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Home My WebLink AboutCAP 2016-05-23 Item 2C - Update - SeeClickFix "Tukwila Works" ToolTO: FROM: CC: DATE: SUBJECT City of Tukwila Allan Ekberg, Mayor Community Affairs and Parks Committee Rachel Bianchi, Communications and Government Relations Manager Mayor Ekberg May 18, 2016 Information Awareness - Follow Up on SeeClickFix — Tukwila Works ISSUE On March 28, staff presented to the committee regarding bringing online SeeClickFix, an app and web -based tool that will augment the City's efforts to respond to issues raised by the community. The Committee had some questions and concerns and asked staff to return with additional information. BACKGROUND SeeClickFix is an app and web -based tool that allows residents and other stakeholders to provide information directly and quickly to the government on specific issues. Staff have adopted Tukwila Works as the City name for this effort; from now on SeeClickFiX will be referred to as Tukwila Works. In Tukwila, we have identified the following issues to roll out the effort with, keeping the list small enough for staff to address but hitting on the key issues we know are of interest in our community. These include: • Animal Control • Camping • Code Enforcement • Garbage /Debris • Graffiti • Illegal Parking • Overgrown Brush/Trees • Potholes • Rental Property Concern • Speeding or Traffic Complaints • Stormwater /Sewer Issue • Traffic Signal/Traffic Sign Issue • Tukwila Parks Issue • Other Tukwila Works is intended to be conducted as a one -year pilot project to see whether this technology is embraced and used by the community, and whether it is worth the investment of $12,000 annually. The intention is to review the data collected over this next year and make a determination as to whether to move forward with the technology beyond this initial pilot year. Staff intends to brief the Community Affairs and Parks Committee with the results of this review. Staff wishes to address the following specific concerns raised by Committee members at the last meeting: Prioritization of technology over other methods of issue reporting — The City has never contemplated making everyone who wishes to report an issue use this technology. The usual ways to report an issue — phone, email, in person, etc. will still remain a very important way for residents to communicate with City staff; those usual ways were presented in April's Tukwila Reporter. Tukwila Works is being approached as a way to augment these efforts, and provide a centralized place for all issues reported to the City to be logged and accessed (with one exception discussed below). 11 INFORMATIONAL MEMO Page 2 City staff who are notified of an issue via phone, email or in person, would then log the issue into Tukwila Works, and work with the person reporting the issue to identify the manner in which they would want to receive the follow up information. Residents who are not interested in using the technology can continue to interact with City staff as they do now. Current methods on response prioritization will not change. When projects must be prioritized over one another, the method of reporting will not be taken into account. Rather, issues of safety, number of people impacted, etc. will be the deciding factor. Question on response times — The expectation is that every issue — regardless as to how it is received by City staff — be acknowledged by staff within three business days. This is what we strive for now following our City value of Responsiveness. This does not mean resolved, but that the person reporting the issue knows that someone has been assigned the issue. Via Tukwila Works, this would happen with an email. If someone is reporting an issue in another format, their three -day acknowledgement would happen via that format of communication. Concern about Code Enforcement — While Code Enforcement reports will come through Tukwila Works, Code Enforcement staff will not enter all of their cases into this system. TracklT is and will remain the primary system for tracking Code Enforcement cases. If a Code Enforcement report comes through Tukwila Works that is deemed worthy of creating an official Code Enforcement case, it will be entered into TracklT. Via Tukwila Works, the person who reports a code enforcement issue and other viewers will only see the following generic message: Your request has been received and has been assigned to the Tukwila Code Enforcement Division. You can check on the status of your issue via our mobile app or on the City's Website at www.TukwilaWA.gov/TukwilaWorks. We will send you an update when you request has been resolved. Code Enforcement cases often take a significant amount of time to resolve due to legal issues around property rights. There are many steps in the process that require specific documentation, timelines and communications. Because of this, as well as privacy concerns, if you would like an update on this case's status, please contact Code Enforcement via phone at (206) 431 -3671. Tukwila Works will not be updated with the various steps taken to resolve this issue, but once the case is closed you will be notified directly with specific information on the resolution. Thank you again for using Tukwila Works to help to make our community a better place by notifying City staff of this issue. Regards, Tukwila Code Enforcement Division P.S. Please consider signing up for the E- Hazelnut Newsletter, a monthly publication delivered directly to your email inbox. To do so, visit www.TukwilaWa.gov and scroll down. When the actual case is closed, Code Enforcement staff will close the case in Tukwila Works and include narrative in the notification that has to do with the disposition of the case. By doing this we preserve privacy issues for our residents. Again, Code Enforcement cases that come to the City via other communications channels — phone, email, in- person, etc. — will NOT be entered into Tukwila Works. WA2016 Info MemosTinal SCF Memo with AE edits incorporated rb.docx 12 INFORMATIONAL MEMO Page 3 Concerns about harassmentivigilantism — Tukwila Works has automated processes in place to ensure that offensive content cannot be published. Specific algorithms don't allow certain words to be included in posts, and terms of use are specific to what is appropriate and not to post. Additionally, a poster can be "flagged" for inappropriate use, including for excessive reporting, which then puts them into a moderated posting function whereby their posts cannot be seen until SeeClickFix staff reviews and deems them publishable under the terms of use. If Tukwila staff sees a questionable item, they can have the item "flagged" as well. Concern about workload — Staff have spoken with other cities using this technology, as well as SeeClickFix company representatives specifically on this issue. It is a common concern raised by cities new to this technology. However, all have assured us that while there may be an initial blip of work, the technology actually allows for greater staff efficiencies by having a centralized location for all issues. Indeed, response from City staff has been very positive, with some of our high - volume issue takers, such as the Public Works front counter, who see this as enhancing their work with members of the community. Concern regarding the TracklT Citizen's Response Module (CRM) — Committee members raised concerns that the City had already invested in a similar technology that was supposed to provide online reporting options that would integrate with other data in TracklT. The CRM was a free module provided to Tukwila when the City purchased the other functions; no money was spent. The CRM has no phone app or robust web interface for public use and thus did not meet our goal of enhancing outreach to residents. Concern that the technology may not be appropriate for smaller cities — SeeClickFix serves hundreds of communities around the United States and in other countries, and includes every size community. Below are some cities that use the technology that range in size, as well as the two other cities in Washington that use SeeClickFix. Yellowknife Canada — 19,000 Shoreline, WA — 55,000 Bainbridge Island, WA —23,000 Northfield NJ — 9,000 — 9,000 Stockbridge, GA — 25,000 Randolph, MA — 32,000 Clovis, NM — 39,000 Bexley — 13,000 Roll out plan — City Staff is internally testing the application to learn the system. Roll out the technology is targeted for June 1, beginning with announcements on the website, social media, special edition of the E- Hazelnut and flyers in various public locations, such as at community events, as well as in June's Tukwila Reporter. We would expect City leaders and staff to utilize the tool too, to be reporters as well. After providing usage information to the council, it is anticipated that the fall edition of the Hazelnut would include an article on Tukwila Works and the community's use and response. RECOMMENDATION Staff is seeking to answer the Committee's questions and receive input on the roll out of Tukwila Works. WA2016 Info MemosTinal SCF Memo with AE edits incorporated rb.docx 13