Resident of Clifton Park have another way to get information from their municipal government as of today, if they so choose, in the form of an emergency text messaging system.
The system went live on Tuesday, May 19.
According to the New York Association of Towns, it looks like Clifton Park is going to be the first town in New York State to put in a system like this, said Councilman Scott Hughes, who is spearheading the project.
ICOM, who built and maintains the town’s Web page, was able to put the system in place at no cost to the town.
The system will send enrolled residents emails and text messages when an emergency situation occurs on a town wide scale. An ice storm that slammed southern Saratoga County in December and knocked out power for days was fresh in the minds of town officials. In that emergency, the town made use of the Reverse 911 system to notify residents that locations around town had been opened up as warming shelters.
In the event no power is available, a cell phone text message could be more convenient and effective than a phone call or Web site posting. Plus, an increasing number of people are forgoing a land line entirely in favor of a cell phone.
`So many people treat the cell phone as their primary mode of communication, and it is not as subject to power outages that might affect your computer or TV at home,` said Hughes.
Colleges across the nation have adopted text messaging notification systems. The SUNY system did so in the wake of a deadly shooting at Virginia Tech, where questions were raised as to how effectively the administration can inform students of trouble.
The answer was in the pocket of nearly every on-the-go student: cell phones.
If the text message system is a success, it could be sharpened to include addresses, so that residents of neighborhoods could be informed of smaller problems like an isolated water main break.
Hughes said that the emergency system is just one way Clifton Park is striving to make Town Hall a 24/7 resource for residents.
`It’s all about leveraging the power of technology. You find ways to make things more seamless, more ubiquitous,` he said.
Free registration for the system can be completed at www.cliftonpark.org/townhall. While there is no cost to register, the receipt of text messages may be subject to fees, depending on one’s service plan.
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