COMHAIRLE CONTAE ÁTHA CLIATH THEAS
SOUTH DUBLIN COUNTY COUNCIL
MEETING OF SOUTH DUBLIN COUNTY COUNCIL
Monday, February 11, 2013
QUESTION NO. 1
QUESTION: Councillor C. Bond
To ask the Manager to please outline the process by which reports logged under the fixmystreet website are resolved. Could the Manager also indicate if there is a system for prioritising reports?
REPLY:
Fix your Street (FYS) went live on 1st August 2011. The purpose of the site is to assist residents to report problems of a non-urgent, basis associated with street lighting, drainage, graffiti, illegal dumping, road and footpath maintenance, and tree and grass maintenance in their neighbourhoods. It was developed and piloted by South Dublin County Council with the expectation that it would be used by all Local Authorities by end December 2012. Development work on the project met its deadline and the system is now available Countrywide.
FYS reports from the customer require a response within a timeframe of two working days and the responses are posted by staff, to communicate the status of the issue to the customer. For example:-
· Grafitti has been removed at this location
· A site visit is scheduled and further update will be provided
· This matter is the responsibility of ( named Local Authority ) and has been referred on to our colleagues for attention.
When the issue is resolved a further response is posted for the customers information.
The process is as follows:- All FYS reports are moderated by the staff of the Customer Care section. Moderation requires an examination of the report submitted by the customer to ensure that they are legitimate reports and that no personal or inappropriate language is used. Reports are then approved and go live on the website.
Customer Care staff will post the answer in any case where the information is available to them as Customer Care staff have access to a variety of Departmental schedules / systems for dealing with enquiries. Since the majority of reports require action by departmental staff, most need onward referral and the Council's Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system is utilised to refer items to the relevant section.
That section posts the response on the website communicating the action to be taken and the matter is included on an inspection list or is included in a works programme. Deadlines are set up on the system, and follow up responses are posted as the issues are resolved. Timeframes for resolution of the various types of issues reported are dependent on the nature of the matter and the processes within departments. There is no facility on the system for prioritising issues.
It should be noted that FYS has been designed for matters that are not of an urgent nor emergency nature. Emergency reports should be submitted to the Council in the quickest way possible, to ensure that they are fast tracked by Customer Care staff and directed with the least possible delay to the relevent section / department for immediate action. Such emergency reports are preferred if made in person at the Public Counter or by phone.
Current statistics for FYS to date are:-
6607 reports posted on site
11448 responses and comments recorded
8994 responses issued on the site by SDCC staff.