Why 311 is needed

While the Hobbesian hyperbole is a bit off-putting, the general principle is true: it's easier to relate to the better nature of an individual than it is to attempt to coax some intelligence or logic from a population at large.  Institutions are the same way: the individuals who work within them are more often than not competent, courteous and helpful; it's the larger system, the bureaucracy, that is ineffective, unfriendly and nearly impenetrable.

One of the most effective ways to get the information you need from the City of Toronto (provided it's not already online) or to report a problem that needs attention is to contact the individual whose job it is to tackle it.  That probably should go without saying, but what most people don't realize is that you don't need to call a main number (e.g. Access Toronto) and be bounced around from one person to another, when you can just as effectively zero in on that person yourself.

A good way to do this is to capitalize on the research undertaken and the frustration already suffered by the Star's Jack Lakey, aka The Fixer.  His columns usually conclude with the name, title and contact information of the person responsible for seeing that a particular problem gets corrected. Do a Google site search of thestar.com for "fixer" and then whatever words describe your issue.  There's a decent chance he'll have tackled a similar problem in the last few years, and you shouldn't hesitate to get in touch with the same person he did.

The City of Toronto also has PDFs called "Whose Job Is It?" (one for your community and one for your home), which give you the phone numbers to call if one thing or another is broken. These are general customer service numbers, and if your problem is sufficiently run-of-the-mill that it's illustrated in one of the guides, then the people at the other end of the phone line are probably equipped to register your complaint. If, however, your issue goes beyond what's shown, Google the phone number to find out what city division it will connect you to, and then head over to the complete phone directory for that division. The directory will generally outline what each part of the division does, so just look for the person who heads up the branch that is most likely to have a handle on your issue.  

You can also send them an email, which is better for passing on large amounts of information and/or photos. All staff have email addresses in the form of their first initial and then the first six or seven letters of their last name @toronto.ca.  For example, the email address of Andy Koropeski, the Director of Transportation Services for the Toronto & East York District, is akoropes@toronto.ca.  If you want to double-check that the email address you deduced is a valid one, just do a Google search. If you got it correct, it will probably net at least one hit. Emails, however, are easy for busy staff to ignore, as they go straight to their Blackberries and are promptly trashed or forgotten. So if you don't hear anything after a few days, follow up with a phone call.

If the issue you're working on is more related to a policy matter than a Fixer-type problem, the best way to find out who's handling the file is to do a site search of toronto.ca using key words in order to find reports written on that and similar subjects. All reports have the author's contact info at the bottom. If it's not a recent document, confirm that that staffer is still in the same job by checking the alphabetical staff phone directory to see if the number was current as of its most recent revision (February 2008).

Of course, you can always try Access Toronto and your councillor's office (although the former isn't set up to handle policy questions, other than those about basic things like garbage, water, pesticides, etc.) if you're having difficulty.  

All of this, however, is intended to be streamlined by the city's new 311 information and complaint system, which is supposed to launch next year but is one of those projects that — Chinese Democracy-style — was supposed to have launched pretty much every year for half a decade now.  There is speculation that the repeated delays were orchestrated by councillors who are afraid they will no longer be necessary for the purpose of intermediating between constituents and staff.  "Instead," wrote Adam Chaleff-Freudenthaler on Spacing, "the dead weights on council might have to roll up their sleeves and dig into the real issues that face our city to demonstrate their utility to residents."

That sounds ideal, but the trouble is that those councillors are being squeezed on the macro-management end, too, with their ability to shape policy outside their own wards becoming increasingly limited.  Pondering what upcoming governance changes might mean for the councillors who aren't on the mayor's team, Councillor Doug Holyday asked, "Are we just pothole fixers?"

It's a good question.  But as nice as it is for a councillor to feel useful, every resident should — with or without a 311 system — invest a few minutes themselves to become their own pothole fixer.