Road service improvements will save money and time

Streamlining the way it handles requests for road and drainage maintenance should speed up Far North District Council service delivery times and reduce costs.

Council staff currently handle the 2,500 road and drainage-related service requests the council receives each year before referring these to contractors.

The system results in double handling of a customer’s request for service (RFS) by staff, consultants and road contractors, slowing response times and adding to costs.

But a council roading contractor will soon become the first point of contact for people logging road or drainage related requests for service with the council.

People who phone the council’s call centre from Monday (August 22) will be able to select a new roading option from a touch-tone customer service menu.

Their call will be routed to roading contractors who will log the RFS and schedule any necessary road or drainage works.

Roads manager Richard Green says making contractors the first point of contact for requests for service will allow them to schedule and carry out works faster and provide instant answers to many roading enquiries.

The new system will also free up council staff to focus on more proactive roading work, such as strategic planning.

He estimates that contractors will be able to respond to and close off about 80 percent of requests for service, forwarding the rest to the council for action or referral to other agencies.

Phone 0800-920-029 and press five to log a road or drainage-related request for service after August 22.
People calling the council from a cell phone or from outside Northland should phone 09 401-5200 and press five.