 Councilor Todd Taylor added to the chorus of those who have received complaints about 311.
“As a councilor, I’ve been getting feedback from the community that this isn’t working,” said Taylor.
He said he understood from the city side that the 311 system might be more convenient that the older ticket-based computer system, but that it wasn’t working well for a number of residents.
“Some improvements need to be made if we are going to stick with this 311 system, otherwise we need to figure out something else, because this is not just coming from up here, this is real feedback coming from the community,” said Taylor.
Councilor-at-Large Damali Vidot said she has not heard the complaints about 311, but recommended discussing the issue further at a subcommittee on conference meeting to hash out what the issues are and how they can be fixed.
“I think it does bring value, but we should have a discussion on how we can work out the kinks,” Vidot said.