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Westerville outlines phased plan for centralized customer service: phone, email, live chat, then in-person one-stop shop
Summary
City staff presented a phased plan to centralize customer service with a phone line, single email, human-run live chat and a knowledge management system this year; an in-person one-stop service center is planned after City Hall renovations in 2026.
City staff presented a multi-phase plan on Feb. 4 to centralize Westerville’s customer service operations, starting with a digital and phone-first rollout this year and moving to an in-person “one-stop shop” when renovations to City Hall and the former police building are complete.
Krista Dickey, chief of staff, and Greg Dayton, the city’s new customer service manager, described Phase 1 as a consolidated phone line, a single public email address, and a human-staffed live chat on Westerville.org. “No matter how someone contacts us, we are going to have actual human beings answering those communications,” Dayton said, noting that the city will not rely solely on automated bots for chat.
To support staff, the city plans to purchase a knowledge-management system that will serve as a single repository for citywide answers and procedures. Staff aim to go live with Phase 1 “by the end of this year,” Dayton told council. Phase 2 is an in-person centralized customer service desk to be implemented after the planned renovation and consolidation of municipal facilities, currently expected in 2026.
Council members asked staff to report required staffing (FTE) needs once the phased plan reaches implementation capacity. Staff said the effort will use existing personnel across departments and cross-training to staff the centralized service, and that they will return with specific FTE requests if needed.
City officials said the program responds to community survey results: a 2023 survey showed roughly 84% support for a one-stop shop at City Hall. The initiative also seeks to reduce duplicate trips and multiple contacts for routine transactions such as utility payments, pool passes and permit requests by allowing residents to complete multiple business functions at a single point of contact.
