Edmonton cuts 311 operating hours in half to save $950,000

The City of Edmonton is cutting the hours for its 311 non-emergency phone line in half.

The call centre hours are being reduced from 24 to 12 hours a day effective Feb. 2, the city says in a notice on its website.

The new hours will be from 7 a.m. until 7 p.m., seven days a week,excluding statutory holidays.

The reduction in hours of service is an effort by council to deal with reduced revenues and to limit tax hikes for property owners, Coun. Andrew Knack told CBC on Thursday.

This will result in a slight increase in wait times, he said.

"There were certainly some calls that were coming in, you know, in the wee hours of the morning but they were much fewer than what you get during the day," Knack said. "And having alternatives, it was a reasonable trade-off."

People can also contact 311by email through the city's website or through the 311 app, Knack added.

$950,000/year in savings

The 311 call centre is staffed by full-time, part-time and temporary positions, Rob Klatchuk, city branch manager, said Thursday.

No full-time staff will lose their jobs, but there will be cuts in hours of work for part-time and temporary staff, he said.

The change in operating hours will save the city $950,000 a year,Klatchuksaid.

Workers who leave their jobs with the centre will likely not be replaced, he said.

"We have natural attrition, people leave for other work elsewhere within the city."

Support for essential public safety and urgent bylaw calls will continue to be available after hours.

Examples include: downed trees, manhole cover off on an arterial road, sinkholes, dog attacksand parking-related concerns.

311 is the city'sline for city government information and services and provides residents, businesses and visitors access through a central point of contact for their city needs.

The city said 311 has received more than 20 million inquiries since 2009 and answers about 5,000 calls a day.

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