I had a call from someone last Saturday evening looking to get information on when their street would be plowed (it was not plowed until Sunday morning because the person who usually plows it on Saturday had to deal with a broken fire hydrant and flowing water on Hillcrest). My caller had only called me after calling the police station.
This morning I asked Bobby Kennedy, Jr. about the best way for people to get questions answered by the DPW during a storm, and he said that during the storms that he always checks in with the police dispatcher, so the best course is to call the police station.