| Through a combined effort of the township council, school district, and Municipal Utilities Authority township residents will have access to a Reverse 911 system. All three agencies have split the $12,000 cost for a one year contract. The system is provided by SwiftReach Networks of Mahwah, Bergen County. The service includes listings for both residental and commercial properties in the township.
Reverse 911 is a system that allows these township agencies and emergency responders to notify residents of immediate emergencies such as impending storms, terrorist threats, or industrial accidents. The system can also be used to send notifications about community events, blood drives, and voter registration. The township has recently used the system to remind people of the ordinance to remove their vehicles from the streets before a recent snow event, and about schools being closed due to the same snow event.
The system also allows it's users to create call lists. These call lists will allow the users to contact specific groups or areas in the township. For example, the police department can notify residents of a particular street or group of streets about a crime spree in their area. The notification could also provide crime prevention tips. This allows the system to be more than one dementional.
Users of the system will be able to send messages to residents and businesses by calling a special phone number to make a recorded message, or by using their Blackberry devices. In the near future the police department and fire department will be adding a link to their websites which will allow residents and businesses to update their phone numbers, add an email address, or an alternative phone number. The system will call primary numbers first and then alternate numbers until the delivery of the message. |
