MONROE - Green County is ditching an outdated, expensive emergency notification system for a free service that will be available next month.
Sheriff Jeff Skatrud announced the switch at a meeting this week of the Green County Law Enforcement and Public Safety Committee.
Since 2003, the sheriff's department has used a communications system called Reverse 911 that sends out a voice message to anyone in the county who signs up. It alerts the community to potentially dangerous situations in the area, such as a chemical spill, an armed confrontation or fleeing felon, and any other pertinent information.
"That system is quite old and quite expensive," Skatrud said. "The maintenance is very high. It's about $6,000 a year."
Skatrud is switching the county next month to a service called Nixle Community Information Service that sends out alerts via text message or email. Like Reverse 911, it's free for the community to use. But unlike Reverse 911, it's also free for the county to provide.
Nixle does offer voice message alerts for those without a cellphone or email, but that service isn't free to the county. Skatrud said his department wasn't able to budget for the voice message service right away but he's looking into it for the future.
Green County Emergency Management will also be able to send out alerts via Nixle, he said.
Rock County announced their use of Nixle in mid-October.
Lafayette County doesn't currently have a community notification system, said Sheriff Scott Pedley, but it's under discussion: "We are exploring options of obtaining the service for our county."
Other updates Skatrud presented this week to the Law Enforcement and Public Safety Committee:
n The sheriff's department recently received a $7,000 donation from Green County Fall Nationals to start a tracking device program that will help locate people with Alzheimer's or autism who have wandered off.
Skatrud said he met this week with a potential vendor for the program.
"We're definitely moving forward on that," he said, and the $7,000 donation "is what got us going."
n Jail population remained low in October. The daily average for the month was 47 inmates, just one more than in September. Six inmates on average were out daily on electronic monitoring in October.
n The sheriff's department is hiring for a dispatcher to work in its dispatch center. Visit greensheriff.com for application information.
- Katjusa Cisar
Sheriff Jeff Skatrud announced the switch at a meeting this week of the Green County Law Enforcement and Public Safety Committee.
Since 2003, the sheriff's department has used a communications system called Reverse 911 that sends out a voice message to anyone in the county who signs up. It alerts the community to potentially dangerous situations in the area, such as a chemical spill, an armed confrontation or fleeing felon, and any other pertinent information.
"That system is quite old and quite expensive," Skatrud said. "The maintenance is very high. It's about $6,000 a year."
Skatrud is switching the county next month to a service called Nixle Community Information Service that sends out alerts via text message or email. Like Reverse 911, it's free for the community to use. But unlike Reverse 911, it's also free for the county to provide.
Nixle does offer voice message alerts for those without a cellphone or email, but that service isn't free to the county. Skatrud said his department wasn't able to budget for the voice message service right away but he's looking into it for the future.
Green County Emergency Management will also be able to send out alerts via Nixle, he said.
Rock County announced their use of Nixle in mid-October.
Lafayette County doesn't currently have a community notification system, said Sheriff Scott Pedley, but it's under discussion: "We are exploring options of obtaining the service for our county."
Other updates Skatrud presented this week to the Law Enforcement and Public Safety Committee:
n The sheriff's department recently received a $7,000 donation from Green County Fall Nationals to start a tracking device program that will help locate people with Alzheimer's or autism who have wandered off.
Skatrud said he met this week with a potential vendor for the program.
"We're definitely moving forward on that," he said, and the $7,000 donation "is what got us going."
n Jail population remained low in October. The daily average for the month was 47 inmates, just one more than in September. Six inmates on average were out daily on electronic monitoring in October.
n The sheriff's department is hiring for a dispatcher to work in its dispatch center. Visit greensheriff.com for application information.
- Katjusa Cisar