Nick Marano: Introducing ‘Carson City Connect’

Editor’s note: The Nevada Appeal presented the Carson City Board of Supervisors, the mayor and city manager an opportunity for a column.

In Carson City Mayor Bob Crowell’s State of the City speech last January, his theme was “Time for Change” and we “have not only the opportunity, but in a very real sense, the obligation, to provide and present a face to the world that shows our pride in being the capital of the great state of Nevada.”

Keeping with this bold direction, Carson City announces “Carson City Connect,” a citizen relationship management system that’s designed to make it easier to report everything from potholes and abandoned vehicles to get information about different city departments.

With residents being busier than ever and often not having the time to visit City Hall or contact a city department during business hours, Carson City Connect eliminates the typical boundaries of local government contact. The new citizen relationship management tool allows 24-hour access to engage with all City functions. The City’s website also is under revision and is soon going to offer residents increased transparency and access to information.

At the heart of the City’s customer service initiative is Carson City Connect’s central tracking and monitoring of requests. Regardless of how a resident contacts the City, all calls, questions and requests are logged and assigned for tracking and resolution. The solution allows City staff to dramatically improve customer service and communications by ensuring:

Requests are never lost and are completed in a timely manner

Standard responses are provided for common questions

Staff are able to collaborate to resolve requests

Management can monitor service levels and necessary resources

A complete history of activity allows for long-term analysis and improvement

Because all requests and questions is centrally tracked, management is able to evaluate the responsiveness of employees and the quality of service. In addition, residents complete short surveys about the services they received to provide the City with feedback on performance. The City also will monitor service volumes to ensure departments have the resources they need to maintain service levels.

Responding to resident requests for service is only half the solution of achieving a superior level of customer service. Residents also want to be kept in the loop so they know what to expect and when. Carson City Connect will keep residents informed while saving staff time. Employees will have the ability to provide status updates within the system and the resident will be automatically updated via email. Additional, residents can log into the City’s website to check the status of their requests.

There are two options to access Carson City Connect:

Go to http://www.carson.org and click on “Carson City Connect.” The webpage will provide Topics by Area, the Most Requested topics, a search box as well as links to download the iPhone and Android apps.

Download the iPhone app the App Store, or the Android app from Google Play. With the apps you can use GPS to identify the location where service is needed. See a pothole, abandoned vehicle or want to report a weed problem out of control? With Carson City Connect you can use your smartphone to do it all in one step.

Carson City Connect is live as of Monday.

Nick Marano is the city manager of Carson City. He can be reached at nmarano@carson.org or 775-887-2100.