posted on May 13, 2009

Is it 911 time for the 311 customer service line?

By: JOHN BARBER
Published: APRIL 29, 2009
Source: The Globe and Mail
jbarber@globeandmail.com

Mayor David Miller's much-anticipated 311 Customer Service Strategy, a "one-call-does-it-all" phone line designed to improve access to city services and streamline bureaucracy, faces another setback following the bankruptcy of the U.S. consultant hired to implement it.

The future of the Toronto contract remains in doubt following the court-ordered breakup of consultancy BearingPoint Inc., which won the lucrative Toronto contract last spring but filed for bankruptcy in February. The future of the firm's ongoing contracts will be decided next month when its new owner, Deloitte LLP, takes over the company, according to BearingPoint spokesman Steve Lunceford.

Originally included as a promise in Mr. Miller's 2003 election platform, the 311 program has faced repeated delays. The mayor originally promised to deliver it by 2005. In the 2006 election campaign, he promised again to deliver "a 311 hotline so that every resident has direct and simple access to a person at city hall who can help resolve problems."

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/LAC.20090429.BARBE