McDonough County is transitioning to a new emergency alert system designed to save money and provide a more user-friendly platform.
“As everything is going up in price, we looked for something similar at a cheaper price,” said Edgar Rodriguez, Director of the McDonough County Emergency Services and Disaster Agency. “The old system was about $11,500 a year. With this one, we are reducing it to $9,000 a year for a five-year period.”
Rodriguez said the county is switching to Rave Alert. He said they’re the second largest emergency messaging company and are backed by Motorola.
“So, we’re reducing the cost and getting a system that is equally beneficial for everybody, and actually easier for us to maintain,” he said.
Rodriguez hopes to transition to the new system by January. The current system, Everbridge, will be discontinued at that time.
Rodriguez said everyone enrolled in the current system should have received an automated call this week about signing up for the new system. He expects another call to go out in the coming weeks.
He said nearly 500 people have already signed up for the new system after receiving the notification. People can register here.
Rodriguez said based on input from users, the new system won’t send storm warnings in the middle of the night unless there is an immediate danger.
“It’s good to have that feedback from the community about what they want from the system. So, we’re listening and we’re making the corrections as we go,” Rodriguez said.
He also said he’s trying to add more partners, such as the city of Macomb, so that notifications can be sent for other vital news too, such as boil orders.
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