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El Mirage council approves Civic Plus mass-notification service for texts, emails and voice alerts
Summary
The City of El Mirage approved a statement of work with Civic Plus for a mass-notification system intended to deliver multilingual text, email and voice alerts, with a planned rollout by July 1.
The El Mirage City Council on April 15 voted to implement a new mass-notification system from Civic Plus that will allow residents and businesses to opt in to text, email and voice alerts for routine messages and public-safety notifications.
City staff described the Civic Plus platform as a tool for direct messaging that complements social media and integrates with the Integrated Public Alert and Warning System (IPAWS). The system supports multilingual messaging (more than 60 languages), geotargeting for localized incidents, ADA accessibility features and subscriber topic selection so residents can choose which categories of messages they receive.
Amber Wakeman, an intergovernmental and public relations staff member who led the vendor evaluation, said the committee included IT, police, fire and public works staff and recommended Civic Plus after vendor demonstrations. Wakeman said the system “has the ability to send multilingual messages. It offers more than 60 languages” and noted the platform’s IPAWS integration would allow staff to craft a single message and send it both to subscribers and to the federal alert channel.
Council members raised questions about how residents would be added and how the city would avoid opt-in fatigue. Staff said the initial rollout will use the city’s existing contact channels and a strategic, multifaceted marketing campaign; utility-bill records were listed as one source for resident contact information. The city said the marketing rollout is covered by staff resources and the contract covers the software and service.
The statement of work shown to council listed an FY2025 cost of $5,509.79 and FY2026 costs of $12,750; the council approved the contract. Vice Mayor Parsons made the motion to approve and Council member Winston seconded. The council voted to approve the statement of work.
Staff estimated a target rollout date of July 1, after technical setup and staff training, and said the system would be available for use by the emergency operations center when needed.
Ending: Staff will proceed with technical implementation and a resident outreach campaign to encourage voluntary opt-in signups ahead of the planned July rollout.
