Excerpts from
The Model City
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The piece de resistance, however, is 311. Dial that number from almost any phone in the city, and you reach Somerville's help line. Street unplowed? Cat up a tree? Want to know your alderman's name? Simple questions are answered. Complex ones get a case number, and residents can track their concerns on the Web as easily as a FedEx package.
It's a remarkable idea: A local government that actually treats its citizens like customers and holds itself accountable to them. Few places in Massachusetts have 311, and no other has put in place Somerville's mix of budgeting and management tools.