Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Customer Service Public Safety topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Residents and commissioners press HACM public-safety and customer-service staff on disrespect and service delays
Summary
Commissioners and resident leaders reported instances of poor customer service, dispatch rudeness and delayed maintenance; HACM public-safety chief and leadership pledged to investigate, improve training and consider recorded lines and supervisory reviews.
Commissioners and resident speakers at the April 9 HACM meeting raised repeated concerns about customer service, dispatch conduct and maintenance response times, and asked the agency to enforce expectations for respectful treatment of residents.
Chief Marlon Davis, HACM chief of public safety, told the board the department has adjusted priority coding and is focusing on proactive, officer-initiated patrols. He acknowledged operational data flaws that created duplicate counts and said the department is working with its vendor to simplify priority levels to high and low to avoid duplication.
Commissioner Jackie Burrell recounted a recent in-person interaction in which she said a dispatch operator responded to a maintenance inquiry with an attitude and poor courtesy. Burrell and other commissioners said residents also reported long waits at the Lisbon office, confusing or "threatening" letters, and instances in which building managers did not enforce resident organization decisions about hall use. Commissioners urged stronger enforcement of codes of conduct and suggested recording call lines to create teachable moments and to document inappropriate behavior. Chief Davis and other leaders said they would investigate specific incidents and said supervisors are available to review calls or in-person incidents.
Commissioners stressed that staff treatment of residents is a basic expectation and urged mandatory customer-service and de-escalation training for employees who interact with residents. Some commissioners recommended that HACM track complaints and disciplinary follow-up; others proposed routine supervisory reviews of dispatch and property-management interactions. Chief Davis agreed the department would address reported incidents and work with human resources on accountability.
No board action was taken; commissioners asked staff for follow-up reports and asked that supervisors be available to respond to specific complaints brought to them after the meeting.
