What are the City of Toronto’s response standards after filing a complaint with 311?
Posted February 8, 2022 4:20 pm.
For years Toronto residents have been able to call 311 to get more information about municipal services or file complaints about things that need attention, but in recent months staff have pushed online reporting methods.
At the end of January, the City of Toronto launched a 311 mobile app for residents to make inquiries or file complaints about approximately 600 different issues and in early November many of those service requests moved onto the municipality’s website.
Officials said last year there were more than 1.34 million contacts over the phone and online and more than 414,000 requests for service were completed.
RELATED: City of Toronto launches improvements to 311 service system
But with additional ways to report issues that need addressing, what are the City’s guidelines for responding to those requests?
A spokesperson for the municipality told CityNews the highest priority calls can see responses between two and four hours while lower priority calls can take “days or weeks.”
The spokesperson said “work is underway to improve the complaints process in 2022.” But when asked for further clarification on what that involves, the representative said staff are “looking into ways to improve how complaints are reported through the new customer relationship management system.”
Here are the top 10 issues reported to 311 and the associated response guidelines
The following list was provided by City of Toronto staff and the spokesperson noted circumstances like extreme weather events can affect response times.
Repairing or replacing broken residential garbage and recycling bins: Seven days
Tree pruning: 72 hours for emergencies and eight weeks for general pruning
Post-storm tree clean-up: Three days
Property standards bylaw violations: 24 hours for emergencies and five business days
Injured wildlife: Two hours, but non-emergency situations overnight have a longer unspecified response time
Dead animal removal: Two days
Amplified sound: Five days
Hazardous waste pickup: Depends on appointment date availability
Violation of zoning regulations: Five business days
Missed garbage and recycling collection: Two business days
