Case Study: How NolaStat can improve constituent relations in City Hall
A list of the most common complaints submitted to City Council Members:
1) Street lights.
2) Water Leaks—which go to S&WB, a state run and controlled entity.
3) Potholes.
4) Drainage Problems, i.e. drains not working.
5) Billing complaints concerning S&WB, Entergy, and taxes, e.g., overcharging, late charges, etc.
6) Illegal dumping —- e.g. tires, trash.
7) Zoning complaints, i.e., businesses or people not following the zoning regs, spot zone changes, etc.
8) Homelessness complaints, public urination, loitering, crime, etc.
9) Problem bars, i.e., loud music, large crowds, crime associated with these groups, etc.
10) Crime complaints, drug dealing, speeding, etc.
Most of these items could be handled by a well-functioning 311 system that traffics complaints to the respective city department, and tracks those complaints until they are resolved. The fact that City Council offices are comparatively more responsive than City Council offices has meant that Council staff members have ended up becoming extremely overworked surrogates for dysfunctional city offices.
It was no coincidence that the establishment of the CitiStat performance management process in Baltimore coincided with the acquisition of a robust 311 solution. By analyzing metrics that could be extracted from the 311 system, Baltimore was able to improve the city’s response to public concerns. The CitiStat process assembled all of the agencies responsible for solving problems identified by the public, benchmarking their performance in key areas of interest — such as time to respond, or customer satisfaction — and followed improvements in these indicators over time with regular meetings, and by reporting results to the public.
New Orleans has a 311 solution, but it never worked as it should have despite numerous contracts and millions spent. Mayor-elect Landrieu should tackle this problem as soon as is feasible, because improving the quality, efficiency, and equity of city services will make or break his ability to solve problems.
By instituting a performance management process using the models pioneered in Baltimore, and implemented in dozens of other cities, Mayor-elect Landrieu will create a process for managing reform that gradually shows measurable improvements.
A 311 system that follows problems until they’re resolved, and collects customer satisfaction at the end point, should and could be implemented as part of a performance management strategy — but performance management shouldn’t wait until money is spent. Fundamentally, performance management is about identifying things that can be measured, getting people engaged in solving problems, and improving the metrics over time for measuring outcomes.
Here are a few suggestions for metrics that could be developed to track the list of issues listed above:
1) Reduce both the number of street light repairs required, and the delay in completing repairs.
2) Reduce the number of water leaks, and the delay in performing repairs. The Sewerage & Water Board may be a state run and controlled entity, but the city should assume the responsibility for reporting public satisfaction with service.
3) Reduce the time it takes to fix potholes, and the quality of pothole repairs. The pothole repair truck doesn’t do a very good job of fixing potholes. Futhermore, resurfacing decisions should be based in part upon an analysis of street complaints.
4) Reduce the number of drain cleaning requests, and the time it takes to service drains.
5) Track and categorize the types of billing complaints received, and develop an appropriate course of action. The city spends millions to have lawyers represent the city in Entergy matters, and the city attorney’s office should also provide assistance.
6) Track the number and location of illegal dumping complaints, identifying an appropriate strategy to resolve chronic offenses if environmental or absentee landowner problems play a role. Track code enforcement and safety & permits activity in resolving dumping problems.
7) Improve public access to zoning information as raw records to make it easier for citizen programmers to build more usable applications than what the city currently provides. The city’s current Web site to display property information was built by an entrenched, incompetent contractor. When complaints arise, it should be fast and easy for citizens to identify what the allowed uses are for a property. Zoning complaints should then be trafficked as appropriate to the City Planning Commission or City Council Member as merited.
8) Public nuisance complaints should be tracked by neighborhood to refer appropriate police or social services personnel. Reductions in the number of complaints at particular locations can be measured and reported to the public.
9) A major issue for many neighborhoods are bars and alcohol beverage outlets. There are specific measures that can be taken by owners to reduce complaints, and to make owners better neighbors. Ensuring that bars don’t exceed capacity for the numbers of people, for example, or requiring outdoor security, or measuring sound levels. Code enforcement and Safety & Permits activity can be tracked to identify progress in resolving complaints.
10) The New Orleans Police Department can do a much better job of demonstrating how published crime-abatement strategies result in crime reductions. The processes for reporting crime statistics should be improved by increasing the frequency of reports, offering reports by neighborhood, and by allowing for statistical claims to be independently audited. Given allegations that the NOPD is “cooking the books” to artificially lower crime statistics, the NOPD should follow the best practices implemented in other cities, to make as much raw data available to the public as is possible, including calls for service records, police report records, and arrest records. Victim privacy can be protected by removing data fields that might violate confidentiality, or by treating those data fields so that privacy is reasonably secured — such as decimating addresses to the nearest 100 block.
