Trying to call City Hall?

Boston's city government has valiantly tried to drag itself into the information age, embracing podcasting, online bill payment, and downloadable applications for dog licenses and boat-mooring permits.

But there is one technological tool you'll have to hunt to find at City Hall: voice mail.

Though some think of it as a mundane and necessary cornerstone of modern communication, Mayor Thomas M. Menino banned it more than 10 years ago after suffering through a lengthy recording when he called a city department. He was so irritated that he issued an edict that he still personally enforces with a special vehemence. Menino has been known to sniff out clandestine voice mail and leave indignant messages.

"I'll leave them a message saying, 'You're obviously not part of the Menino administration.' " he said in a recent interview. " 'Why don't you call me back and tell me who you're working for?' "

But some employees say that getting work done without phone messaging is impractical, and they have secretly installed voice mail on private extensions or other lines that they hope the mayor won't find.

"I don't think anyone thinks it's a good idea but him," said one official, who regularly uses voice mail and declined to be named for fear of retribution.

"It's ridiculous," said another, who also has voice mail but tries to make sure that the mayor's calls are not routed there.

Menino said employees often complain about the policy, sometimes drafting pages-long memos touting the virtues of voice mail technology. But he said he sticks by the ban, regardless.

"Too bad," Menino said. "I think government services have become so impersonal, but government is about serving people."

Menino's memory of the call that sparked his ban is quite clear: He had dialed his Office of Business Services, an agency created to help small businesses cut through red tape, and listened with growing dismay while a recorded voice recited a litany of options in several languages.

"I was confused," the mayor said. "That was the end of it."

Since then, the mayor has embraced myriad technologies, including a computerized citywide management program that tracks everything from numbers of potholes filled to numbers of resident complaints addressed within 24 hours.

He oversaw the installation of solar-powered compacters on city streets and Global Positioning System devices in city vehicles.

Menino hired William Oates, an information technology specialist from the private sector, and made him the new Cabinet chief of technology. Oates's mission: look for innovative ways to use technology in city governance, except for answering phones.

Menino's devotion to human receptionists may not be so unusual. Calls to city agencies in Chicago and New York City were answered by human beings, after pressing 0 during a recording.

Of course, Menino's voice mail ban doesn't necessarily mean that callers will get to speak with the human they are looking for. The Globe called 10 city departments at various times of day and reached officials in only three cases. In five cases, receptionists took messages. In two cases, calls were transferred to voice mail.

While several community groups who work regularly with city officials said they had not noticed the absence of recordings -- they say they would be more apt to notice the presence of recordings -- others said they immediately took note.

"It's quite distinct compared with certain state offices," said Steve Meacham, tenant organizer with City Life/Vida Urbana who returned voice mail after a few days. "Somebody always answers."

Donovan Slack can be reached at dslack@globe.com.