A “serious disconnect” exists between Philadelphians and the city’s 311 system, which residents use to report abandoned cars, illegal dumping, missed trash collected and other quality-of-life issues, lawmakers said Wednesday.
“What we’re hearing from constituents is that they’ve given up on trying to use 311 to solve their problems,” City Councilmember Rue Landau said following a hearing on the municipal nonemergency call center. “And one thing we can say is none of us want that.”
Neferteri Raynor, 23, said she’s tried to report trash, deserted vehicles and potholes in her neighborhood, near Broad Street and Hunting Park Avenue. The 311 mobile app crashes constantly, but there are bigger issues, she testified at the hearing.
“There’s no point in calling 311 because it doesn’t get resolved and you say it does,” Raynor told Council. “And then I’m submitting another ticket and it’s pointless.”
Raynor’s experience isn’t unique; lawmakers said they often hear from constituents whose cases are marked “closed” or “unfounded” when the issue persists.
“When something says that it’s ‘unfounded’ – and I’ve been out there – and there’s trash everywhere, there’s a disconnect,” Councilmember Jimmy Harrity said. “When something says it’s been closed, it’s been done, and it hasn’t been done, that’s an issue for us.”
About a third of the more than 20,000 311 cases forwarded to the Department of Licenses and Inspections every year come back “unfounded,” Deputy L&I Commissioner Ralph DiPietro said, mostly because no code violations are documented.
Jocelyn Jones, Philly311’s executive director, encouraged those who believe their complaints were incorrectly labeled “resolved” or “unfounded” to call back for a more detailed explanation – a solution that did not seem to please Council members on the committee. They suggested ways to increase communication between municipal departments and residents.
After completing a request, crews within each department file paperwork in their own database, which then interacts with Philly311’s system.
“We are exploring ways in which we can really improve that coordination between departments,” said Aubrey Powers, the city’s deputy managing director for community services.
Philly311, which was set up 17 years ago, handles an average of 2,400 requests a day, officials said. Residents can report problems and ask questions about city services by phone call or through the system’s mobile app or website.
Call center employees direct the requests to the appropriate departments, with a large number going to the Streets Department or Licenses and Inspections.
Each section of city government provides 311 with an estimated time frame for specific activities, known as a service-level agreement, so those manning the phones can let residents know when to expect action. The SLA for potholes, for example, is three days.
In 2024, service was provided within SLA timelines about 57% of the time, according to data compiled by Councilmember Mike Driscoll’s office.
Jones said the SLAs need to be reviewed and that she wants to launch a tracking system to ensure departments are completing work on-time.
A survey that was recently rolled out found that 93% of people were satisfied with 311, she added. However, the poll is aimed at assessing the professionalism and helpfulness of the call center’s staff, not whether the system produced on-the-ground results.
Driscoll noted that Wednesday’s hearing was held during budget season, less than a week after Mayor Cherelle Parker’s budget presentation. Representatives from Philly311 did not offer any funding requests or specific proposals to improve service.
“We’re waiting to hear from the 311 folks what they need,” Driscoll told Metro after the meeting. “Is it more technology? Is it more staffing? Is it better communication to the departments? So we’re hoping to get a report back to us.”
“I think the question is, do they need more resources or do they need to work more efficiently with the resources they have?” Landau added. “And we still have more digging to do to figure that out.”
