Little Rock upgrades 311 system

Website, smartphone app streamline service requests

The 311 system used by residents of Little Rock to request and report everything from a basketball goal removal to missed garbage pickup has been upgraded to become more efficient and user-friendly, city officials said.

The online upgrade, which launched Nov. 9, will help the city of Little Rock "become more accessible, accountable, and efficient in how it responds to 3-1-1 inquiries," city spokesman Jennifer Godwin said in a news release.

City officials have said the upgrade will provide the next level of service for residents and make it easier for the city's departments to track submissions, rule out duplicate ones and identify potential issues.

The 311 system was part of the 2004 bond project and was launched in 2007. More than 75,000 requests have been made this year on the current web system, Godwin said. And more than 100,000 requests have been made by dialing 311.

On the city's upgraded 311 website, residents can chose from more than 65 categories of services. The six-step form asks for the address where the service is being requested, service information, the requester's contact information and, finally, has a place for any additional comments to be added.

Ray Walker, acting director of Information Technology for Little Rock, said last week that the 311 service was introduced in 2007 and the new system is an upgraded version of that initial program. The website should look and feel more modern to users, Walker said.

The city had been considering the upgrade for a while, in part because the age of the software was causing issues.

"When you're dealing with the mechanical portion, we know things break," Walker said. "We had older servers we couldn't get support on. This was the logical thing to do for the citizens of Little Rock."

The upgrade will allow residents to track their requests online and receive detailed status updates. When a request is made the user will have the option to submit a phone number and email address. Walker said the message will be specific and let users know what's going on with the request.

The city is planning to release a smartphone app by the end of the year where residents can make requests for service, Walker said.

The app will have a GPS-enabled reporting service, which the city said should make sending requests even faster.

Currently operators answer the 311 phone during regular business hours from 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.

A link to the online 311 website can be found on the city of Little Rock's website www.littlerock.org/citizenservices/311.aspx.

Metro on 11/30/2015

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