Supervisor Thanks Board for Backing Better Constituent Service
JANUARY 24, 2007, FARMINGVILLE, NY--Brookhaven Town Supervisor Brian X. Foley and the Brookhaven Town Board voted unanimously at a board meeting Tuesday to move ahead with installing a new Constituent Response System that will greatly improve service to residents of the town from all town departments.
“I want to thank the entire Town Board for its support of this good government initiative to improve constituent service, install accountability and enable effective coordination,” said Supervisor Foley. “This new CRS system is a critical linchpin in the good government reforms I promised the people of Brookhaven Town.
“With this new system, residents will get answers to their questions and problems much quicker and more efficiently. Government works for the people, and this CRS system will make that work tremendously more efficient. This system fits perfectly with the ServiceStat management system we began to use last year, a performance measurement system that demands accountability and will increase coordination between various departments.
“I especially want to thank Councilman Steve Fiore-Rosenfeld and Councilwoman Carol Bissonette for visiting Baltimore where we saw a similar CRS in action. I look forward to working with the entire board as well as the civic community as we implement this system.”
“By approving this new constituent response system, the Town of Brookhaven is moving from the 19th century straight into the 21st century in terms of serving the public,” said Councilwoman Connie Kepert.
“This will revolutionize delivery of constituent service,” said Town Highway Superintendent John Rouse. “I am pleased that Supervisor Foley is moving forward with another innovative program that will make delivery of town services to our residents more efficient and professional.”
“I am convinced that this new Constituent Response System will produce a higher level of service for the residents of Brookhaven,” said Sid Bail, president of ABCO. “This is a good government initiative and I will ask my fellow ABCO board members to support this new program.”
"This giant step forward towards centralizing constituent issues through the CRS system will allow for greater interface between elected officials and departmental heads,” said Councilwoman Bissonette. “It is the foundation for providing higher performance standards and accountability throughout all of Brookhaven government. As we saw first hand in the success in Baltimore through the combination of their constituent response system and Service Stat, their residents in a relatively short time span from inception to full roll-out have seen tremendous improvement in response times, job performance and fiscal savings. This first introductory phase puts Brookhaven on the first steps toward the same results.”
“Making government more responsive to the community is important,” said Councilman Kevin McCarrick. “I support this system as a first step to create a community friendly access point for our constituents, improving communications between my Council Office and all Town departments.”
“Constituent service is a primary function of town government, and this new CRS system will vastly improve the delivery of service to our residents,” said Councilman Fiore-Rosenfeld. “We promised to make government work for the people, and this new system will greatly enhance our efforts to deliver on that promise. I believe this system will help council members in their work providing service to residents.”
“Our residents deserve this constituent service system, one that improves our daily communication with each division in the town and a system that improves the taxpayers' quality of life,” said Councilman Tim Mazzei.
The new system will be installed over the course of the year and will utilize a simple call center reached by dialing one call to Town Hall. The Town Board on Tuesday approved the one-time expenditure of $950,000 to purchase the computer hardware and software needed to begin installation of the system. Calls will be logged into a central database accessible to all town departments. Anyone following up on a complaint simply has to call up the file to get the complete real-time status of the complaint. More than 75 governments nation-wide currently use a similar CRS system.
With the new CRS system, all the information will be centrally located in an electronic file accessible instantly with a few keyboard strokes. The new system will empower elected officials.
“If you can’t measure it, you can’t manage it,” said Supervisor Foley.
The system provides a number of benefits, including:
--One number for citizens to remember and call with inquiries or complaints.
--Standardizes call response and service delivery mechanisms.
--Gives real time access to pertinent information, making government smarter and more responsive.
--Reduces costs.
--Improves visibility and accountability for management.
Service requests can be tracked by type, by address, by person, by council district, by status and in other ways as well. Clusters of complaints can be readily identified, giving the town the opportunity to make the necessary improvements.
The new CRS system will be installed initially for the five town departments that receive the most inquiries from the public, including Waste Management, Highway, Code Enforcement, Parks and Streetlighting.
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Office of the Supervisor
One Independence Hill • Farmingville • NY 11738 • Phone (631) 451-6955 • Fax (631) 451-6677