In Stamford, Conn., a new telecommunications system is providing residents with instant information about city services 24 hours a day. DIAL Stamford, a system of recorded messages accessible from any touch-tone phone, is designed to complement the city's Web site by offering 250 audio messages about everything from abandoned vehicles to zoning enforcement.

Unveiled in June 2001, DIAL Stamford does not replace person-to-person contact but offers an alternative way for residents to get answers to frequently asked questions and to obtain frequently requested documents. “It frees my staff from some of the routine information requests so they can handle more complex questions,” says Moira McNulty, the city's Customer Relations Bureau chief.

Residents call one number to hear basic information about services and programs and to request faxes of documents. (The same messages are accessible to hearing-impaired residents using TDD equipment.) If they need more information, they are given a phone number to call during office hours.

DIAL Stamford handled 2,666 calls during its first four weeks. The most popular messages addressed questions about tax assessment and collection, beach parking, bulky waste disposal, holiday garbage pickup and fireworks cancellations. Twenty percent of the calls were made after business hours. The system currently averages about 1,150 calls per month.

Earlier this year, the city began adding an interactive building inspection and permitting application to DIAL Stamford. The application, which is in the final testing stage, will allow contractors and residents to request a building inspection, find out when the inspection is scheduled, and obtain the results of the inspection using the telephone, Internet, fax and TDD/TYY. The system was supplied by Blacksburg, Va.-based Tele-Works.