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Ellis County to deploy Everbridge system for mass notifications, officials say
Summary
Ellis County communications director presented plans to onboard Everbridge for mass public and staff notifications, citing integration with FEMA's IPAWS and a need to avoid telecommunication blacklisting that affects current responder alerts.
Jeff Ridgeway, director of communications for Ellis County, updated commissioners on the county's planned deployment of a mass notification platform from Everbridge at the July 8 meeting.
"This system will help bridge a gap that's that we currently have," Ridgeway said, explaining the county's desire for a geographically targeted alert capability that can leverage the Federal Emergency Management Agency's Integrated Public Alert and Warning System (IPAWS).
Ridgeway told commissioners the system can draw polygons to target device locations, send IPAWS alerts that will reach phones in an impacted area, and remain active for the duration of an incident. He said the county's previous service, CivicPlus Notify, required opt-in for some alerts and had low community enrollment; Everbridge estimates roughly 80% of the county's residents are already in its database.
Ridgeway outlined operational benefits beyond public emergency alerts: the system can support internal employee notifications (including confirmation receipts), tie to the county's HR system (UKG) to keep staff contact lists current, and potentially integrate with computer-aided dispatch output to reach first responders. Ridgeway said telecommunications carriers are increasingly blocking rapid mass messages sent via email-to-text, and Everbridge has direct arrangements that can reduce that blocking.
On cost, Ridgeway said the contract covers unlimited messaging and that the county would pay for hosting and service rather than per-message fees. He said onboarding has taken place over the past month and the county hopes to be fully live in about a month.
Ridgeway and commissioners discussed two-way confirmation options for responders and that the system will not be used to transmit personal or secure data. Ridgeway said the county will continue to use local media and social media but can now centrally trigger multiple notification channels from the Everbridge platform.
No formal vote was recorded at the meeting; Ridgeway said the county communications team is completing onboarding and will return with operational details as the system goes live.
