The City of Reno’s on-line Reno Direct system operates as a centralized location to submit service requests for a wide range of issues throughout the City.
After creating an account in the Reno Direct system, the system maintains a full history of your requests that you may access at any time.
At least, that’s how it USED to be. Effective May 1, 2023, the City transitioned “to a new platform for reporting issues to the City of Reno.”
The City’s Reno Direct web page goes on to state, “All communication for open and in-progress issues prior to May 1, 2023 will be done through our previous system.”
What’s not mentioned in that last sentence is that only City staff can use the “previous system” for all communication. Not only are public users unable to access the “previous system” for open and in-progress issues, users are also unable to access any information on prior service requests that were subsequently closed.
Through the City’s on-line chat service, a City representative advised that the only option to obtain information on past service requests is to file a Public Record Request with the City Clerk’s Office.
Where’s the common sense in this transition? It feels like one more roadblock thrown up by the City to hinder access to records.
Past information previously available by quickly logging into the online Reno Direct system is now mired in the quicksand of Public Record Requests… an already overburdened, understaffed function according to the City Clerk’s Office.
A big “FAIL” to the City of Reno on this conversion.
Stephen Van Zee is a resident/property owner in Northwest Reno, Ward 5. He is retired from a career as a Senior Management Auditor with the California State Controller’s Office.
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