Town of North Hempstead Expands 311 Call Center Operating Hours to Include Sundays, Giving Constituents Seven Days a Week Access
For Immediate Release Media Contacts: Collin Nash and Sid Nathan
Nov. 4, 2010 (516) 869-7794
Town of North Hempstead Expands 311 Call Center Operating Hours to Include Sundays, Giving Constituents Seven Days a Week Access
Manhasset, NY—With North Hempstead’s 311 Call Center recent celebration of a major milestone—500,000 calls in its five-year lifespan—Supervisor Jon Kaiman and the North Hempstead Town Board announced that constituents can now report concerns or have questions about town matters answered seven days a week.
Increasing constituents’ accessibility to Town government, the 311 Call Center now operates on Sundays, from 10:00 am—5:00 pm.
Counting the 12 hours a day the Call Center operates Monday through Friday from 7:30am—7: 30 pm and the eight hours on Saturdays from 10:00 am—6:00 pm, constituents now have direct access to North Hempstead Town government a combined 75 hours a week.
“The ‘One Call to Town Hall’ concept put an end to an often long and bureaucratic nightmare of calls being endlessly transferred in order to get information or assistance to problems,” Supervisor Kaiman said. “Now we have made it even more convenient for residents to communicate with us.”
Launched in 2005, the Call Center, the first point of contact for anyone trying to reach departments within the Town, is a centralized unit designed to answer constituent inquiries and address concerns.
Averaging 100,000 calls a year since then, the Call Center recently chalked up its half-a-millionth call.
Staffed by a crew of professional, friendly operators who are able to answer a myriad of questions—from inquiries about Town events like next month’s Winter Wonderland to requests for fixing pot holes and removing downed trees—the 311 Call Center also connects constituents to Town departments for further assistance.
The Call Center was, in great part, made possible through a $500,000 federal grant through the offices of Senator Chuck Schumer and support from then Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton as well as Congress members Gary Ackerman and Carolyn McCarthy.