Multnomah County Responsiveness to Phone and Email Inquiries from Public

_{Published October 2025}

Report highlights

Background & methodology overview

We began this audit to assess how often county offices respond to the public after the County Ombudsperson notified us of complaints from the public. The complaints were from people who were unable to reach anyone when they called county phone numbers. The public expects their government to be responsive, and since Multnomah County provides many critical services, staff need to ensure people consistently receive timely responses.

Based on these concerns, our audit objectives were to identify any barriers to communication, such as technical or language issues, and evaluate the accuracy of the contact information provided.

Internal offices, such as IT, were excluded from our audit because they don't directly serve the public. However, we decided to include the Homeless Services Department. This department does not provide direct services; rather it administers contracts for other organizations that do. We included them in our audit because members of the public may contact the Homeless Services Department with the expectation of being connected to services.

To prevent receiving preferential treatment as county employees, we used five mobile phones with numbers that did not have the standard Multnomah County prefix (503-988). We also created two email accounts that used aliases so that we would not get preferential treatment for being county employees. We made a total of 171 phone calls, sent 79 emails, and used the Library's online chat feature 3 times. To limit the impact on county staff time, we contacted small offices once and offices that serve more people up to eight times. In cases where the department had multiple office numbers, we only called each office once. However, when departments had general inquiry lines, we called multiple times to make sure they were consistently responding.

Countywide, offices picked up the phone or returned our calls 80% of the time and responded to 87% of our emails. Our threshold to determine if a department was responsive was if they replied to our call, email, or chat within five business days. All offices that responded did so within 4 business days, with the exception of one that responded to an email 63 days later. We did not count this email as being responsive. When we got a prerecorded phone message, 59% contained options for one or more languages other than English. Three of the phone numbers listed on the county website did not work. It was unclear if this was a typo on the website or if the department was unaware that the phone was not in service.

The Department of County Assets and Library answered or returned all of our calls, emails, and chats. The Homeless Services Department responded to 40%. The rest of the departments responded between 73% and 95% of the time.

The Department of County Assets and Library responded to all of our contacts

Percent of phone calls, emails, and chats with a response

The Library was the only county department noted with an online chat feature. Online chat can be more accessible for a wider range of people. It is a helpful alternative for those who may have hearing or speech impairments, as well as for non-native English speakers who may prefer to communicate in writing.

Department results

Department of Community Justice responded to 76% of our contacts

We contacted the Department of Community Justice (DCJ) 25 times by phone and email. DCJ staff responded to our calls 74% of the time. Of the prerecorded phone messages we reached, about three-quarters provided language options besides English. Staff responded to our emails 83% of the time.

Department of Community Justice Detailed Response Information

^{Source: Multnomah County Auditor’s Office. We counted a phone number or email contact in the “Responded” column if we received a response within 5 business days. We did not list email addresses above to limit the amount of spam they might receive.}

Department of Community Services responded to 95% of our contacts

We contacted the Department of Community Services (DCS) 20 times by phone and email. DCS staff responded to our calls 100% of the time. Of the prerecorded phone messages we reached, a third provided language options besides English. Staff responded to our emails 90% of the time.

Department of Community Services Detailed Response Information

^{Source: Multnomah County Auditor’s Office. We counted a phone number or email contact in the “Responded” column if we received a response within 5 business days. We did not list email addresses above to limit the amount of spam they might receive.}

Department of County Assets responded to 100% of our contacts

We contacted the Department of County Assets (DCA) three times by phone and email. We contacted DCA a limited number of times because their offices primarily support internal operations, not the public. DCA staff responded to our call and emails 100% of the time. The prerecorded phone messages we reached did not provide language options besides English.

Department of County Assets Detailed Response Information

^{Source: Multnomah County Auditor’s Office. We counted a phone number or email contact in the “Responded” column if we received a response within 5 business days. We did not list email addresses above to limit the amount of spam they might receive.}

Department of County Human Services responded to 73% of our contacts

We contacted the Department of County Human Services (DCHS) 30 times by phone and email. DCHS staff responded to our calls 68% of the time. Of the prerecorded phone messages we reached, about a quarter of them provided language options besides English. Staff responded to our emails 82% of the time. 

Department of County Human Services Detailed Response Information

^{Source: Multnomah County Auditor’s Office. We counted a phone number or email contact in the “Responded” column if we received a response within 5 business days. We did not list email addresses above to limit the amount of spam they might receive.}

Department of County Management responded to 79% of our contacts

We contacted the Department of County Management (DCM) 29 times by phone and email. DCM staff responded to our calls 54% of the time. Of the prerecorded phone messages we reached, none provided language options besides English. Two of DCM’s phone numbers listed on their website did not work, Adopt a Road (503-988-3626) and DART Public Records Request (503-988-7886). Staff responded to our emails 100% of the time. 

Department of County Management Detailed Response Information

^{Source: Multnomah County Auditor’s Office. We counted a phone number or email contact in the “Responded” column if we received a response within 5 business days. We did not list email addresses above to limit the amount of spam they might receive.}

District Attorney's Office responded to 82% of our contacts

We contacted the District Attorney’s Office (DA) 11 times by phone and email. DA staff responded to our calls 86% of the time. Of the prerecorded phone messages we reached, a quarter provided language options besides English. Staff responded to our emails 75% of the time. 

District Attorney’s Office Detailed Response Information

^{Source: Multnomah County Auditor’s Office. We counted a phone number or email contact in the “Responded” column if we received a response within 5 business days. We did not list email addresses above to limit the amount of spam they might receive.}

Health Department responded to 89% of our contacts

We contacted the Health Department (HD) 71 times by phone and email. HD staff responded to our calls 90% of the time. Of note, Student Health Center staff responded to all nine of our calls. Of the prerecorded phone messages we reached, about three-quarters provided language options besides English. Staff responded to our emails 83% of the time. 

Health Department Detailed Response Information

^{Source: Multnomah County Auditor’s Office. We counted a phone number or email contact in the “Responded” column if we received a response within 5 business days. We did not list email addresses above to limit the amount of spam they might receive.}

Homeless Services Department responded to 40% of our contacts

We contacted the Homeless Services Department (HSD) five times by phone and email. We contacted HSD a limited number of times because their offices primarily support contract management and do not provide direct services to the public. However, we included them in our audit because the public might believe they can receive resources directly from the department. 

HSD staff returned our calls 33% of the time. Of the prerecorded phone messages we reached, none provided language options besides English. The voicemail for HSD made it clear that they do not provide direct services. They gave the option to press one for the 211 information line, two for behavioral health support, and three for Portland’s general information hotline 311. Staff responded to our emails 50% of the time. 

Homeless Services Department Detailed Response Information

^{Source: Multnomah County Auditor’s Office. We counted a phone number or email contact in the “Responded” column if we received a response within 5 business days. We did not list email addresses above to limit the amount of spam they might receive.}

Library responded to 100% of our contacts

We contacted the Library’s general inquiries line 14 times by phone, email, and chat. Library staff responded to our calls 100% of the time. Of the prerecorded phone messages we reached, all of them provided language options besides English. Staff responded to our emails 100% of the time. The Library also offers an online chat feature. Library staff responded to our chats right away. In one instance, we submitted a chat question in Spanish and someone responded immediately in Spanish. 

Library Detailed Response Information

^{Source: Multnomah County Auditor’s Office. We counted a phone number, email, or chat in the “Responded” column if we received a response within 5 business days. We did not list email addresses above to limit the amount of spam they might receive.}

Non-Departmental offices responded to 76% of our contacts

We contacted Non-Departmental offices (Non-Dept) which do not fall under a specific department, 17 times by phone and email. The Auditor’s Office is part of Non-Departmental, but we chose not to call or email our own office because staff had an unfair advantage of knowing that this audit was occurring. Our office still plans to follow the audit’s recommendations. 

Non-Departmental staff responded to our calls 67% of the time. Of the prerecorded phone messages we reached, none provided language options besides English. Staff responded to our emails 82% of the time.

Non-Departmental Offices Detailed Response Information

^{Source: Multnomah County Auditor’s Office. We counted a phone number or email contact in the “Responded” column if we received a response within 5 business days. We did not list email addresses above to limit the amount of spam they might receive. At the time we collected contact information and made phone calls, Commissioner Jones-Dixon’s office phone number was not listed on the webpage. As of the writing of this report, the number is now listed.} 

Sheriff's Office responded to 79% of our contacts

We contacted the Sheriff’s Office 28 times by phone and email. Sheriff’s Office staff responded to our calls 76% of the time. Of the prerecorded phone messages we reached, three-quarters provided language options besides English. The number for the Monitored Misdemeanor Program (503-988-3235) listed on their website did not work. Staff responded to our emails 100% of the time. 

Sheriff’s Office Detailed Response Information

^{Source: Multnomah County Auditor’s Office. We counted a phone number or email contact in the “Responded” column if we received a response within 5 business days. We did not list email addresses above to limit the amount of spam they might receive.} 

Recommendations

We recommend that the County Chair, District Attorney, and Sheriff, no later than April 30, 2026: 

1. Ensure that all phone calls and emails to county programs and offices that directly serve the public receive a response as soon as possible and no later than  five business days.
2. Require multiple languages on all prerecorded phone messages for programs and offices that directly serve the public who speak languages other than English.
3. Ensure that all phone numbers listed on county websites are functioning correctly.
4. Explore the feasibility of expanding online chat features.

Objectives, scope, & methodology

The objectives of this audit were to: 

1. Assess whether the public can contact county services by phone, email, and chat, as applicable, in a timely and effective manner.
2. Evaluate the usability and effectiveness of the county's phone-tree systems.
3. Identify any barriers that prevent the public from reaching county staff, including:
   1. Language barriers (e.g., lack of multilingual support)
   2. Difficulties for individuals with disabilities (e.g., auditory, visual, or cognitive impairments)
   3. Technical issues with the phone system
4. Assess the availability and accuracy of published county phone numbers and email addresses.
5. Evaluate the timeliness of returning phone calls and emails.

To accomplish these objectives, we:

• Compiled a contact list of all public-facing county offices. This was done by visiting the county's website, multco.us, and collecting contact information from the "Services," "Programs," "Departments," and "Elected" sections.
• Took steps to prevent receiving preferential treatment as county employees; we used five mobile phones with numbers that did not have the standard Multnomah County employee prefix (503-988). We also created two email accounts that used aliases so that we would not get preferential treatment for being county employees.
• Made a total of 171 phone calls, sent 79 emails, and used the Library's online chat three times. To limit the impact on county staff time, we contacted small offices once and offices that serve more people up to 8 times.
• Considered our phone, email, or chat inquiry to be nonresponsive if the call or message was not returned within five business days.

We conducted this performance audit in accordance with generally accepted government auditing standards. Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain sufficient, appropriate evidence to provide a reasonable basis for our findings and conclusions based on our audit objective. We believe that the evidence obtained provides a reasonable basis for our findings and conclusions based on our audit objectives.

Audit Staff

Nicole Dewees

Audit Support

Dani Bernstein

Kate Milne

Mical Yohannes

Caroline Zavitkovski

Report pdf including response letters