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Sunday, May 26, 2013
311 call center to scale back service two days each month
by Kathleen Haley, published on September 16, 2010 at 5:56 PM
Storyline: City Services
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New budget cuts will cause the city’s popular 311 call service to shut down for all requests except emergencies for two Fridays per month, according to city officials.
The budget cuts result from the new contract for union employees represented by Stationary Engineers Local 39. As part of the union’s deal with the city, each member of Local 39 must take 88 hours of furlough time in the 2010/2011 fiscal year, and 96 furlough hours in the following fiscal year. Some of the union’s members work for 311, and they will be on furlough the two Fridays each month, according to city spokeswoman Amy Williams.
The call center’s new schedule with furloughs starts Sept. 17.
“We are unfortunately asking our constituents to be patient with us,” said Gina Knepp, division manager of 311.
Tens of thousands of people use the service to find information about city services, according to Knepp. The center receives an average of 1,500 phone calls each weekday, she said.
On average, 300-400 phone calls come in on Saturdays, Knepp said, adding that the call volume on Sundays is slightly lower than the volume on Saturdays.
This means that 311 receives an average of 30,000-35,000 phone calls per month, Knepp said.
In the last fiscal year, 311 received about 17,000 e-mailed requests, she added.
The call center will have employees on furlough Friday and Sept. 24. Starting in October, the center’s furloughs will be in effect on the second and fourth Fridays of every month.
“On those days, only limited staff will be on duty, and only emergency calls can be handled,” according to a Sept. 13 e-mail that General Services Director Reina Schwartz sent to the City Council.
In the city’s definition, 311 emergency calls could involve “injured animals, water, sewer or drain emergencies, roadway hazards and traffic signal malfunctions.”
In the past, the city received many compliments from citizens about 311, City Councilman Ray Tretheway said. But the call center is putting people on hold for longer periods of time as well as experiencing furloughs, he added.
The 311 cutbacks show “reality setting in of the severity of our budget cuts,” Tretheway said.
Southside Park resident Joy Korstjens said she uses 311 every couple months, adding that she’s more likely to use the 311@cityofsacramento.org e-mail service.
She said she is disappointed about the cuts to the 311 service, but also expressed sympathy for furloughed 311 employees. Korstjens, an employee at the state Department of Consumer Affairs, must take three furlough Fridays each month.
“As someone who is also furloughed, I feel bad for the employees,” Korstjens said.
The furloughs for 311 employees will affect their salaries, as well as add to their workloads when they return to work on Monday, she said.
Meanwhile, Knepp provided the text of the message that citizens will hear Friday if they call 311:
“Hello. You have reached Sacramento City 311. All calls may be recorded for quality monitoring purposes.
“It is Friday, Sept. 17th. The 311 Call Center will only be available for emergency calls today. Please stay on the line if you are reporting an emergency such as: injured animals, water, sewer or drain emergencies, roadway hazards and traffic signal malfunctions. An agent will assist you shortly.
“For all other inquiries, please call again tomorrow when we are open for full service.
“If your request is non-urgent and you prefer, you may e-mail us by writing to 311@cityofsacramento.org. Thank you, and we do apologize for any inconvenience.”
Read the Sept. 13 e-mail that city staff sent to the City Council here.
Here is a list of the dates that 311 will be closed for calls that do not involve emergencies:
Sept. 17
Sept. 24
Oct. 8
Oct. 22
Nov. 12
Nov. 26
Dec. 10
Dec. 24
Jan. 14
Jan. 28
Feb. 11
Feb. 25
March 11
March 25
April 8
April 22
May 13
May 20
June 10
June 17
Kathleen Haley is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press.
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Why would they need to be available on Saturday and Sunday?
Why would they need to be available after normal working hours - when City departments are open?
Perhaps Division Manager Knepp should be in charge of more City functions.
When you add up their increased number of personal days off, the 11 furlough days (12 next year), vacation time, sick days and city holidays, the typical 39 employee will now end up working just about the same total number of days each year as a public school teacher.
This can also be penny wise and pound foolish, as when the City has to hire additional employees to cover shifts on furlough days at positions that cannot be functionally "shrunk," like manning water and sewer facilities, as the City is reportedly now doing. It also maximizes the negative impact on public services since each Local 39 worker will now be working 16 fewer days (over three weeks) each year.
The better solution for the public and the City is to end furloughs and, instead, trim salaries and benefits. That would provide the same cost savings for the City and the same dollar hit to worker salaries as furloughs, while having no impact on public services. Keep in mind that 39 members received a salary hike last year at a time when every other city union passed on their scheduled salary hikes to help the City bridge a $50 million deficit. 39 members also received a 50% hike in the their maximum fringe benefit allowances over the past 5 years under its recently expired contract with the City.
This is why our parks are not being adequately maintained and why 311 is cutting back on service levels. Passage of Measure B, the utilities rate rollback initiative, will likely motivate the City to reopen negotiations with 39 to recapture last year's unwarranted raise and to moderately trim their recent 50% spike in fringe benefits. The City had the foresight to preserve its option to renegotiate 39's contract with respect to utility workers in the event Measure B passes, giving it the opportunity to unlock these savings without impacting service levels.
Craig Powell, Chair
Campaign for Common Sense Utilities Rates
Just announced today is how many more people are living in poverty in Calif and the nation as a whole than in decades. Walmart exists because of low wages and no benefits. Yeah, so lets have more low wages and fewer benefits to get rid of that pesky middle class. We don't need stores like Macy's, Penny's, et al--just Saks and Tiffany's for the rich and Walmart for the poor, importing all goods from China and keep the Walton family in the top ten of the wealthiest families in the country.
Let's go back to the old aristocracy and big land owners--the new kings and queens being the corporate CEO's like the Waltons, Fiorina and Whitman. Then we'll be on a par with other third world countries. Great goals for the state and the country! A great legacy to hand to our kids!
Why our education system "is in the toilet" has nothing to do with how much funding education receives.
Many countries do a much better job at educating their children for 1/4 or less of what California spends per pupil.
and btw go google "credit default swaps"
This country doesn't "do a much better job at educating their children for 1/4 or less of what California spends per pupil." This post-Reagan culture say "I got mine and the rest a ya be DAMNED."
It would help all concerned if the City of Sacramento's web site were less (notoriously) impenetrable and allowed folks to find info online, saving that many phone calls to 311.
I called 311 because I didn't want to clog up 911 with something so insignificant and they were SO helpful and polite while helping me track the officer down. I have only heard positive things about the 311 staff. Such a great service.