AGENCY TESTIMONY
Customer service initiatives for fiscal year 2025
2:59:39
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76 sec
Commissioner Niblack emphasizes the Department of Finance's focus on customer service and highlights three key initiatives for the upcoming fiscal year.
- Modernized business tax and collection system for easier payments and enrollment in payment plans
- Deployment of a chatbot named Linda for business tax, environmental control board, and parking debt inquiries
- Improvements in property tax exemptions (to be discussed in more detail in the next section)
Preston Niblack
2:59:39
Customer service remains the Department of Finance's primary focus.
2:59:43
Perhaps no agency in the city government serves the public in as many ways as we do.
2:59:48
If you own a home, start a business, or get a parking ticket, you are, or soon will be, a Department of Finance customer.
2:59:55
We're responsible for collecting the revenue that makes the city run, and we are committed to doing so in a friendly and professional manner.
3:00:04
So I'd like to highlight 3 customer service initiatives that will deliver concrete results in fiscal year 2025.
3:00:12
First, we've modernized our business tax and collection system to make it easier for people to pay what they owe and get help when they need it.
3:00:19
Customers can now enroll in payment plans for ECB and parking violations debt online, as well as sign up for automatic payment deductions, which should help people stay current with their payment plans.
3:00:31
To supplement the new system and provide more options for customers, we've deployed a chatbot for business tax, environmental control board, and parking debt in our e services portal.
3:00:42
Our users started taking advantage of the chatbot, who we call Linda, right away.
3:00:47
Linda helps customers find what they need, which in turn reduces calls to the collection division, leading to better and faster customer service.
