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Newark officials studied Baltimore, New York and Chicago before launching its $1,059,000 hotline. Thomas said state officials told her the city could not use the number 311 because that is reserved for either the state or county to use. Neither one of them are currently using it.

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Today, on the center's first day, the 10 operators fielded 77 calls through the evening, said city spokeswoman Esmeralda Diaz Cameron. Most of the calls were about garbage disposal, recycling, street cleaning and code enforcement, she said. Officials plan to track the calls using an identification number to monitor if and when the complaint is addressed.

In New York City, the 311 line has fielded 65 million calls since it opened in 2003, according to the city's website. That hotline fields questions about everything from parking meter rules to garbage pickup. The line is open 24 hours and boasts of answering questions in 180 languages.

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In Baltimore, the city uses a program called CitiStat, a numbers driven program that analyzes city services using statistics from the phone calls they field through its 311 line.

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The center is open will be open Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. Michelle Thomas, the acting business administrator, said the city is not keeping the line open for 24 hours because studies have shown the volume of calls drops drastically after 9 p.m. Bennett said he expects the center to field 700,000 calls in its first year.

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The city of Newark unveiled a new phone hotline today that is supposed to serve as a catch-all for complaints about graffiti, pot holes, traffic signal problems or other city services.

The call center is an initiative Mayor Cory Booker has talked about implementing since taking office in 2006. The one-stop phone number is supposed to end the frustrating go-around that residents sometimes get when calling City Hall to complain about their services.

The phone number -- (973) 733-4311 -- is modeled after similar non-emergency call lines that have been wildly popular in New York City and Baltimore. Newark officials hope this phone number and tracking system will give department directors a clear snapshot of strengths and weaknesses in city services."Today marks the day where we finally tell Newark citizens we care about what you say," said James Bennett, the call center manager. "When you call, we will listen."

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