Your First Call Should be to 311, but I should be your second
311 - Your Direct Connection to HRM
There will be times when you have either questions or concerns about the services offered by HRM, or with the quality and timing of their delivery. HRM has a communication path to follow when you would like to follow up, and that is with the 311 service. You can either call 311, or email contactus@311.halifax.ca.
Please utilize 311 for non-emergency municipal services like the following:
- property tax information
- animal services and licenses
- bylaw complaints
- construction noise exemption
- customer service information
- Halifax Transit schedules and services
- requests for street and sidewalk maintenance
- garbage collection schedules and services
- illegally parked vehicle complaints and inquiries
- parking ticket payments
- apply for a Building & Development Permit
- municipal facility information, like recreation centres
- civic event information
- requests concerning parks, playgrounds, and sports fields
- vending information
- traffic and street lights concerns and suggestions
- minimum standards complaints
- other general municipal information and services
Why you should use it:
311 should be your first point of contact to get questions answered or seek resolution to most non-emergency situations. HRM has a team of trained experts who can give you the best, most timely response. Also, every call or email you make to 311 is adds input to HRM's overall understanding of how well municipal services are delivered. Through questions and complaints by residents like you, patterns emerge over time and the data collected by 311 shapes future policy and decisions.
Why you should email me:
Anything that is important to you is important to me, too. I always want to know what is concerning you, and the challenges are facing our community. I am not given a list of 311 inquiries from District 13, so the only way I know of your concern, question or complaint is if you let me know. If you call me first, all I can do is forward the details on to 311 for you. However, I can also follow up to be sure you're given an acceptable resolution. If there ever comes a time where you need your councillor to follow up, it's important to record your file number. If you're not given one automatically, ask for it. Using that number, I am able to request the status, understand the details and the path forward. I cannot access your file by your name or address.
As your Councillor, it's important to understand that I am always available to you, and you should always reach out if you have any questions or concerns. Having said that, 311 is there for everyone, and it's important that we all utilize it to the best of our ability. By doing so, we achieve the best outcomes, and we're using our voice for to better the community as a whole.