Tuscaloosa 3-1-1 reports higher app use, highlights service metrics and missed-garbage SLA

Speaker 2, a 3-1-1 representative, told the committee that Tuscaloosa’s 3-1-1 program saw growth across digital and call channels in calendar-year 2025 and provided a detailed breakdown of contacts and service timelines.

"We have gone up 8% on our active users, 15% user sessions, and 10% increase in app installs," Speaker 2 said, and added that direct in-app notices rose 29%. The presenter also reported that the city logged 60,454 total requests last year, including 58,553 entered by representatives, 725 through the web portal and more than 1,100 via the mobile app, plus more than 36,000 "data calls" that did not result in service requests.

The presentation included call-center performance figures: average call wait time was 2 seconds, answer speed 8 seconds, and 98% of queued calls were answered within 30 seconds. "Our average call process time is less than 90 seconds," Speaker 2 said, noting those metrics as points of pride for the team.

Speaker 2 explained that "data calls" are transfers or information-only contacts — for example when callers need to be routed to a city department, the county courthouse or municipal court — and listed the top transfer destinations as city departments, the water business office (6,500+ transfers) and environmental services (4,300+). The presenter said roughly 61% of contacts were information-only data calls rather than service requests.

On service-level agreements (SLAs), Speaker 2 said 23,000 of the total contacts were actual service requests and that the top five service categories accounted for 64% of those. For missed-garbage calls specifically, Speaker 2 reported that 54% were closed within the two-day SLA. When a committee member asked why the percentage was not higher, Speaker 2 replied that scheduling and route timing (for example, a missed Thursday route reported on Friday) can delay closure into the next business cycle.

The presenter highlighted outreach and internal changes: the team met a goal to increase administrative staffing by 10%, now presents a 3-1-1 overview at new-hire orientation, and has adopted a "happy to help" branding phrase. Outreach events listed included district town halls, "Tech or Treat" and mayoral ride-arounds.

A procedural vote earlier on the agenda was recorded as passing (motion text not specified in the transcript). The committee concluded when a member said, "I'll make the motion," and the meeting was adjourned.

Next steps discussed were limited to encouraging public use of the app, and Speaker 2 asked constituents to dial 311 (or the full seven-digit number) or email for follow-up; optional follow-up calls are available for callers who provide contact information.