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Government and Customer Service

As the former Governor of Alaska likes to say, YOU BETCHA !

You may not be able to fight City Hall, but you sure can call or contact them. Customer service here comes under the heading of serving the public.

This is what cities from Oakland to San Leandro to Fremont and all points in between should provide:

1) One main number for citizens to call for information or service request and a walk-up information counter to provide personal service to our citizens. This is a natural.
2) Develop knowledge-based definitions for call takers to answer most frequently asked questions quickly and correctly. Like where is the DMV.
3) Provide a management system that identifies and warns of potential problems.
4) Resolve all problems experienced with any fragmented call system.
5) Bring innovations to the relationship with citizens.
6) Have web access for citizens to initiate a complaint or check on status of a previous request.
7) Allow County staff to focus on handling the complaints and other job duties.
8) Relieve the Emergency 9-1-1 Center from the strain of handling non-emergency calls and prevent the need for more higher paid 9-1-1 dispatchers.
9) Provide good communication, which always avoids problems. In other words go the extra mile and provide stellar customer service by exceeding citizen’s expectations.

In addition the mission of the Voter Registration and Elections Office is to promote and facilitate voter registration, properly maintain all official voter registration records, conduct fair and impartial elections in accordance with state and federal election laws, protect the integrity of the election process for all, and provide quality customer service for every citizen.

In other words:

1) Register or explain how to register citizens to vote
2) Update and maintain all voter records
3) Conduct federal, state, district and local elections
4) Administer absentee precinct for all elections
5) Maintain political district maps
6) Provide voter education and outreach program
7) Provide a method to look into lost complaints and lack of follow-up to citizens once they have filed a complaint
8) Be prepared to address citizen frustration with government.
9) Concerns for Animal Issues, Broken Traffic Lights, Flooding, Potholes, Street Lights, Permit Requirements,Telephone Numbers, Environmental Issues,Emergency Information and Event Schedules should be responded to.

As a citizen these are what you expect from elected and appointed people.

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