The City of Gainesville launched a new online and mobile service Tuesday through which residents can report non-emergency issues like potholes, graffiti and broken street signs.
The service, called 311GNV, is available as an app on Apple and Android smartphones, as well as on the city of Gainesville website, senior analyst Samantha Wolfe said during an impromptu press conference today.
Through 311GNV, users may enter information like location and a description of the problem, as well as photos.
The time between reporting and repair will vary on a case-by-case basis, but Wolfe said the goal is to investigate reported issues within 48 hours.
The app is part of a city-wide initiative dubbed “government 2.0,” which, according to Wolfe, seeks to increase government transparency and citizen engagement by facilitating communication through technology.
Six city employees conducted research and developed an implementation plan for 311GNV. About 10 to 12 people will be tasked with managing service requests and addressing reports, which Wolfe said will be the most challenging part of rolling out the service.
Connecticut-based startup SeeClickFix is the platform behind 311GNV.
The city signed a contract with a $9,000 annual fee and a $3,000 one-time startup fee with the company.
SeeClickFix employs about 30 team members but has more than 250 global partnerships, a majority of them in the United States, according to SeeClickFix community manager Isabel Santos-Gonzalez.
In Florida, SeeClickFix powers similar reporting apps in Pinellas County (St. Petersburg and Pinellas Park), Broward County (Pembroke Pines and the organization Urban Health Solutions) and Miami-Dade County (Surfside), Santos-Gonzalez said.
“As far as the app itself, it’s essentially identical everywhere," she said. "The only difference is branding and service-request offerings.”
Laura Rawson, city marketing and communications specialist, said 311GNV will be promoted with refrigerator magnets and business cards that code enforcement officers will hand out at neighborhood-watch meetings, as well as social media.
GNV311 has six types of service requests currently available but more will be added if necessary, Wolfe said.
No feedback on the app has been received yet, but Santos-Gonzalez encourages users to reach out directly to SeeClickFix for troubleshooting questions. Its staff is available over the phone at 203-752-0777 or via email at contact@seeclickfix.com.