Residents dialing into Suffolk’s 311 information center will no longer suffer lengthy wait times and dropped calls under a reorganization of the service announced by County Executive Edward Romaine.
Average wait times of up to an hour and a half have been reduced to under a minute, according to figures released by the county. The two-hour average wait time for the Department of Social Services and the Home Energy Assistance Program was reduced to under two minutes. In addition, the abandonment/drop rate of calls has been reduced from 52% of callers to 10%, Romaine reported.
“The purpose of municipal government is to provide our communities with essential services in an expedited and timely manner, and 311 is an effective tool for communicating with our residents and accommodating their needs,” Romaine said. “By making significant changes to Suffolk 311 in the last couple of months, we are now able to better serve our residents. I encourage our residents to call 311 for constituent affairs as we pride ourselves on professionalism and efficiency.”
In January 2024, constituents faced wait times that were at times longer than two hours, with many calls related to Department of Social Services, HEAP, and Suffolk County Traffic and Parking Violations Agency, according to Romaine, who made revamping the system a priority after he took over the reins of county government from former County Executive Steve Bellone.
Romaine credits the system's turnaround to Chief Deputy County Executive Kevin Molloy, who managed the 451-TOWN system when Romaine was Brookhaven's supervisor. They reorganized Suffolk 311 by retooling the county’s case management software to enable staff from numerous departments to handle incoming calls, a move that led to more people working the system and better efficiency.
The County’s Department of Information Technology also worked with 311 personnel to eliminate unnecessary data capturing procedures, improving the user experience, and reducing cumbersome data entry requirements, Romaine noted.
The county will host a series of Community Days throughout at local libraries and community centers to further promote the program. It is functional countywide except in the Town of Babylon. Hours of operation are 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday and 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on weekends.
In addition to dialing 311, residents can access Suffolk 311 at suffolkcountyny.gov/311 or download the Suffolk 311 app. The public outside of Suffolk County can contact the call center at 1-833-DIAL 311.