Willow Glen Resident
News
Online system tracks residents' requests in city council offices
By Stephen Baxter
When neighbors call San Jose City Council offices to report graffiti or a problem with a tree, city staffers typically type the problem in a log and call the city department in charge. The request can sit for weeks because only one staff member will see the complaint and try to fix it.
That delayed response may be changing.
Several council offices have had new computer programs installed in recent months to make it easier for staff members to share information and track concerns in each district. Staff members say the new systems help them respond faster and allow them to be more accountable to their constituents.
In April, freshman Councilman Pierluigi Oliverio and his staff started tracking residents' problems using Salesforce 8 SFA--a program originally designed to track customer orders.
"Why not treat a constituent as a customer?" Oliverio asked. "This is a system that allows us to keep track of what's going on. You know what it's like when people don't follow up, and I don't want to be like that," he said.
For example, when a call comes into the district office pertaining to graffiti on a stop sign, a staff person types in the problem, the time the call was taken and the caller's contact information. Each complaint is given an identification number, and it can be viewed online by others in the office to see what has been done to resolve it.
The system collects a resident's contact information, which could be used at a later date to send out monthly district newsletters. The database is not tapped for campaigning purposes, said Denelle Fedor, Oliverio's director of public policy.
In July, Councilman Pete Constant's office began using a similar program that allows many staff members to respond to problems and track issues. Calls and e-mails from constituents are entered into the system and are given an identification number. A resident can track the problem on the district's website at www.sjdistrict1.com and access it outside of business hours.
Vice Mayor Dave Cortese's office also uses the program, as does the office of Councilwoman Nancy Pyle.
Pyle's staff said it allowed them to paint a clearer picture of residents' concerns.
"It's been a very important tool," said Lee Wilcox, Nancy Pyle's chief of staff.
The office often gets e-mails about traffic, soccer fields and neighborhood issues in the Almaden Valley, but staff members said they were surprised to see more than 500 e-mails in a month about the return of the San Jose Earthquakes professional soccer team.
"When you see that in one place and are able to harness that information it's kind of incredible," Wilcox said.
In Pyle's office and other council offices, callers who lodge complaints still interact with a person rather than an automated system. Some residents said they were unaware of the changes behind the scenes, and council staff members said that was their intent.
Art Boudreault, president of the Almaden Valley Community Association, said he had not heard of system but he favored technology that streamlined residents' requests.
"Any system which includes automation is very helpful to make sure residents are heard," he said.
Fedor said the system is more advanced than a paper log or an Excel spreadsheet that she used when working for former District 6 Councilmembers Nancy Ianni and Ken Yeager.
"Our constituency has been trained to call, and they do call a lot," Fedor said. "Normally they would have zero clue that anything has been done [about a complaint], but now we're more accountable because things don't get lost."
She noted that the system also has helped District 6 staff target problems that are of wide concern.
Since Oliverio's office began using the new system, it has handled more than 1,500 calls from more than 700 residents. As of Nov. 26, 2007, 202 people have called about parks, and 72 of them had park maintenance issues. Other complaints have been filed in categories such as "gangs," "garbage" and "bike lanes."
Not all councilmembers are jumping on the bandwagon. Some offices are sticking to older programs such as ACT! by Sage Software.
Councilwoman Nora Campos uses ACT! to track residents' calls. Her staff said they get calls about potholes and abandoned cars, and speaking with constituents enables staff to converse in Spanish when needed.
In Councilwoman Judy Chirco's office, an administrative assistant fills out an Excel spreadsheet and passes it on to other staff members or city departments. E-mails are also sent to Chirco or to staff, depending on the issue.
In the coming months, Oliverio said, the portal may help his staff track progress of new city projects such as the Willow Glen Spur Trail.
"Constituent issues are just No. 1 in this office, they just are," Fedor said. "They're our bread and butter."
