Jim Wells County Commissioners on Dec. 22 authorized county staff to pursue procurement steps to transition the county’s public alert and warning system from HyperReach to Everbridge.

Lance Brown of Jim Wells County Emergency Management briefed the court, saying Everbridge is used by the Texas Division of Emergency Management and that the county expects to save money while gaining capabilities such as easier mass notifications, 24/7 dialing features and better resident control of alert types. "It's cheaper, and a better product in my opinion," Brown said during his presentation.

Elise Weems of Everbridge told the court Everbridge can import contact data exported from HyperReach and described an "Everbridge network effect" that allows neighboring jurisdictions and partners such as the National Weather Service to share and relay automated alerts. Brown and Elise said the county had gathered three quotes; Everbridge reported a quoted cost of about $9,700 compared with about $11,000 for HyperReach from the county’s recent quotations. Staff said they will request a BuyBoard quote to meet county procurement rules and target a phased transition so contacts are merged without a service gap.

Commissioners discussed ZIP-code limitations in the prior system and confirmed Everbridge allows more flexible registration options for residents who previously could not be added. The court voted by voice to send procurement paperwork to the county auditor for processing and approved the action.

Next steps: Everbridge will provide BuyBoard documentation and staff will coordinate a data-export/import plan and community sign-up outreach.