Ongoing 311 complaints marked ‘resolved’ a frustration for Brampton residents, councillors say

Councillors say better communication is needed between the city and Brampton residents who are frustrated by their complaints to 311 coming back as “resolved” when the issue hasn’t been remedied.

Brampton Coun. Rowena Santos raised the issue during a committee of council meeting, saying she’s heard from frustrated residents filing complaints who get a response back from 311 that “the issue has been resolved.”

But when residents look out their window, they see the parking or property standards issue still hasn’t been dealt with.

Others have received notifications that the complaint was unable to proceed, leading to more aggravation “because (residents) don’t understand why” their files were closed.

“I guarantee you that these questions, frustrations, will be coming from residents during our budget chats,” Santos warned her fellow council colleagues, adding that 311 is “one of those basic services that I think is a trigger point for frustration.”

“Mostly because (residents) don’t know what we’re doing and what we’re trying to achieve in these improvements,” she said.

The first phase of Brampton’s “call centre service modernization” went live in October, launching a smartphone system and “enhanced self-service menu.”

Coun. Dennis Keenan echoed Santos, saying the automated responses to residents should include a brief description of the complaint’s outcome. In some cases, Keenan says enforcement officers will investigate a parking complaint to find the vehicle has been moved, but the offender may return and park again in the same spot.

He said better explanations of enforcement actions “takes away a lot more of these issues.”

“Just to say it’s closed, I don’t think it’s good enough for the residents. I think if they had an explanation that they could understand, I think that would be the best case,” Keenan said.

Santos also said she wants to see the automated system updated to include an option for notifying area councillors about 311 complaints in their area, while Coun. Michael Palleschi wants councillors to be able to make 311 complaints on behalf of their residents.

Staff said 44 per cent calls to 311 during Brampton’s most recent snow event were handled through automated messaging, reducing wait time for live agent support and leaving agents free for more complex and urgent calls.

Brampton’s 311 complaint line has seen long backlogs in previous years, with over 100,000 calls in 2023 ranging from property standards and safety issues, lawn maintenance, parking infractions, licensing and more.

The next phase of the 311 system upgrades will include real-time status updates for residents, and integrated service management between city departments so residents “can log in and see their ticket, see who has it, and what’s being done,” staff said.

The second phase is expected to come online in the third quarter of 2026.

City staff have been directed to report back to council with an update on the 311 upgrades and integration by the Feb. 18 committee of council meeting.