WIRED ON FRIDAY/From New York: Michael Bloomberg plans to haul the city's government agencies into the 21st century by improving their often woefully inadequate technology systems

Michael Bloomberg, mayor of New York, is keen to stress the importance of technology in the smooth running of city government.

"The mayor has talked about using technology to make government more open and efficient for citizens," said Jonathan Werbell, who works in the mayor's press office.

Many government agencies, however, are woefully behind when it comes to the technology they use. Some don't even have access to e-mail. But Mayor Bloomberg aims to change that with an increase of $7.7 million (€8.2 million) in the $174.1 million proposed budget for the Department of Information Technology and Telecommunications. The agency provides customer service assistance to residents who experience difficulties with cable television firms servicing the five boroughs of New York city.

It oversees the city's pay phones by dealing with 80 public payphone companies and it co-ordinates the information systems of every city agency.

One improvement the mayor recommends is the introduction of the 311 telephone system. Rather than dial each of the agencies individually, later this year the public will be able to call one number - 311 - to lodge complaints or to ask questions.

But introducing the system will be a complex job. New York City maintains over 40 helplines, including 14 for public safety, eight for infrastructure, regulatory and community services, seven for business affairs and waste management and 11 for health and human services. About 850 telephone operators answer eight to 10 million calls a year in 40 call centres. The 311 system would centralise all city-related, non-emergency calls at one location so a caller would have his question answered by a live person or have his call directed to the appropriate agency.

"By introducing the 311 phone system, the city will end the frustrating bureaucracy New Yorkers encounter when they need help," Mayor Bloomberg said earlier this year when announcing what he calls the Citizen Service Initiative.

"I am convinced the new 311 system will vastly improve the way New York city government functions." Twenty cities use the 311 phone system, including Chicago, Baltimore, Houston, Detroit and San Jose.

Basically, the 311 system will provide New Yorkers with one easy-to-remember number to obtain all city services, including street-light repairs, illegally parked vehicle removals, tree prunings, and tax or tourist information. It will also mean the current 911 system (similar to 999 in Ireland) will just deal with emergency calls.

Mr Werbell, in the mayor's office, said a vendor had yet to be selected to build the system that the Department of Information Technology and Telecommunications will run.

"We're making headway but the details have not been finalised yet," he said. All 40 helplines now run on different platforms and databases, so "technical and structural items need to be clarified" before work could begin, Mr Werbell said.

The 2003 budget has allocated $13.3 million to set up the 311 call centre. He added that while it was "tough to predict" the volume of calls the centre would receive, it would necessarily relieve stress on the 911 system. "Most calls that come to 911 are real emergencies. If 311 is successful, call volume will go up and people can use 311 as a way to solve their problems and as an effective way to interact with government," he added.

There would also be a Web component, which could be accessed at the www.nyc.gov portal site.

The Detroit police department introduced a 311 helpline in July 2000. Inspector John Mlynarczyk said the three-digit line reports public safety inquiries about prisoners, car thefts and complaints that can be handled by community relations officers.

Detroit is unusual in that its 311 system is under the supervision of the police, whereas in New York the mayor will ultimately control the system.

Inspector Mlynarczyk, who oversees the call centre, said the 311 helpline received about 800-1,000 calls a day and the call centre, with 68 operators, acts as a back-up centre for the 911 hotline.

The police department spent about $300,000 upgrading its software and improving its phone lines to accommodate the calls.

"We had our own system in place to take complaints and to process them prior to 311," Inspector Mlynarczyk said. The department is charged for each call received and at the moment a citizen cannot use a mobile phone to make a 311 call.

He said the benefits to 311 were that officers did not have to go on runs to investigate complaints of a car being vandalised, thus saving them time, as well as being a convenience for citizens. But should someone need a police response, a 311 call can be diverted to 911.