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311 Frequently Asked Questions

How will police, fire or medical emergency calls be handled?

  • In the case of police, fire or medical emergencies, the caller will be advised to hang up and call 911.  We are not able to transfer calls to 911, because transfers prevent the 911 system from being able to track the original caller's location.  If the individual is calling after hours, an automated message will advise them to call 911 in the case of a police, fire or medical emergency.

Will complaints require names?

  • Name, address and phone number will be required for some call types to allow for departmental follow-up. 311 will not require contact information unless the department responsible for the service request has indicated a need for it. Personal information is collected by 311 Call Operators under section 10(1) of the Municipal Act and will be used for the purpose of processing your call at the centre.  All personal information is protected under the Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act.  Questions about this collection may be directed to the Supervisor, 311 Call Centre, (519) 567-1825.  Learn more at the Information & Privacy Commissioner of Ontario website.

Is the call a free cell phone call?

  • Calls to 311 are normal billable calls.

Can someone only call from inside the city boundaries?

  • Callers can access the call centre by dialling 311 if they are within the city's boundaries.  However, callers outside the city can access the same call centre by dialling 255-CITY (2489) or 1-877-RING311 (746-4311).  See question below as well.

I'm in Windsor, so why do I just get a beeping signal when I dial 311?

  • If your business has its own phone switch, or is part of a building that has its own switch, your telephone service provider must program the switch to recognize 311 as a valid number.  If this is not feasible, you can also reach the 311 call centre by dialling (519) 255-CITY (2489).

Is 311 accessible to the hard of hearing?

  • Yes, callers can access 311 by TTY at 1-866-488-9311.  They can also connect directly to the call centre online via the 311 home page.

Is 311 accessible to callers with limited knowledge of English?

  • The City subscribes to a language interpretation service through Language Line Services.  This allows operators to access interpretation in 150 languages.

Will 311 follow up on a citizen's request?

  • If a citizen calls 311 the operators can check the status of their request.  However, the task of ensuring that a job is completed will still reside with the appropriate department.

How many calls do you receive?

  • 311 answered 100,000 calls during its first year of operation.  Based on statistics from other cities, we anticipate a slight increase in subsequent years.

Are 311 calls monitored?