RESPONSIVE GOVERNMENT
No wrong door
One Request. No Runaround.
When you contact City Hall, it shouldn’t become your job to figure out which department, division or employee is responsible for your issue.
Hamilton already has 905-546-CITY. I will modernize that service into a recognizable 311 system and establish a City-wide No Wrong Door approach to customer service.
The principle is simple: You make the request. City Hall takes it from there.
Whether you contact 311 by phone, online, email, mobile service or through an accessible service option, your request will be recorded and routed to the right place inside City Hall.
You won’t have to start over every time your request moves between departments.
Residents will receive a case or reference number so they can track their request. The information already provided will stay with the file, and the appropriate City service area will be responsible for seeing it through to a resolution or a clear explanation of what can — or cannot — be done.
We will also establish and publish service standards for common requests, including expected response or resolution timelines where practical.
That means residents should know:
• that their request has been received;
• who is responsible for it;
• what timeline they can reasonably expect;
• when there is a delay or change;
• and when the request has been completed.
Requests that stall, become overdue or are repeatedly transferred will be flagged for follow-up and escalation instead of being allowed to fall through the cracks.
Frontline employees will also have better tools to help residents, including a shared knowledge base, clear escalation paths, training and the authority to resolve routine matters where appropriate.
And not everybody wants or is able to deal with City Hall digitally. Phone, accessible and in-person service options will remain part of the system.
Finally, we will measure and publicly report how well the system is performing, including response times, overdue requests and repeat contacts.
Because Responsive Government isn’t just about answering the phone.
It is about taking responsibility for what happens after you call.