SUNDAY CONVERSATION With Danielle Frazier, Director of the Columbus Consolidated Government 311 Citizens Service Center

Q: For those who may not know you, how long have you been in your current role—and what path brought you here?

A: I’ve been the Director of the 311 Citizens Service Center for about three years. Before this role, I was the Chief of Staff for the City Manager’s Office. Prior to this, I worked briefly in the Superior and State Court Clerk’s Office with Danielle Forté. I was the Office Manager over Inspections and Codes under Mr. John Hudgison and Ryan Pruitt. And I actually started my career with the city in the Citizen Service Center under the leadership of Elizabeth Turner and Teasha Hollis, so the Citizen Service Center has truly been a part of my journey from the very beginning.

Q: Let’s start simple: What exactly is the 311 Citizens Service Center, and how does it work?

A: The 311 Center is your direct link to Columbus Consolidated Government services—anything that isn’t an emergency. If you have a question, need to request a service, want to register a complaint, or want to offer a suggestion, we’re the entry point. You can call us, text us through our mobile app, or submit a work order online.

If you see a pothole, need a bulk pickup, notice litter, have a broken garbage can, or need to report a damaged mailbox—311 is where you start. We take the information, create the work order, and route it to the correct department.

Q: A lot of folks say sometimes when they dial 311, they end up talking to someone outside Columbus. Why does that happen?

A: Great question. When 311 launched back in 2011, most people still used landlines. If you called 311 from a landline inside city limits, it connected automatically to us. But today, 90% of calls come from mobile phones—and mobile towers bounce your call to the nearest participating 311 center. That might be Atlanta, Denver, New York… you never know.

To avoid that:
Call us directly at 706-653-4000
You can still dial 311, but using the direct number guarantees you reach our local center.

Q: So if someone has a big pile of junk or old furniture, what’s the process? Do they just put it outside?

A: Yes—just place it on your right-of-way in the same area where your garbage carts go. Call us, and we’ll create a work order for Public Works. Pickup won’t always happen on your regular garbage day, because bulk pickup is scheduled separately. But if you’re patient, they will come.

Q: What if someone needs a new garbage can? Who do they call?

A: Call us. We’ll ask for your Water Works account number, verify your customer information, and enter a work order.

• Replacement of a stolen or damaged black can: Free (with online police report).
• New standard black can for existing service: Free.
• Additional brown yard-waste can: $55.

The same applies to recycling cans—call us, file the report if needed, and we’ll handle the rest.

Q: How big is your staff—because it sounds like you all handle a huge load of calls?

A: I currently supervise a team of seven. Yes, seven people handle all the incoming calls, messages, and work orders for the entire city. It’s a lot—we stay busy. When we need additional support, I work directly with City Manager Lisa Goodwin, and she does everything she can to make sure we’re properly staffed.

Q: Do you enjoy the work?

A: I absolutely love what I do. Helping citizens, solving problems, and making city services easier to access—it’s rewarding.

Q: Citizens sometimes get frustrated when trash or bulk items aren’t picked up immediately. What would you want them to understand?

A: The biggest misconception is that we pick up the trash. We don’t. We only enter and route the work orders. Public Works, Parks and Recreation, Risk Management—those teams actually perform the work.

We need people to be patient and kind. We promise we will get to you, and we’re always working as fast as we can.

Q: What’s the strangest request you’ve ever received?

A: Oh, we’ve had some memorable ones.
Once, a citizen asked us to make the power company remove all the power lines from Black neighborhoods because they believed the lines were causing cancer. We had to explain that 311 doesn’t control power companies.

And yes—people have called about cats stuck in trees.

Q: Anything else you want the community to know?

A: Just this:
We’re here to help. Whether you call, text, or go online, we’ll always do our best to get you answers and connect you to the services you need.

And again—if you want to reach the Columbus 311 Center directly,
call 706-653-4000.