The gist
At an April 9 meeting, Fort Bend County commissioners voted to create a committee to explore the technology and staff members needed to start a countywide 311 program to handle nonemergency resident requests, including filing complaints and finding information about services.
“By using a holistic interface system like 311, residents will no longer have to mount an endless search to find who is responsible for fixing their pothole or inquiring about trash pickup,” Precinct 4 Commissioner Dexter McCoy said in a news release. “This service will help bring a central support in the county for managing our residents’ requests and helping them find resolution to their needs.”
The project was spearheaded by McCoy and Precinct 1 Commissioner Vincent Morales to improve resident interactions and turnaround time across various departments.
Digging in
The committee will be tasked with investigating and researching the implementation of the 311 system, including a centralized call line and website, through software requirements, cost and assessment of current programs, according to agenda documents.
The exact representatives from each office have yet to be finalized, but the committee will have six county representatives from:
- Precinct 1 commissioners office
- Precinct 4 commissioners office
- County purchasing office
- County auditing office
- County budgeting office
- County technology information office
What else?
Missouri City launched its 311 online site and smartphone apps on iPhone and Android on April 1, replacing its former See, Click, Fix platform, according to a Missouri City news release.
The new platform will allow citizens, businesses and stakeholders to report and submit photos regarding:
- Enforcement issues
- Street light outages
- Lost pets
- Graffiti
- Police reports
Missouri City code enforcement staff will respond to the requests Monday-Friday from 8 a.m.-5 p.m. and will respond to each report on a case-by-case basis. The platform will also allow reported issues to be tracked online.
Looking forward
The Fort Bend County committee will begin exploring options this April and will present a plan to the commissioners in spring 2025. The targeted timeframe to launch the countywide request system is 2026, McCoy said.
