Austin 3-1-1 stops answering phones overnight on Nov. 1. Here is why, and how to reach the city

Starting Sunday, Nov. 1, Austin's 3-1-1 line will no longer answer calls around the clock. Phone agents will take calls from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. every day, and the utility customer service line will close earlier on weekdays and on Saturday afternoons. Residents who report potholes, missed trash pickups or other problems at night will need to use the app or website instead, or call back in the morning.

The change was confirmed in an Oct. 20 memo to the council from Austin Energy Chief Customer Officer Kerry Overton. The memo came through Austin Energy, whose general manager answered the council's questions about 3-1-1 in July.

The new hours

Effective Nov. 1, excluding city holidays, according to the memo:

• Austin 3-1-1: Sunday through Saturday, 7 a.m. to 9 p.m.
• Utility Contact Center: Monday through Friday, 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., and Saturday, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.

The memo calls it a year-long pilot, approved in the budget for the fiscal year that began Oct. 1, to save money and match staffing to the busiest call times. The city's 3-1-1 page says residents can still submit service requests at any time through the Austin 3-1-1 mobile app or the online portal. The phone number is 512-974-2000. Emergencies still go to 911.

What our records add

What staff told the council. The cut appeared on the city's budget list of service reductions. During a July 28 budget meeting, Council Member José Velásquez noted a $1.2 million reduction for a pilot and asked how it would affect residents who submit requests, and how the city would tell people.

Austin Energy General Manager Stuart Reilly answered that 3-1-1 runs 24 hours a day, which he said is uncommon nationally, and that it gets very few calls after 9 p.m. Many late calls are for departments that are closed or are really emergencies that must be routed to 911. He said the city did not see it as a real service reduction, that a public information campaign would follow the budget vote, and that the city could pull back if the rollout went badly. In July he described an Oct. 1 start; the memo sets Nov. 1.

Reilly also said the 3-1-1 request system itself is more than 25 years old and needs replacing, including to add multilingual service. Later that day, in an exchange with Council Member Marc Duchen, staff explained that 3-1-1's costs are charged back to departments based on the time agents spend on each department's calls.

The budget vote. The council adopted the budget, including the pilot, on Aug. 12. It passed 9-2, with Mayor Kirk Watson and Duchen voting no, Community Impact reported. The city's announcement puts the budget at $6.6 billion.

What's next

The pilot runs one year. Its results would feed into the next budget, which the council starts reviewing next summer. Questions about the hours go to Overton, according to the memo.