Hempstead Town Creates New Office Of Residents' Concerns

The Hempstead Town Board last week announced the creation of a new Office of Residents' Concerns, which will be the place that residents can go to have their questions about the town answered quickly and easily.

Instead of being bounced from office to office, the Town Council said the new office will be a place that residents can have their questions answered without frustration.

“Time and time again, I have heard from residents that they have been dissatisfied when they have called Town Hall to report an issue, whether it is a pothole, that their recycling wasn’t picked up or that they need a stop sign on their corner,” said Councilwoman Erin King Sweeney. “This is unacceptable and we have worked to develop a system that will ease their frustrations and prevent them from being bounced from department to department to get assistance.”

The Office of Residents’ Concerns will allow the town to take advantage of new technology to modernize the way in which residents communicate, interact and engage with the town. Transitioning from the current Helpline, the Office of Residents’ Concerns will host an interactive and transformative “Tell Hempstead” constituent service system. A centralized phone system will offer access to information and services.

The officials envision a citizen engagement mobile app that will integrate with and route inquiries to all of the municipality’s departments. Real-time status reports on resident inquiries and constituent ratings will help ensure that the town meets service quality goals. The effort will accommodate constituent service and response via the town’s website, an interactive mobile app (replete with constituent tools), text messages, emails, telephone inquiries and in-person contact.

The new office, which will have a director, will also ensure that resident service requests are handled promptly and will not become lost in bureaucratic red tape. Concerns that relate to a specific area will be routed through the local councilmember’s office, which already has a familiarity with the area. Further, the initiative will increase the town’s productivity and cost effectiveness.

The office, in the future, will implement a tracking and communication system which will accommodate efficient inquiry management and response via the town website, text messages and social media outlets, in addition to traditional telephone calls and in-person requests.

“Residents get so frustrated when they call a specific department only to learn that it is a different department that handles their concern. I have heard from some residents that they have been bounced around Town Hall so many times that they actually gave up,” said Councilman Dennis Dunne. “This new office will eliminate that problem and will hold us at Town Hall accountable for getting the residents results.”

Photo courtesy Town of Hempstead