Council reviews TextMyGov texting platform for resident alerts; first-year cost estimated at $8,700

City staff proposed adopting TextMyGov, a web-based resident-communication platform that automates responses to common queries and enables proactive text alerts for outages, events and emergencies.

Kathy described features including automated prompts (e.g., a resident texting "pothole" would be asked for an intersection), QR-code signup options, proactive mass messaging, and the ability to triage and direct callers to after-hours contacts or emergency numbers. She said the vendor quoted a one-time setup fee of $2,900 and an annual fee of $5,800 — a first-year cost of $8,700 — and noted an optional $750 integration fee to tie submissions directly into IWorks for automatic work-order creation.

"The text my gov web-based software is an annual cost of 5,800. There is a onetime setup fee and that's 2,900. So the first year total would be a 8,700 and then it's 5,800 annually after that," Kathy said. Council members asked about pilot or demo opportunities, whether the vendor requires a three-year contract, and whether the system supports languages beyond Spanish for the city's immigrant population. Kathy said a QR-code demo exists and she would ask the vendor about contract length and additional language support.

Council also sought operational clarity: who would monitor messages, how after-hours reporting and automated triage would work, and whether integration with the city's public-works system would be cost-effective. Staff suggested the platform could reduce staff time spent on routine information requests and allow quicker alerts during incidents such as water outages. Council directed staff to contact other municipalities using the system to learn about pitfalls and to follow up with the vendor on contract and language details.