photo by: Photo by Eric Ayres

The city of Wheeling's new Report-A-Concern function brings its non-emergency 311 reporting system into an app format on smartphones called GovAlert. The system will bring new convenience and efficiency to the process of reporting everything from potholes to building code violations.

WHEELING – Reporting non-emergency issues in the city of Wheeling – from potholes to missed garbage pickups – is now easier and more efficient than ever before thanks to the city’s new partnership with GovPilot.

City leaders announced Tuesday that the Wheeling 311 non-emergency reporting system has now been integrated into the smartphone app GovAlert. The new system modernizes the city’s approach to handling these public requests for services from the code enforcement, public works, parks and recreation, and other city departments.

Councilman Ben Seidler gave a demonstration of the Report-A-Concern reporting app before a packed crowd during Tuesday’s meeting of Wheeling City Council.

“Our new 311 platform from GovPilot allows our code enforcement officers to perform and fully document an inspection, right from their iPad while on-site,” Seidler said. “The system will automatically generate the ‘notice of violation’ letters, and within a matter of minutes, they are printed and ready to be dropped in the mail.”

Seidler, who pushed for 311 system improvements during his first year on city council, noted that this latest upgrade represents great strides toward modernization of the city’s non-emergency reporting system. Prior to this recent launch, constituents had to either call, email or walk into a department office to report an issue – or use the old 311 system to report a request or complaint. The reset of the process was all a “manual effort” that was not effective or sustainable, Seidler noted.

photo by: Photo by Eric Ayres

Councilman Ben Seidler presented a demonstration during Tuesday's council meeting of the city's new GovAlert Report-A-Concern system that is now conveniently accessible via a smartphone app.

“This new platform is a game-changer for our city and brings an immediate wave of productivity and efficiency by nearly eliminating the unsustainable manual effort required to manage these complaints,” he said. “This new technology will allow our constituents to see improved response times to their complaints, which will improve the quality of life for residents across our neighborhoods.”

The app-based program gives the user the option to allow access to location services on their smartphone, which automatically tags the specific location for the area of concern. Tom Connelly, director of the city’s Building and Planning Department, noted that once a report is filed by a user, that person’s contact information can be saved, which makes it even more efficient to file the next report.

A drop-down menu under the GovAlert app’s Report-A-Concern button gives a variety of options, including an abandoned motor vehicle on public property, animal complaint, blight on property, clogged catch basin, curb painting, damaged public property, dilapidated or unsafe building/code violations, flooding and sewer issues, garbage, graffiti, illegal construction, illegal dumping, improper parking, leaf pickup request, missed street cleaning route, parks and playgrounds, potholes and street defects, rodent or insect infestation, sidewalk issues, sign complaint, smoking near building entrance, streetlight repair, traffic signal malfunction, tree maintenance, vacant building complaint, water quality issues and zoning violation.

Pictures can be directly uploaded, and users can check the status of their reported “ticket” or request for service, as well as the submission and status of other requests received by the system.

Connelly said this updated system, along with new internal processes, will make operations more efficient and services more convenient for constituents.

photo by: Photo by Eric Ayres

Wheeling City Manager Robert Herron, Mayor Glenn Elliott and Vice Mayor Chad Thalman, from left, listen to a presentation Tuesday on the city's new GovAlert Report-A-Concern system.

In other action Tuesday, city council heard a first reading on an ordinance to hire Ohio-West Virginia Excavating in the amount of $165,495 for construction of a new dog park in Warwood.

Following the conclusion of regular business, one resident who signed up to address council under “Those Wishing to Be Heard” spoke in opposition to the creation of another dog park. Wheeling resident John Hargleroad said there is no need for it with other facilities that are already available in the area, such as Garden Park or Heritage Trail. He said that amount of tax dollars could instead be used to fund significant improvements to current recreational facilities.

“It’s an unwise use of tax dollars, it’s not in the best interest of our canine friends and will pose an ongoing expense and liability for the city of Wheeling and its residence,” he said, maintaining that og parks by their very design concentrate dog waste and parasites in a confined space and introduce risks to small dogs and dog owners who use the sites. “Please don’t squander current and future tax dollars on a dog park in Warwood.”