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City launches Resident Problem Reporter Application

[Duluth, MN] The City of Duluth launched a new way for residents to report problems. The online reporting application is called the Resident Problem Reporter and is located at https://duluthmn.gov/report. The Resident Problem Reporter brings a high level of openness and accountability to the community services that the City provides. 

Residents can report 31 different types of problems on the site. Types of problems range from road issues to things affecting stormwater and drainage, water and sewer, and snow and ice issues. When visiting the online form, residents will first select a problem category. They should then review problems that have already been reported.  If they find their problem has already been reported, they can “agree” with the problem instead of submitting a new problem. 

If the problem has not already been reported, they can click "Submit Problem".  Residents choose the problem that they are wanting to report and enter the problem's details, including their contact information. The form allows residents to select the precise location and include photos of the problem. Once the problem has been reported, residents will receive a confirmation email and status updates. 

This new system simplifies the reporting process for residents, making it more of a one-stop-shop for many commonly reported issues. It improves the resident’s ability to track the status of that submission, see other issues reported by other residents, and visually see and select locations on a map to make reporting issues easier.

The application allows residents to rank customer service throughout the process. The overall customer service ranking can be found on the application home site for a collective customer service score. The application will also track the total number of problems reported in real-time and how many have been resolved. 

This application is the first phase that Mayor Emily Larson outlined in her 2021 State of the City speech in creating a 3-1-1 service for residents. 3-1-1 is a national non-emergency hotline that the public can call to get information about services, make a complaint or report a problem, and make service requests. The Resident Problem Reporter is designed to work with mobile devices but will work on desktop computers also. Later this year, the City of Duluth expects to roll out a live 3-1-1 phone line. The goal of both of these resources is to make interacting with the city and city services as seamless and accessible as possible. 

"Creating this application has taken a lot of work and input from staff," Mayor Emily Larson said. "This application will bring transparency in how staff work to address problems while showing the community that we value their input and time to report problems in their neighborhoods and our community. I am proud to launch the Resident Problem Reporter and eager to hear the experience that residents have in using this new application." 

This application is not meant to report emergencies, downed power lines, or trees. These reports should continue to be made by calling 9-1-1 for immediate attention.

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