3-1-1...Ever Heard of It?

Not only as a homeowner, but also as a resident of any city, we have questions.

LOTS of questions.

Lots of questions... for lots of people... for all sorts of different reasons.

And truthfully, the "million dollar question" always is, “WHO can answer my questions?"

Many of us have no idea where to turn. We call a million and one people to continuously find yourself at a dead end.

Well, I am hear to tell you there IS an easier way!

Stop driving yourself crazy and check out the 3-1-1.

Two cities in the Hampton Roads Peninsula have taken an extra step to help it's citizens with those daunting questions you don't know where to turn to find the answer for. The City of Hampton and the City of Newport News have implemented a 3-1-1 Call Center to help and/or re-direct the caller to the correct department or person.

Hampton was the first city on the Peninsula to implement this great service, and Newport News was soon to follow, both with much success. The City of Hampton offers services via online or by phone, whereas the City of Newport News takes it a step further by offering services online, by phone, email or with their mobile app to download on iOS or Android mobile devices.

What is a 3-1-1 call center you ask? Great question! These 3-1-1 call centers offer services around the clock access to city services and information. While you're within the city limits and on a landline, you can dial 3-1-1 to reach a live representative who is ready to assist you. If you are not within the city limits, or do not have a landline to call from, there is a local phone number for the 3-1-1 department in which you are still able to call and find out the information you need. Some services can be answered and/or registered for online too! Services for both cities offer are tall grass/weeds complaint, bulk trash pick up, street sweepings, request permits and animal control to name a few.

After finding myself running into a bunch of dead ends, I recently had to call into Hampton's 311 call center myself to gather information on the process of re-inspection to obtain a certificate of occupancy for a commercial real estate building a client of mine is trying to lease. Having not used a 3-1-1 service before (only hearing about it), I decided to call and see if they could help me. Although my reasoning for the call was a bit more complex than most citizens, the representatives were friendly and super helpful! They were able to get me to the correct department and person, understood our sense of urgency and made it a priority of theirs to make the process as smooth and easy as possible and keeping me up to date on the progress.

**Shout out to Angela and Greg for the awesome customer service!!!**

A simple service to the community such as a 3-1-1 call center is great benefit to have as a resident or business owner. Whether you'd like to put a complaint in for your neighbor's grass being too high, a new pot hole that needs attention, if you need to find out when the next recycling pick up is for your neighborhood, or if you're like me and need to order an inspection for a certificate of occupancy on a commercial building, give them a call...you won't be disappointed!

If you want to do a little more research on your own, or have a question that needs to be answered, reach out to your local 3-1-1 department today!

City of Hampton 3-1-1 Citizen Contact Center

Phone: 3-1-1 (from landline inside city)
            757-727-8311 (from cell or outside the city)
Hours: 7 days a week
            7 a.m. - 11 p.m.

City of Newport News 3-1-1 Contact Center

Phone: 757-933-2311

Hours:  Monday - Friday
             7 AM - 6 PM

Email: 311@nnva.gov 

App Download for iOS

App Download for Android

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