HAUPPAUGE, NY – Suffolk County Executive Ed Romaine announced significant changes to the Suffolk 311 communications system, leading to a more efficient system which has resulted in reduced wait times, lower abandonment and dropped call rates, the designation of additional employees to become auxiliary 311 call center staff and changes to internal operating systems to ensure a more friendly constituent experience.
“The purpose of municipal government is to provide our communities with essential services in an expediated and timely manner, and 311 is an effective tool for communicating with our residents and accommodating their needs,” said Romaine. “By making significant changes to Suffolk 311 in the last couple months, we are now able to better serve our residents. I encourage our residents to call 311 for constituent affairs as we pride ourselves on professionalism and efficiency.”
In January 2024, constituents faced wait times that were at times longer than two hours – with many calls related to Department of Social Services-HEAP and Suffolk County Traffic and Parking Violations Agency assistance.
Suffolk County re-organized Suffolk 311 in February 2024 by rolling out aspects of the call center and the County’s case management software to numerous departments, which designated staff members to become auxiliary call center staff to assist with inquiries when available leading to increased personnel and better efficiency.
Suffolk 311 wait times have been significantly reduced. For example, wait times on January 8, 2024 averaged 1 hour and 24 minutes and 2 hours and 24 hours for DSS-HEAP calls. In comparison, wait times on March 8 averaged 28 seconds and 1 minute and 12 seconds for DSS-HEAP calls. Average wait times in recent weeks into 311 is three minutes, significantly less than previous months. In addition, the abandonment/drop rate of calls has been reduced from 52% of callers to 10%.
The County’s Department of Information Technology also worked with 311 personnel to eliminate unnecessary data capturing procedures, improving the user experience, and reducing cumbersome data entry requirements.
In addition, the Suffolk County Executive’s Office and Suffolk 311 personnel will host a series of Community Days throughout the County at local libraries and community centers to further promote the program.
Suffolk County 311 is functional countywide except in the Town of Babylon. Hours of operation are 9 a.m. – 6 p.m. Monday through Friday and 9 a.m. – 4 p.m. on weekends.
In addition to dialing 311, can access Suffolk 311 at suffolkcountyny.gov/311 and downloading the Suffolk 311 app. The public outside of Suffolk County can contact the call center at 1-833-DIAL 311.
###