Make The Right Call - April is National 9-1-1 Education Month.

For those of you not aware, April is National 9-1-1 Education month.  Please take a moment to review the below information as it relates to calling 9-1-1 or an alternate, non-emergency, number that may be more appropriate.

Stay Safe - Bill

The information in this brochure will help Montgomery County residents Make the Right Call by using 9-1-1 only for emergencies, 301-279-8000 only to report non-emergencies, and 3-1-1 for general Montgomery County government information. Having a better understanding of when to call each of these three important phone numbers will help ensure that your specific need is most effectively met.

This is a general information brochure. The examples included are guidelines. It does not list every incident for which you might need to contact 9-1-1, 301-279-8000, and 3-1-1.

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When to call 9-1-1:

ONLY TO REPORT EMERGENCIES to Police, Fire/ Rescue, and to request an ambulance -- Available 24/7

• Any life-threatening situation - fights, weapons, personal-injury vehicle collisions
• A sexual assault that is in progress or has just occurred
• An immediate fear for your personal safety or the safety of others
• A serious crime in progress - robbery, burglary, assault
• Any type of fire
• Any serious medical problem that requires an ambulance or other immediate medical response

What should you (the caller) do when you call 9-1-1:

• Remain calm and speak clearly
• Be prepared to answer where, what, when, who, and how
• Let the call taker ask the questions
• Stay on the phone if it is safe to do so, or until the call taker advises you to hang up
• If the call requires transfer to another agency, stay on the line. You may hear a series of clicks as the transfer occurs.
• Understand that if the 9-1-1 center is extremely busy and your call is not answered within approximately 15 seconds, you will hear a recording indicating that operators are busy. The tones that follow the recording support devices for the hearing impaired. Stay on the line, do not hang up and call back.

What you’ll be asked when you call 9-1-1:

• The location of the emergency – the exact address, intersection, place name (for example shopping center, school, hotel, etc.)
• The nature of the emergency (what is going on right now, description of people and/or vehicles involved, any weapons involved, how long ago did the incident occur)
• If it is a medical emergency you will be asked questions about the patient’s physical condition
• Your (the caller’s) name and telephone number – a request to remain anonymous will be honored
• Whether you want an officer to respond to see you
• To be prepared to follow any instructions the call taker gives you. Call takers can provide step-bystep information about what to do until help arrives.

If you inadvertently dial 9-1-1 – DO NOT HANG UP:

• Stay on the phone and advise the call taker that you mistakenly dialed 9-1-1 and that you do not have an emergency.
• If a 9-1-1 call is abrupty disconnected, the call taker will attempt to call the number back.
• If a caller does not confirm whether or not there is an emergency, police may be dispatched to the location from which the call was made.
• To prevent inadvertent calls to 9-1-1, keep phones out of reach of toddlers and small children.
• Use your phone wisely. Responding to unnecessary calls needlessly burdens the emergency call taker and the system, leaving the call taker unavailable for true emergencies.

When to call the Police Non-Emergency Number 301-279-8000:

TO REPORT LESS SERIOUS CRIMES, not to ask informational questions -- Available 24/7

• A noise complaint
• A parking violation
• A property damage traffic collision where there is no personal injury
• Loose or barking dogs
• To report that you were a victim of a crime that is not in progress
• To report a suspicious person, vehicle, or situation

When to call 3-1-1:

TO RECEIVE NON-EMERGENCY INFORMATION ABOUT MONTGOMERY COUNTY GOVERNMENT PROGRAMS AND SERVICES --M-F 7 a.m. - 7 p.m., closed weekends and holidays – A website, www.MC311.com is available 24/7.

The County will announce when the MC311 Center has been activated outside of regular hours to take informational questions during emergencies such as hurricanes, winter snow storms, etc.

• For Ride On bus information
• To discuss your Montgomery County property tax bill
• For recycling and trash pick up information
• For road and pothole repairs
• For building, construction, and zoning information
• To schedule construction permitting inspections
• For Health and Human Services Information
• To reach the MC311 Center from outside the County call 240-777-0311.

Special Caller situations: Deaf/hearing/speech-impaired callers

• 9-1-1 and 301-279-8000 are equipped with the TTY/TDD interface
• For TTY at the MC311 Center, call 301-251-4850
• MD Relay service is available by dialing 7-1-1
• For more information on MD Relay, go to www.mdrelay.org

English as a second Language:

• Montgomery County subscribes to a Language Interpretation Service that is available for 9-1-1, 301-279-8000, and 3-1-1.
• When language interpretation is needed, callers will be connected to the language interpretation service. When conferencing the interpreter in to the call, the caller may hear a series of beeps and tones. Do not hang up. Stay on the line until all three parties are on the phone together.
• The Interpreter will ask the caller questions, then translate to the call taker. The call taker will then ask the interpreter questions to ask the caller.

IMPORTANT: Currently, 9-1-1, 301-279-8000, 3-1-1, and 240-777-0311 are not equipped to accept text messages.

Download Brochures ( English | Spanish ) in pdf format.
Montgomery County residents Make the Right Call by using

• 9-1-1 only for emergencies,
• 301-279-8000 only to report non-emergencies, and
• 3-1-1 for general Montgomery County government information.

Having a better understanding of when to call each of these three important phone numbers will help ensure that your specific need is most effectively met.

From Montgomerycountymd.gov web site

Montgomery County Launches New MC311 Online and Telephone System

Montgomery County Executive Isiah Leggett today announced the official launch of MC311, the County’s new online and telephone information system. The public is now able to access Montgomery County government information and non-emergency services online or by calling a single number: “3-1-1.”

“One of my objectives is to create ‘greater responsiveness and accountability’ in meeting the needs of a very diverse county,” said Leggett. “As part of this overall objective, I believe a County government that ‘listens’ must have a single, one-stop phone number for service requests, information, and complaints and a web portal where County residents can enter their own requests, get their own information, and track the progress of the work requested. With our new MC311 system, that’s exactly what we’ll get.”

Features of the new MC311 Customer Service Center (CSC) include:

• Customers can call one easy-to-remember number in order to access Montgomery County information and services – “3-1-1”;

• Customers can also access information and create or track service requests on the new website at www.montgomerycountymd.gov/311;

• 311 also can be reached from most wireless phones – or residents can reach the Call Center by dialing 240-777-0311, which is also the number to reach MC311 for calls originating outside Montgomery County;

• Hours of Call Center operation are Monday through Friday, 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. The self-service website is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week;

• About 30 County government “information and referral” phone numbers are now answered directly by MC311. All other County phones can continue to be dialed direct;

• Trained representatives who speak Spanish, Korean, Chinese, Vietnamese and French are available, as is a language interpretation service for other languages;

• The TTY line is available by calling 240-773-3556;

• Customer service representatives and the online system use a state-of-the-art database of information and services about County government that can be continually updated so the most current facts are available via the web portal;

• MC311 will provide County leaders and managers a wealth of systematic, real-time information on department performance on service requests that will be valuable in holding departments accountable for their performance and assist policymakers in decisions about the most effective allocation of County resources;

• In the event of a community event/emergency, like a water main break, H1N1 flu epidemic, or weather-related incident, the 311 system can quickly incorporate real time information;

• By consolidating different County department call centers and information and tracking systems, MC311 has already projected more than $10 million in savings between the current and coming fiscal years;

• MC311 is also designed to support the County’s “911” emergency system by diverting some non-emergency calls that are currently answered by 911 operators – freeing up 911 time to focus on emergencies.

“With MC311, we’re streamlining service,” said County Council President Nancy Floreen. “That means not only convenient, one-stop shopping but also cost-effectiveness, which is important to everyone in this economic climate.”

"The Management and Fiscal Policy (MFP) Committee has been supportive of the Technology Modernization effort that funded MC311, believing that upgrading the technology infrastructure for the County will help residents and businesses alike,” said Councilmember Duchy Trachtenberg, who chairs the MFP Committee. “I am happy that in MC311, we have accomplished this, but also are giving Councilmembers a modern tool with which to better understand and track the concerns of each taxpayer, as well as the responsiveness of our hard-working departments and agencies."

In FY10, Montgomery County began to implement the centralized Customer Service Center (CSC) and Constituent Relationship Management System to enhance access to community services. The “soft launch” for MC311 began on January 11, 2010 and provided the opportunity to adequately stage and manage bringing departments and offices onto the new system. Thirty-eight departments and offices make up the MC311 initiative and since the soft launch began, the CSC has averaged over 1,630 calls per day. Five call centers previously housed in various departments have shifted to the MC311 CSC and the information and referral calls currently received by each of the Executive Branch departments and offices have also been centralized at 311. Staff from the following departments were transferred to the 311 call center: Environmental Protection, Finance, Fire and Rescue Services, General Services, Health and Human Services, Housing and Community Affairs, Permitting Services, Offices of the County Executive, Police, Recreation, Regional Services Centers, and Transportation.

Effective July 1, the new MC311 program will fall under the Office of Public Information.

“Local governments provide countless services for their residents, but, sometimes, figuring out just who to call can be a challenge,” said Public Information Director Patrick Lacefield. “Now, residents need only remember two numbers – 911 for emergencies and 311 for non-emergencies. And our on-line website offers all of us County residents a self-service option that’s available at our fingertips 24/7.”

311 Call Centers have already been implemented in many counties and cities across the country, including New York, Baltimore City, San Francisco, Minneapolis, Albuquerque, Charlotte, and Washington, D.C.

For more information about MC311, call the Office of Public Information at 240-777-6507. To view the brochure and the Frequently Asked Questions, click here. Click here to see the 311 Public Service Announcement.

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