By Claude & Parth on 2026-03-24, City: Toronto, View Transcript
The Service Excellence Committee met to discuss customer service improvements and data tracking systems. The meeting focused on launching new interactive dashboards to track service requests, addressing a critical gap in wildlife response services, and examining how the city uses 311 data to improve service delivery. Council members raised concerns about service standard accountability, particularly regarding pothole repairs and noise complaints, where response times are tracked but actual problem resolution is not.
Wildlife Services Gap Identified as Critical Issue
The committee heard deputations revealing that injured and dead animal calls are among the top five reasons residents contact the city, yet Toronto Animal Services only operates from 6:00 AM to 1:00 AM, leaving a seven-hour overnight gap. Speaker Nicole Curado stated that "police are not going to be handling those calls humanely and there's not going to be a good outcome if you have police handling them." The deputant noted that Toronto Animal Services is not licensed to rehabilitate wildlife, meaning most animals taken in are euthanized even if treatable. The deputant proposed establishing a formal contract with Toronto Wildlife Center for 24/7 rapid response within 20 minutes of calls.
New Interactive Dashboards Launched to Improve Transparency
The city launched two new dashboards: a public-facing version and a councillor-specific tool providing access to seven years of 311 service request data, refreshed daily for councillors and monthly for the public. The dashboards allow filtering by ward, date, service category, and division, and include plain language features and glossaries. The councillor dashboard is designed to reduce the over 1,000 annual requests for custom reports through intuitive self-serve reporting. The system revealed that damaged residential bin lids are the most common service request citywide, and that pothole calls have reached their highest level in seven years.
Service Standard Accountability Concerns Raised
Councillor Ainslie highlighted significant problems with pothole repairs not meeting the 14-day service standard, citing specific examples including a pothole filed March 11th, marked completed March 12th, but still not fixed as of March 23rd. The councillor stated: "This morning, for example, to get from my house to the GO train station to drive through my ward, I drove past three different potholes that I know I filed service request orders with." Staff acknowledged "we have a lot of work to do on the closing the loop to better create transparency with the public on what to expect on what are the next steps."
Noise Complaint Resolution Not Being Tracked
Ingred Budet, Founder and Executive Director of No More Noise Toronto, raised concerns that the city tracks whether noise complaints are "responded to" but not whether they are actually resolved. She stated: "Resolution is still not being tracked. And that's what people want when they have noise issues. They want to have it resolved." She cited a case where a resident has been reporting stationary noise outside their unit for almost 200 days, making their bedroom unusable. The dashboard revealed York Center ward shows approximately 2,000 noise complaints in 2025 compared to "tens, maybe a hundred" in other wards, which staff suspect comes from automated bot activity at one address.
Third-Party AI Bots Creating Service Request Problems
Council members raised concerns about third-party AI bots and apps being used to submit 311 service requests, which are causing inefficiencies. Staff explained that "the rework for the city is not automated...a lot of information is missing and it takes a lot of back and forth to get the right information." These bot-generated requests often don't include the resident's name or contact information, meaning residents cannot receive updates on their service requests. The city is investigating technologies and testing automated intake and response systems, with IT and cyber teams working on mechanisms to validate emails and filter problematic submissions.
Passed: - Councillor Ainslie's two-part motion requesting the General Manager of Parks and Recreation and General Manager of Transportation Services to report back by May 14th on how they use 311 data, other data sources used to identify trends, and how data drives service improvements; and requesting Toronto Water and Solid Waste Management to report back by July 6th on the same questions - Motion requesting staff examine Toronto Hydro's street light reporting system as a potential model for city park lighting reporting - Councillor Fletcher's motion requesting geographic distribution data showing service request clusters overlaid on maps - Councillor Ainslie's motion requesting the City Manager to report by first quarter of 2027 on a citywide requirement or program addressing missed service performance standards, requiring divisions to develop corrective action plans, identify root causes, establish clear timelines for improvement, name an accountability lead, and provide public summary updates - Amendment emphasizing that service level reporting should include resolutions to constituent issues, not just service metrics - Item SE 11.1 (Customer Experience Division Annual Report 2025) as amended - carried - Item SE 11.2 (Leveraging data to drive service excellence in parks, recreation and transportation services) - carried - Item SE 11.3 (Service standards dashboard update on static and interactive reporting tools) - carried