The online site where residents can report service requests from potholes that need filling to graffiti, fields a growing number of requests each week. Over the course of the month of May, dozens of residents reopened tickets which had been closed without the necessary services having been completed. 

by P.D. Lesko

THE SEECLICKFIX  site is as ingenious as it is easy to use. A user can create an account or not and then use a simple online interface to report a variety of issues that need the attention of city staff who oversee public services. Since the implementation of the SmartPhone SeeClickFix app, the number of requests for service submitted to city staff has risen sharply. A recent investigation by The Ann Arbor Independent shows most service requests are acknowledged promptly, sometimes within minutes. However, an examination of the tickets submitted and then closed by city staff (with a comment indicating that the issue has “been resolved”) showed that dozens of requests for service were closed despite the services not having been completed.

On May 12, for instance, a SeeClickFix ticket was submitted drawing attention to the road surface running from 408-420 Hill Street: “Hill Street between Packard and Main going west has patches on it that are so bumpy it is virtually impossible do drive on them. Please fix these!!”

On May 14 the ticket was closed by city staff, indicating that the road had been “patched.” On May 14, the original SeeClickFix ticket was reopened and the resident left this comment: “The road does not look any different and was certainly not patched. The section of road between Packard and 5th needs major work.”

On May 15, Ann Arbor Admin closed the issue and posted a reply, “05152015 inspected, no potholes present, condition is surface flaws consistent with 20 yr old road.”

The same day, the resident reopened the issue and wrote back: “I was under the impression this website could be used to report problems to the city and that not only would they be taken seriously but they would actually be resolved. I know that there are other streets in Ann Arbor that need resurfacing and we only have so many road crews. I also know that Hill St. is currently NOT on the 2015 list of streets planned for road work. So how about we leave this issue ‘open’ until it actually gets resolved and not just tell me that the ‘surface flaws’ are consistent with a 20 year old road. Have you ever driven on this road? I’ll make sure to send city hall my bill after driving on this every day inevitably destroys my suspension.”

Three days later, city staff closed the ticket and posted a reply in which it was alleged that the road had once again been inspected and “no pothole found.”

A different resident reopened the ticket on May 23 and wrote: “I really disagree — I know the road is old but the surface is shockingly bumpy. Why not fix the 20-40 yards of terrible surface instead of whole roads elsewhere that are not nearly as bad. I do not understand this policy.”

On May 26, the stretch of road was once again allegedly inspected and a reply posted: “No potholes found, road has been referred for repaving. Thank you for bringing this issue to our attention. City staff investigated and resolved the problem. Should you have any questions or concerns about the work performed, please leave a comment.”

The Kafkaesque exchange is  just one of dozens in the month of May 2015, as residents vented their frustrations through the online SeeClickFix website.

Streetlight repair requests are particularly frustrating. In response to reports of burned out streetlights, city staff replied thusly: “City staff have determined that referenced light(s) are owned and maintained by DTE. A ticket has been submitted, on your behalf. If you would like to follow up with DTE, they can be reached at 1-800-477-4747.”

In Mar. 2015, a resident reopened and replied to one such streetlight ticket: “While DTE owns the streetlight, the City of Ann Arbor and its taxpayers PAY DTE to operate the streetlight. The property owner should not have to call DTE and pursue this, city staff needs to make sure that the streetlights for which we pay are repaired in a timely manner by DTE. Otherwise, I’d like to know if DTE is providing refunds to the city as long as a streetlight is not functioning properly.”

City Administrator Steve Powers confirmed by email that DTE does, indeed, have an arrangement with the City of Ann Arbor to take into account non-functioning streetlights when billing for its services. The question remains how persistent city staff are when seeking such compensation from DTE and how staff know at any given time how many of the city’s 5,000 DTE-owned streetlights are burned out.

If SeeClickFix tickets are any indication, city staff sometimes don’t even acknowledge the resident reports of burned out streetlights. In Feb. 2015, a resident reported “The streetlight on Traver between Placid Way and the railroad track is still broken.”

The request was never acknowledged. One month later, the same resident posted, “all three streetlights between Placid Way and the railroad track are now out.” Again, the request was not acknowledged. One month later, in April 2015, the resident wrote to remind city staff that the three streetlights were “Still not working.” In May 2015, the same resident fumed that the three streetlights were “still out,” and added, “I wonder if anyone reads these at all?”

In part, the system streamlines the process for those who use it to make reports. However, SeeClickFix is also a sign of the times: city staff, whose numbers have been cut from a high of 1,100 in 2000 to 670 in 2014, need residents’ help in identifying where repairs and services are needed.

As with the city’s award-winning resident volunteer program, Ann Arborites are being asked to do more to keep up the city even as fees for services rise. In the most recent annual fee schedules submitted to City Council by staff members, one fee was raised 500 percent, and charges for emergency tree work priced at $1,343 per hour.