County staff say work is ongoing to make the government’s “report-a-problem” online portal more user-friendly and responsive.
“I hear your frustration,” said Nicole Jackson, a business systems analyst for the county government, during the July 8 joint meeting of the county’s Bicycle Advisory Committee (BAC) and Pedestrian Advisory Committee (PAC).
Jackson provided an update on the online reporting tool, which in the past 18 months has fielded more than 74,000 submissions from the public.
The vast majority of complaints and questions — more than 75% — are related to trash collection. Further down the list were concerns about matters under the purview of the two advisory committees.
“There’s like 1,500 pothole issues and 1,500 other street issues. That’s not nothing — it’s a big issue,” BAC member Aaron Schuetz said.
Schuetz voiced frustration with the number of steps needed to fill out the online form.
“It’s just very complicated,” he said.
Responsiveness to submissions also appears to be spotty, based on feedback at the meeting. BAC member Mike Hanna relayed his experiences making submissions when obstructions to bike lanes are found.
“There’s no feedback at all from the system, and then eventually you get that [the ticket] is closed — but the bike lane is still blocked,” he said. “Did anybody even read [the submission], or did the software just close it?”
BAC member Chris Slatt also has had problems with responsiveness. He pointed to submissions that resulted in a “lack of follow-up or status updates.”
“I’ve got one sitting in a status of ‘on hold’ that’s two years old, and my ‘Hey, any update?’ comments have not elicited any updates,” Slatt said.
County staff pointed to data suggesting that about 96% of submissions over the past 18 months have been closed, with 1% in progress, 1% on hold and 2% still open.
Jackson said she is coordinating efforts across county departments to make the process more streamlined from start to finish.
She said plans call for the creation of a “journey map” to “look at what information is provided on the front end that gives the user information on how to submit the property information, so it goes to the correct department or responsive person.”
Having clear lines of responsibility among departments is key, she suggested.
“We’re working on that,” Jackson said. “When you have those cross-department responsibilities, that’s when it gets a little unclear on who’s doing what.”
David Patton, a county transportation planner participating in the meeting, said while the report-a-problem system has yielded positive results, many of the concerns expressed were warranted.
“Some of these issues have been reoccurring a very long time. They are very frustrating for folks,” he said.
Jackson said members of the county government’s public-outreach team will be working in coming months to develop common language so both users and county staff can communicate with each other more clearly.
“We have acknowledged that’s an issue,” she said.
While voicing concerns, Slatt said he was heartened by the briefing.
“I’m really glad this work is moving forward,” he said, adding:
“Report-a-Problem is such an important piece between the government and community. It definitely needs improvements on both the front end and the back end … I look forward to seeing it improve over time.”
The report-a-problem portal handles complaints related to transportation, trash collection, potholes, graffiti, streetlights and tree maintenance, along with more general questions about government.
A separate portal handles concerns about snow removal, and there are specific reporting processes for abandoned vehicles, animal bites, noise/zoning/code enforcement, rodent control and towing.
