Houston – For twenty years, city of Houston residents have relied on 311 to get problems fixed.
KPRC 2 Investigates wanted to know the biggest complaints, and which parts of town get the fastest 311 response times, and which wait the longest before repairs and other issues are addressed.
Below you’ll find all the data we’ve collected along with the best ways to increase the speed at which you get assistance.
Fastest Response Time
Slowest Response Time
KPRC2 Investigates calculated the average amount of time it takes for 311 to close complaints in each neighborhood. We took into account the volume of complaints and the SLA for each complaint.
What is an SLA?
SLA is a pre-determined service level agreement. It is the preset amount of time that 311 uses as a goal to close a complaint. Each complaint category is given its own SLA. The SLA for a complaint category is the same for all neighborhoods.
Examples of Houston 311 SLA
- Sewer Odors: 1 day
- Missed Recycling: 4 days
- Add a Garbage Can: 20 days
- Heavy Trash Violation: 25 days
- Clear Storm Sewer: 60 days
- Neighborhood Nuisance: 180 days
- Junk Vehicle 365 days
Most Common Complaints
We crunched the numbers and found across the city garbage and trash issues made up three of the top five complaints in 2019 and 2020. Along with water leaks, container problems and sewer/wastewater.
Complaints By Neighborhood
Robert Gallegos is the city council member for District I. The Hunterwood neighborhood is in his district. He admits he even has had problems with heavy trash pickup.
“It’s not just that area, unfortunately, it’s across the city,” said Gallegos.“Due to the fact that solid waste is basically needing more employees, at least an average about 100 more employees and more equipment.”
Most Complaints to 311 by Neighborhood
Most Complaints vs Least Complaints
So who complains the most? Which neighborhoods had the most and least complaints?
How long will it take for 311 to close your case?
Which contact method works the best?
Web and app are the quickest because they bypass the 311 call center. Once created, all service types abide by their pre-defined Service Level Agreement (SLA).
APP:
WEBSITE REQUEST: https://hfdapp.houstontx.gov/311/ServiceRequestDirectory.htm
Fax, mail, email and call in experience some delay before case creation because they require manual handling by 311 call center staff.
EMAIL: 311@houstontx.gov
