Over the past three years we have made every effort to monitor the concerns and needs of the residents and to make appropriate adjustments in how we operate. One of the tools we have utilized to gauge what you expect from us is to conduct electronic surveys of customers in our planning and development office, the parks and at other locations in county government.

Based on your feedback we have made numerous changes to better serve you.

One of the overriding complaints that we all have when we call a business or a government office is never being able to speak to a “real” person. Under our current circumstances this has been difficult for us to properly address.

Many of your county departments will soon be under one roof just as they were years ago.

Courthouse construction is on schedule and we have a target move-in date of Sept. 12.

At that time we will continue with the excellent customer service for which our county is known. One of the tools we will be using to enhance customer service will be our new 311 system.

By dialing 311, residents of Dawson County will be able to receive answers to many questions. This will include everything from where to purchase a business license to reporting a road maintenance concern.

The 311 lines will be answered by a live person who will utilize special 311 software to manage the calls and relay information to the appropriate departments.

The software will also enable us to track calls and allow the specific departments to review the progress, response and outcome of each call. This will be a wonderful new addition to our county that we are excited about.

Dialing 311 will only work from landlines located in Dawson County. Residents contacting our office from cell phones or from numbers outside Dawson County should call (706) 265-CARE (2273). That number will route callers into the 311 call center and callers will be able to access the same level of service as the landline callers. We would not have implemented this type of program unless we had high caliber employees to back it up.

We are here to serve you and are available to address any concerns you may have.

Kevin Tanner is the county manager of Dawson County. He can be reached at (706) 344-3501 or by e-mail at, ktanner@dawsoncounty.org.