Buffalo Grove signs up for emergency notification system

Buffalo Grove has approved a notification system that will be used in emergency situations, such as the boil order that was put in place earlier this year.

The village will be spending $33,000 with Connect-CTY for unlimited usage of emergency notices through the year.

The bill covers the 16,500 households and businesses in town at a discounted rate of $2 per household. The discount is connected to a partnership with Northwest Dispatch; otherwise the cost would have been at $2.25 per household.

The village decided back in March, after the boil order, that a notification system was necessary. Several residents were unhappy that information on the boil order was not put out by phone.

Although the village has an e-mail system for residents, that is on a voluntary basis. Information was also available on the village's Web site, but calls still poured into the village hall during the 24-hour order.

"We wish that we had this in place (during the boil order)," said Ghida Neukirch, deputy village manager.

Connect-CTY will take listed phone numbers from Buffalo Grove for the initial database. Residents will then have the opportunity, through the village's Web site, to put up to four more numbers or e-mail addresses for notification.

The village was also considering Code Red for the service but decided on Connect-CTY because of its capacity for unlimited usage. The service is also not constrained by a certain amount of time per message.

Neukirch said the company also allows Buffalo Grove to use its own map so that when an emergency, such as a hostage situation, is relevant to only a certain area, notifications can be narrowed down.

The calls would also show up as coming from the village and not as a toll-free number, which Trustee Brian Rubin said are easier to ignore as telemarketing calls.

The board stressed that the service will only be used for emergencies and not for advertisements.

"We're not going to be engaging in general notices," Trustee Jeff Berman said.

Neukirch said it would be used for things such as a prolonged flood warning, other natural disasters, a manhunt, missing person, terrorist activity or power outages for longer than 24 hours.