Mayoral candidate Motkaluk pledges to improve 'screwed-up' 311 service

Mayoral candidate Jenny Motkaluksays she'd improve Winnipeg's 311 service by directing some calls directly to city departments during regular business hours.

The business consultant said Tuesday that Winnipeggers are left on hold too often and too long on 311 and pledged to make incremental improvements to the service she described as "screwed up"if elected mayor on Oct. 24.

"The culture I would promote as mayor will be a city hall that answers to its citizens and gets it right," she said at her campaign headquarters on Ness Avenue. "We've all had the experience of calling 311 and being made to wait a very long time."

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Motkaluk said 311 is too often used as a firewall to separate Winnipeg's public service from its citizens and asserted too many calls for service are simply given a tracking number and then forgotten.

If she's elected mayor, she would ensure some calls are directed to a live human being in the appropriate city department, she said.

Motkaluk said her promise would be revenue neutral, at least at first, as she would direct city departments to handle as many calls as possible within existing budgets.

"If the people are not available right now to answer phones, then the customers will still have to be served the existing way," she said. "I would rather take a good look at making the most with what we have before we decide to invest more money."

Motkaluk said the 311 service would not be transformed overnight.

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