What citizen doesn’t love to find fault with city hall? Incoming Denver City Council President Rosemary Rodriguez expects a flood of complaints about everything from potholes to garbage service once Denver’s new 311 hotline is fully implemented next year.
Rodriguez says the 311 program’s implementation will be a top priority as she heads the 13-member council over the next year. As council president, she will be second only to Mayor John Hickenlooper in the hierarchy of city politics.
Rodriguez took the reins from Elbra Wedgeworth on Monday night, and we welcome her to the hot seat. Wedgeworth had done a fine job during the transition from former Mayor Wellington Webb to the Hickenlooper administration in 2003 and presided, if that’s the word for it, over the biggest turnover in council membership in the era of term limits. Wedgeworth guided the council through two tough budget years, approval of the new justice center and controversial police reforms. “Elbra has worked well with the administration of Mayor John Hickenlooper and I will try to do that also,” Rodriguez said. “Citizens of Denver want us to get things done. It’s my job to make sure we have an open relationship.”
Rodriguez served as clerk and recorder under Webb, a mayor who helped pump new life into the metro mayors group, and she will support Hickenlooper’s ambitious efforts at metropolitan cooperation. Hickenlooper was part of a coalition of 31 metro mayors who supported the FasTracks transit expansion approved by voters last November, and Rodriguez believes ongoing cooperation will be critical as FasTracks is implemented.
The 311 service could require a bridge between the administration and employees, and Rodriguez would like the council to play that role. “The council can make a difference in employee morale and other issues,” she says. Hickenlooper announced the 311 system when he took office in 2003 and mentioned it again last week during his state of the city address.
Twenty-two U.S. cities already have the system, which is aimed at making city services more efficient. If someone calls about a pothole, the complaint will be given a priority listing and tracked until it is resolved. “We will know who is filling 10 potholes and who is filling 22,” she said. The system could benefit Denver’s most productive employees, especially if the city implements a performance-based pay system, Rodriguez says. She plans to announce her new committee appointments next Monday. We wish her well.
