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City to implement mass-notification service through CivicPlus for targeted alerts; estimated $3,000/year
Summary
The city manager recommended adding a CivicPlus mass-notification capability (estimated at about $3,000 per year under existing contract) to provide zone-based emergency and utility alerts; staff proposed a rollout on April 1 and explained bulk upload and division-level messaging functions.
The city manager briefed the council on efforts to identify a preferred mass-notification system after a December tsunami warning highlighted limits of county-managed alerts. Staff proposed using CivicPlus (which the city already uses for records) to provide targeted zone-based and utility-specific notifications at an estimated cost of about $3,000 per year under an existing contract.
"We expect that we would be able to have this available for rollout on April 1," the city manager said, estimating implementation at roughly $3,000 annually because the city already uses CivicPlus for other services. Staff described features including bulk upload of utility customers, zone-specific outage alerts for electric or water customers, and an internal departmental messaging capability for staff notifications.
Public-safety staff said the system could improve evacuation messaging by sending zone-specific instructions and that a flyer and outreach would accompany the rollout. The police and fire departments discussed how additional targeted alerts could support tactical responses during events such as tsunamis, fires or major outages.
Council members responded positively and asked staff to proceed with implementation and public outreach ahead of the proposed April rollout.
