Incumbent promises sweeping 311 upgrades if elected

Scott Gillingham says a new round of customer service improvements would reduce lengthy waits for water bill queries, automate some 311 updates and expand online access to city services, if he’s re-elected mayor.

One promise would integrate Winnipeg water and waste’s Utility Billing Centre into its broader 311 service.

“Right now, if you have a question about your water bill, you deal with a separate call centre. And we know that people have been frustrated with long wait times there,” said Gillingham.

The pledge follows some sharp spikes in the wait to reach the Utility Billing Centre last year. In August 2025, one resident reported waiting about three hours and 40 minutes for that centre to answer her call. The city confirmed a wait time of up to four hours took place Aug. 5.

The city has hired more staff to help reduce that wait, though it remains at an average of 23 minutes, 20 seconds this year so far, according to Gillingham’s campaign team.

Gillingham said reductions in once-lengthy waits to answer 311 calls show focusing on the service will pay off. In 2023, city council added $870,883 to the 311 contact centre’s budget, which paid for six more full-time staff and more overtime hours.

The average 311 phone wait time fell to five minutes, 54 seconds for 2023 (up to the end of October), down from about 11 minutes in both 2021 and 2022.

Gillingham said the average wait fell to just one minute and 15 seconds in 2025.

The average wait for 2026 to date is two minutes and 37 seconds, the city’s corporate communications department confirmed Tuesday.

Endless waiting on the customer service line

Gillingham said he expects using 311 to triage sometimes complex water and waste calls would make it more efficient.

“I want Winnipeg residents to have better, faster, simpler customer service. And, so, rather than have to call 311 for one set of city services, Utility Billing (at) water and waste for another set, and maybe another department for a third, we want everything to come through 311 or online through the MyAccount portal,” he said.

The city added its MyAccount online customer platform in February, which offers details on winter parking bans, recycling and garbage collection and property assessments, among other information. Gillingham said options to view property tax payment options, check out recreation programs, register for swimming lessons and apply for building permits could all be added in the future.

He also promised to let residents sign up for automatic emails or texts that notify them when 311 service requests are updated or completed.

“You shouldn’t have to keep chasing city hall for an answer. City hall should keep you informed,” he said.

The announcement also repeated an earlier campaign pledge to create a type of “311 for small businesses,” which could be triaged through the main three-digit line.

A cost estimate for the customer service promises is expected later in the campaign.

Mayoral contenders focus on recreation funding, 911, littered streets

Mayoral candidate Don Woodstock said he would cut water and sewer rates by 50 per cent in 2027, if he’s elected.

When asked how he would pay for that promise as the city pursues billions of dollars in sewage upgrades, Woodstock noted the city utility had a revenue surplus last year. An April city report notes water use shot up 8.1 per cent in 2025, raising $67 million more revenue than expected.

Woodstock said he’d also seek more senior government financial support for major sewage treatment projects.

The candidate said he would also “issue an executive mayoral order” to immediately freeze all “active city lawsuits, collection referrals, and property tax sale proceedings connected to disputed water accounts.”

He said the city should avoid court action to secure bill payments and work out payment plans with residents instead.

The City of Winnipeg charter does not grant a mayor the power to issue executive orders. In an interview, Woodstock acknowledged that he would need to convince city councillors to support that proposed change.

“I’m going to fight like hell and I’m going to stand by it and I’m going to do everything in my powers, as mayor, to make sure this is done,” he said.

Woodstock also proposed a water review and relief board that fast tracks payment disputes directly with ratepayers, with the power to reduce or forgive charges.

Election Day is Oct. 28.

joyanne.pursaga@winnipegfreepress.com

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Joyanne Pursaga
Reporter

Joyanne is city hall reporter for the Winnipeg Free Press. A reporter since 2004, she began covering politics exclusively in 2012, writing on city hall and the Manitoba Legislature for the Winnipeg Sun before joining the Free Press in early 2020. Read more about Joyanne.

Every piece of reporting Joyanne produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press‘s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press’s history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates.