Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Emergency Notification topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
County reviews Code Red system after national outage; staff to demo Everbridge
Summary
After a national outage disrupted the Code Red mass‑notification service, staff briefed the board on consolidation of town accounts, current contract cost, and an Everbridge alternative; demos and coordination with town clerks were requested.
County staff told the Nottoway Board on March 12 that a national cyber incident disrupted the vendor's Code Red service over the winter, that the county consolidated town accounts in 2022 and currently maintains roughly 6,600 contacts, and that some town divisions are still being reestablished in the vendor's system.
Buddy (emergency services staff) told the board that the county's three‑year contract translates to about $7,731 per year and that the county used the system successfully for some events after the vendor rebuilt its platform. Staff reported customer‑service issues and slow redivision of some town lists, and said the county could pursue a procurement alternative, Everbridge, which offered a quote near $7,000 per year and a six‑month free trial/demo under state procurement channels.
Supervisors expressed concern that some town officials currently cannot launch alerts directly and said local launch capability for town managers and school officials should be a priority. The board asked staff to arrange demonstrations for the three towns and emergency partners and to return with a recommendation on whether to switch vendors, continue with Code Red, or negotiate contract terms given the vendor's national outage history.
Staff noted that funding for the contract is drawn from the county's 911/communications fund rather than the general budget and committed to bringing documentation of the contract, invoices and breach documentation back to the board for review.
