Live reporting by
Nathaniel Eichenhorn
Customer contact volume in October was more than double what was expected, with 65,337 phone calls and 8,062 emails. The average speed for phone answers was over 7 minutes on the emergency line, and over 24 minutes on the non-emergency line.
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11:02 AM Nov 6, 2024 CST


These meetings are actually several meetings right in a row. It can get speedy. Here's the agenda(s), for your ease of following. dwsd.legistar.com/Calendar.aspx
dwsd.legistar.com/Calendar.aspx



There is no quorum present, and commissioner Coleman tabled the finance committee meeting and the next meeting is scheduled to commence at 2pm. I'll be here.

Sorry about that folks, I clicked on the wrong thread. They're back for the Customer Service Committee, approved the minutes and agenda and are now hearing public comment.


He reiterated the importance of keeping costs down for citizens, and suggested the time allotted for public comment be restored 3 minutes.

Matthew Phillips is giving a report on the Customer Service committee

Customer contact volume is 128% over forecast per day and only 10% of calls were answered within 2 minutes


Half the people enrolled in Lifeline on October 1st have recertified, and half have not


They've adjourned the Customer Service Committee and are convening the Human Resources Committee

Agenda and minutes from last meeting were approved unanimously.


They didn't figure it out. Now Patricia Thornhill will present the HR metrics presentation.


They conducted an engagement survey amongst the employees. 70% responded.

47 questions were asked across 8 themes. 420 DWSD employees participated out of 602 invited to participate.



Commissioner asked if the employees are aware and understanding, not just if their individual jobs, but of the goals of the department as a whole. Thornhill replied that that is, indeed, a focus of training.

Interesting word cloud. I note remote work is larger than any other. A big current issue. I’ve been seeing workers call for more, and management call for less, as a general, anecdotal trend.

They seem to have figured out the public comment problem. Meeko Williams is back on the line. He praised the Board and praised the proposal of town halls for prospective employees and customers.

They're opening up the Legal Committee now, and Kinloch and Blackmon called present.



During public comment, Meeko Williams voiced his concern about the possibility of a lawsuit from Oakland County, and emphasized the need of residents for relief, regardless of their ability to pay.

Commission voted unanimously to accept and file the DWSD FOIA report and the Litigation Report of the Office of the General Legal Counsel

You can check both those out on the agendas, link provided above

Thread continues https://twitter.com/nachumdetroit/status/1854248431306277205

Thread continues here: https://twitter.com/nachumdetroit/status/1854248803852849416

Two items came before the Committee, and both were approved unanimously

Now they are moving on to the Capital Improvement Program and Operations Committee. The agenda and minutes from last meeting were approved unanimously

No one called in for public comment, and the Committee is moving on to the Maintenance and Repair presentation, given by David Ridgeway



In terms of water main repairs, 60% were given over to contractors, and 40% are handled by the Department's own crews.


In terms of sewers, their goal is to clean 500 miles of sewers a year. Some numbers:


Now Catharina Taylor, Operation Center manager, is reviewing the Operation Center. It’s a new program to improve responses and service. Here’s a rundown of the ostensible before and after.


The presentation having finished, the meeting was adjourned at 3:16pm

Well folks, this closes my coverage of the Detroit Board of Water Commissioners meeting for November 6th. Learn more about our coverage of local meetings at documenters.org
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