Got a complaint in East Hartford? New ‘Quality of Life Line’ ready for calls
East Hartford residents who see a junked car, abandoned trash bags, broken glass, an out-of-order street light or some other kind of blight have a new hotline to call.
The Quality of Life Line — 860-291-7765 — takes calls about concerns. This doesn’t include crimes and emergencies, which still should be reported to 911. It also doesn’t include traffic violations; for those, call 860-528-4401.
The new hotline gives residents who want to improve the quality of life in their neighborhoods a third point of access. People also can report concerns at the “Report an Issue” tab on the easthartfordct.gov homepage or by using the My East Hartford app.
“The purpose was to be able to provide residents who may not have access to the Internet or a computer or a smart phone or who may not be comfortable using that technology to report blight issues,” said Connor Martin, the town’s chief of staff. “It’s just a simple number. They can talk to a real person.”
He expects senior citizens to use the line the most.
“We created it for them. They are the most resistant to using apps. We get that,” he said.
Complaints will be routed to the proper town department to be dealt with as quickly as possible, Martin said.
The Quality of Life Line is monitored weekdays from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Voicemails left after business hours will be dealt with the next business day.
Martin said fighting blight is a priority in this mayoral administration.
“We want to provide residents with a proper quality of life. We’ve had promotional campaigns for the app to get people signed up,” he said. “Residents have really been very vocal about blight, bulky waste, trash, cars parked on lawns, high grass. We are responding to their needs.”
The line was launched on April 13. Martin said no one has called it since then, but town officials hope that usage will increase soon.
People who call the line are asked to be specific. “There’s a burnt-out street light on my street” isn’t specific enough. More useful would be, for example, “I live at 740 Main St. and there is a light pole right across from my property, near a bench. The light is out and the fixture is missing. The pole number is 12345.”
Another example was given. Instead of saying “I am reporting an abandoned vehicle,” the caller should say “There is an abandoned vehicle parked at 740 Main St. on the front lawn. The vehicle has been there for over a week, it has a missing tire and a broken window. It is there all times of day, including overnight.”
People are asked to leave their names, phone numbers and emails to get progress updates, but that information is kept confidential.
Susan Dunne can be reached at sdunne@courant.com.