MADERA COUNTY – Madera County has taken home an Achievement Award from the National Association of Counties (NACo) for its 311 Customer Service Center Program.
The Achievement Awards, which annually recognize innovation in county governments across the country, include awards for a variety of county government services, such as art and historic preservation; criminal justice and public safety; transportation; and community and economic development.
The 311 Customer Service Center Program was recognized under the county administration and management category and will be honored at the NACo Annual Conference and Exposition in Long Beach this July.
“It is a great honor to be recognized by NACo for our 311 program, which has helped Madera County provide streamlined, efficient and cost-effective customer service to our residents and employees across county departments,” said Eric Fleming, Madera County Administrative Officer.
The 311 call center was launched in 2012 to ensure continuity in county services in the wake of furloughs and the economic downturn. Since its inception, 311 has received over 220,000 calls, which have generated over 21,000 service requests. These service requests include everything from animal control requests to code enforcement, zoning questions and environmental health queries.
In addition, Madera County staff are able to use 311 to access services for county operations, such as building maintenance requests, IT services and grounds maintenance requests. The implementation of 311 has enabled Madera County to realize a cumulative savings of $440,000 to date.
Members of the public and county staff are able to call 311 Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. and be routed to the proper county department based on their needs. Call center staff coordinate follow up with county departments or other government agencies using a web-based interface.
In many instances, such as animal services requests, call center staff will submit online forms on behalf of callers, streamlining the process for both residents and staff. In addition, callers are automatically provided a tracking number to monitor the progress of a particular request.
The call center is managed by Nicole Desmond, and it is staffed by Ignacio Magos, Dienel Iniquez, Cindy Barrientos, and Jennipher Garcia.
“The 311 team is really excited to be recognized by NACo for our hard work and innovation,” said Nicole Desmond, Senior Administrative Analyst with Madera County’s Administration Department. “We look forward to continuing to provide Madera County residents and employees with top notch customer service and assistance.”
For more information about the 311 Customer Service Center, please visit http://www.madera-county.com/index.php/rsstest/video/madera-county-311. For information on the NACo Achievement Awards, please visit http://www.naco.org/topics/awards-programs.
