311 in 3 minutes: how one mayoral candidate wants to change Winnipeg's helpline

A Winnipeg mayoral candidate wants to bring the time callers to 311 spend waiting down tothree minutes tops.

Scott Gillingham, the current councillor for St. James,says he would increase thebudget for the city's helpline service by 25 per cent every year until wait times come down to three minutes.

That would cost about $1.1 million each year, he said, with the money goingto hiring more staff or new training programs.

He wouldn't say where the extra money would come from, but he's "not looking at a property tax freeze" should he be voted into office.

The longest wait time on Monday was 46minutes, the city's 311 website says.

Gillingham also wants to create a chatbot option for simple questions like bus arrival times the second-most frequent type of request to 311 in July.

"A question around timing of the next bus, questions related to the timing of hours of poolsand libraries those kind of basic questions could be answered probably through a chatbot," Gillingham said.

In an April report, city staff said they aren't looking at a chatbot option since the city's website technology needs to be updated first.

Gillinghamsaid until improvements are made, some calls could be redirected to city departments for answersif wait times are too long.

He'd ask the city's parks and protection committee to figure out which departments would be appropriate and which could handle it, based on thetypes of calls that have come into the 311 service.

But the union that representsmore than 5,000 City of Winnipeg employees says the real solution is to bump up wages for current 311 staff. They makeabout $14 an hour right now, according toCUPE Local 500.

"These workers are underpaid, andthat's why we have this shortage of staff right now," saidunionpresident Gord Delbridge.

"These political answers that they've got to do some kind of research and study and analyze the situation it's a very simple solution. Pay them what they deserve."

Glenn Hudsonfor Glen Murray

Meanwhile, a prominent First Nations leader is endorsing another mayoral candidate.

Peguis First Nation Chief Glenn Hudsonis publicly supporting Glen Murray's run to become the city's next mayor.

Peguishasthe largest urban reserve in Winnipeg, andthe community itself is one of the closest First Nations to Winnipeg.

Hudson is also involved in the construction ofNaawi-Oodena the urban reserve at the former Kapyong Barracks. He's also a member of the Southern Chiefs' Organization, the group that nowcontrols the Hudson's Bay building in downtown Winnipeg.

In a press release Tuesday, Hudson said he feels confident Murray is "a leader who can work with us to do the hard work necessary for all of us to prosper in a truly reconciled future."

311 in 3 minutes: how one mayoral candidate wants to change Winnipeg's helpline

2 years ago

Duration 2:08

A Winnipeg mayoral candidate wants to bring the time callers to 311 spend waiting down to three minutes tops. Scott Gillingham, the current councillor for St. James, says he would increase the budget for the city's helpline service by 25 per cent every year until wait times come down to three minutes.

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