Maryland Governor Martin O'Malley Issues Support for Suffolk311

MARYLAND GOVERNOR MARTIN O’MALLEY ISSUES SUPPORT FOR SUFFOLK311

Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone today announced the support of former Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley for the Suffolk311 system that will go live next month.

Former Maryland Governor and Baltimore Mayor Martin O'Malley said:  "There is a revolution going in American government today and it is being led by well-run counties and cities. It’s all about performance and delivery, treating citizens as customers, getting things done with greater efficiency and greater accountability. It's really the heart of civic trust for municipalities to serve as the laboratories of innovation and 311 has become the gold standard for data-driven results.  I commend Suffolk County Executive Bellone for embracing this model and it is my sincere hope that other counties in New York follow his lead."

311 was originally developed as a non-emergency alternative for police departments to reduce congestion on 911 call centers.  In the year 2000, the newly elected mayor of Baltimore, Martin O’Malley, transformed how government responds to constituents by applying the 311 non-emergency phone number to municipal services in conjunction with data analytics and performance measurement protocols, officially creating 311 as we know it today. 

Martin O’Malley has served as the Governor of Maryland, Mayor of Baltimore, and a city councilor—earning a reputation as a bold, progressive, and pragmatic executive who is willing to take on our toughest shared challenges. Over his eight years as Mayor, O’Malley’s policies helped the people of Baltimore achieve the greatest crime reduction of America’s largest cities. He also promoted important investments in the local economy—bringing fiscal stability to schools and cracking down on crime, which drew investments and people back to the city. In City Hall, he implemented a program called CitiStat, a cutting-edge system that tracked how well Baltimore’s government was serving its citizens. The program won Harvard University’s Innovations in American Government Award, and TIME Magazine named O’Malley “one of America’s top five big city mayors.”

Earlier this week, a bipartisan group of local government officials, business advocacy organizations and civic leaders across the state offered similar praise to implement Suffolk311 including:

• Michael Bloomberg, Former New York City Mayor
• Michael Balboni, Former New York State Deputy Secretary for Public Safety
• Nassau County Comptroller Jack Schnirman
• Smithtown Town Supervisor Ed Wehrheim
• Southampton Town Supervisor Jay Schneiderman
• New York City Councilman Justin Brannan
• State Senator Anna Kaplan
• State Senator Jim Gaughran
• Kevin Law, President and CEO of the Long Island Association
• Kyle Strober, Executive Director of Association for a Better Long Island
• Dr. Jim Malatras, President of the Rockefeller Institute of Government

Suffolk311 will improve public safety by reducing the burden on 911 county emergency call centers that receive tens of thousands of non-emergency calls each year.  This will allow emergency call centers to be better positioned to respond to true emergencies.  

The system will also improve residents’ interactions and overall experience with county government.  In addition to connecting residents to the government that serves them, the 311 system is a premier management tool, which will help officials to better allocate resources and taxpayer dollars by capturing critical details on each call, question, or request, allowing the county to gather valuable insight into the issues communities across the county are facing in real-time.

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