Over 1K Subscribe to Boro Emergency Notifications

A total of 1,047 people have signed up to receive emergency notices through AlertChathamBorough, Deputy OEM Coordinator Steve Williams reported to the Chatham Borough Council Monday.

"We're one-third of the way to the total number of households [in the borough], Williams said.

Of the various options available through AlertChathamBorough, which is powered through Morris County by Everbridge at no cost to the borough, the topic people most want to know about is severe weather. A total of 821 of the 1,047 who signed up with AlertChathamBorough asked to receive notifications of severe weather alerts.

Additionally, 809 want to know about power outages in their neighborhoods; 745 wish to receive crime alerts; 635 want to know about road closures; 606 want to know about water outages; 544 want to know about traffic; 450 want to know about missing persons; and 403 want to  know about other miscellaneous alerts, including community events.

Chatham Borough also leads Morris County municipalities which utilize Everbridge in the number of alerts sent out through the system. Since the borough switched earlier this year they have sent out 50 alerts; Roxbury Township, which has the next highest number of alerts, has sent out 27. Chatham Township has sent out 17 alerts.

Most of the alerts sent out so far have been for road closures, water disruptions, the tornado warning earlier this summer and the bear sighting and car jacking in July.

Williams also unveiled a brochure which the OEM developed to raise awareness of AlertChathamBorough. "My goal is to use this at the Back to School nights and in schools as a piece that we can give to parents," Williams said.

Borough officials will stop using Twitter or the alerts sent through the borough website and will instead use AlertChathamBorough to notify residents of meeting agendas, minutes and cancellations, Williams said.

Councilman James Lonergan asked Williams if there was any feedback from residents about overdoing the alerts. "I know not everybody is getting [every alert], but we're basically putting out an alert every 4.2 days," Lonergan said. "We have an [alert rate] that is dramatically higher, good or bad, but I wouldn't want it to turn into a free-for-all."

Mayor Bruce Harris said he was not aware of any negative feedback from residents that they were over-informated or irritated by the number of alerts received, something he credited Williams with.

"Steve has been very good about using the area notifications capability," Harris said. "When we're doing hydrant flushing, he can send it out just to the people who are going to be affected. Using those kinds of tailored messages is great."

Lonergan asked Williams how many of the 50 alerts went out to the entire town. Williams said not more than seven.

Councilman Gerald Helfrich reiterated that residents only have to sign up to receive the notifications they wish to receive. "You don't have to get [anything] you're not interested in," he said. "We're not throwing everything at everybody. Tailor it to what you need and what you want."