The SeeClickFix Team wants to give a long-overdue shout out to Hollywood, FL for having some of the best public servants in the country. This is one city where requests for city services - or even complaints about quality-of-life issues - are not seen as a nuisance. Instead, citizens can expect that Hollywood city officials will take an interest in their report and look into it personally. The list of fixed issues on their community page shows their commitment to their constituents.

If an issue is in the city's power to resolve, the citizen can rest assured that someone will be dispatched shortly. If it is more complex - as many community issues are - then they can expect a detailed explanation of the different factors involved from someone who knows what they are talking about, as well as an update on what immediate action has been taken.

Take as an example this issue that was reported about the impact of some traffic changes: William was concerned about an abandoned house on Van Buren St. which had been recently broken into, so he reported it on SeeClickFix. Cheryl Lahoud, the Citizens' Service Coordinator, responded to him within three days that Lead Code Compliance Officer Jim McGee had checked up on the house in question. She gave us his full report, including the specific infractions for which a Notice of Violation had been issued. Furthermore, she informed William that Officer Rios of the Hollywood PD had been alerted. Though he had already been aware of this situation, he made clear that he would continue making an effort to monitor the property on both afternoon and midnight shifts.

Too often, the public servants who handle citizens' service requests go unapplauded. When times are good, citizens simply think of that as the status quo; when things go wrong, some among us will always be ready to complain. One benefit of increased transparency is that we get to learn just how much work the government is doing on our behalf. When they are slow to act, then we can hold them accountable. But in cases like this, where our public servants are working diligently for our benefit, we see their effort and can give them the credit they deserve.

So, from everyone here at SeeClickFix, hats off to Hollywood, FL!