Emergency Notification System Activation Policy

Purpose:

To provide a guideline for the use of the City of Melrose’s Emergency Notification System (ENS) to alert the residents to emergencies as well as provide notifications for subjects of interest.

Background:

The City wanted to begin using an ENS system that was more versatile and could be used to notify residents of emergencies as well as provide informational notifications for non-emergency events. After a search, the City selected Everbridge as its provider for such services.

Policy:

• It shall be the policy of the City of Melrose to relay pertinent information to the residents and businesses within the City in a timely and efficient manner.
• The City will use the notification system in a manner judged to be acceptable by the Mayor and/or their designee.
• The system shall be configured to address two types of notifications: emergency and community events. These latter community event notifications will only be to a group of residents who voluntarily subscribe to receive such notifications.
• Although community members are not required to participate in this notification system, the City strongly encourages all community members to be a part of this initiative in order to receive prompt and valuable information.
• This policy is to be followed in conjunction with the Acceptable Use for Information Technology Policy (AUP) and the City’s Social Media Policy (SMP)

Standard Operating Procedures consist of the following numbered sections:

1. Definitions
2. Intra-departmental Notifications
3. Notifications
4. Notification Cancelations
5. Notification Reports and Error Rates
6. Use of Notification by Outside Agencies

1. Definitions
   1. Call-Card Notifications - Notifications made from a telephone utilizing an access code and password. This would allow the person making the notification to do so from anywhere where computer access is limited or not available. These notifications would be for emergencies and exigent circumstances.
   2. App Notifications – Notifications made from a smartphone app made specifically for sending notifications.
   3. Department Directors – (Tier 1) Mayor, Police Chief, Fire Chief, Emergency Management Director, (Tier 2) All other department heads.
   4. Group Notifications - Notifications sent to pre-determined call groups. These groups include but are not limited to residents with disabilities, seniors, City Boards and personnel, and medical reserve corps volunteers.
   5. Intra-departmental Notifications - Notifications originated and authorized by the Mayor and authorized City staff members for distribution to employees and staff members.
   6. Priority Notifications - Notifications sent to businesses or residences to ALL telephone numbers, E-mail addresses, notification groups, (SMS) text numbers, and app notifications listed in the ENS. These messages will receive "priority" protocol by the system. These notifications are to be used in emergency or exigent situations only.
2. Intra-Departmental Notifications
   1. Call groups can be established on a department by department basis as determined by the Department Directors with the consent of the Mayor.
   2. It shall be up to the individual Department Directors to establish their own internal policies determining call-out/notification procedures as approved by the Mayor.
   3. Intra-departmental notifications utilizing the ENS are not to take the place of normal written communications nor shall they take the place of City E-mail and voicemail communications amongst employees.
3. Notifications
   1. Non-emergency, non-life-threatening public notifications.
      1. These are notifications that must be made in a timely manner but not immediately. These notifications must be authorized by any two of the following: Mayor, and Department Director prior to being made. This allows ample time to review the call area, call audience, call message, and other pertinent information. The following list of non-emergency notifications includes but is not limited to:
      • Water Main/hydrant flushing
      • Road closures in a neighborhood
      • Street constructions in a neighborhood or street
      • Parking ban
      • Water or sewer breaks
      • Pending traffic issues
      • Snow removal
   2. Opt-in notifications
      1. The ENS we are using has the ability for residents to pick from a list of possible notification categories. If a resident subscribes to one of the categories during the sign-up process or later, they will receive notifications on subjects in that category. These categories may be permanent or may be event specific and removed proceeding the event. Examples of such categories may include but are not limited to: 
         • Road Closures/Traffic
         • Community events (Summer Stroll, Victorian Fair, events coordinated by or in association with the City)
         • City-wide announcements (election days, important deadlines, etc.)
   3. Priority Notification and time-sensitive notifications
      1. Whenever a Priority Notification is deemed to be warranted, appropriate and/or necessary in light of a circumstance, the ENS will be used in a reasonably timely manner, taking into account the need to:
         • ensure the accuracy and integrity of the information in the notification;
         • avoid unduly alarming the public,and
         • balance the urgency of the situation with the time of day that such conditions are encountered
      2. Unless there is a compelling reason to the contrary, the ENS shall not be used to distribute a Priority Notification between the hours of 10:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m. If, in the opinion of the Mayor and/or their designee, a Priority Notification must be made after 10:00 p.m. or prior to 6:00 a.m., the Mayor and/or their designee shall give authorization for the notification.
      3. In the event of an emergency where notification to the public is time-critical, the following persons/positions are authorized to activate or request activation of the ENS:
         • Mayor;
         • Chief of Staff;
         • Fire Chief;
         • Emergency Director;
         • Police Chief
      4. Upon city-wide activation of the ENS for an emergency time-critical event, the Mayor, Police Chief, Fire Chief and the respective Department Director(s) will be notified of the activation as soon as possible.

      5. Examples of Priority Notifications:

         The following, non-exclusive listing reflects the types of conditions for which either full or limited (directed only toward specific groups and/or particular affected areas of the City) Priority Notifications might be deemed to be warranted, depending on the particular circumstances presented:
         • Extraordinary/unanticipated results of severe weather conditions; Extraordinary Flood warnings;
         • Natural disasters;
         • Extraordinary/unanticipated conditions following natural disasters such as an earthquake;
         • Confirmed terrorist threats or activity;
         • Road closures with anticipated limited access to properties as a result of scheduled construction;
         • Missing persons/Amber Alerts affecting City residents; Imminent danger from fire;
         • Hazardous material incidents affecting City business or residents; Bomb threats, after assessment of risk;
         • Hostage situations; Criminal manhunts;
         • Power outages, if they are anticipated to extend for 24 hours or greater; dangerous animals running at large in City; and
         • Other life-threatening situations.
   4. Notification message content best practices
      1. The following best practices shall be followed when building a priority message:
         • Source: State who the message is from. For example, “This alert is from the Melrose Police Department.” The source may be inferred if messages are branded. For example, by default the source may be included in the header or footer of emails, and in voice greetings of phone calls
         • Hazard: Label the hazard and describe it. For example, “A rapid onset flash flood with water moving into neighborhoods at 30 miles per hour is approaching Cedar Park”
         • Location Personalization: Street names, landmarks, natural features, buildings affected, and geographical boundaries will be used to help people clearly perceive and personalize the risk described in the alert. For example, “The flood will hit within two blocks on either side of Ell Pond from Lynn Fells Parkway on the north to Essex Street on the south.” If possible, a visual of the broader community with a clear identifier of where each individual alert recipients are located will be included.
         • Describe the consequences of the hazard. For example, “Most people standing outside will be swept off their feet and washed downstream and water will be above the rooftops of most low houses.” This information may seem too presumptive and may take more thought, but it will encourage more people to quickly take action.
         • Protective Action: Tell people exactly what to do and how to do it to protect themselves or minimize disruption. For example, instead of saying “evacuate” they will be directed to “move north of the Lynn Fells Parkway by walking, running or driving.”
         • Protective Action Time: Information about when people should start and/or complete the protective action will be included. For example, “Begin moving north of the Lynn Fells Parkway now and be there no later than 6:00 pm.”
         • How Protective Action Reduces Consequences: The recommended protective action links to how it reduces consequences. For example, “People who are north of the Lynn Fells Parkway will not experience the flash flood waters or be washed away by them when they arrive.”
         • Expiration Time: State when the expiration of the alert/warning message is included. For example, “This message is in effect until 11:00 pm, May 15, 2020 or until new information is made available.”
      2. The following best practices shall be followed when building a non-priority message:
         • All notifications shall be brief and provide pertinent information about the subject matter, including possibly where to obtain further information about the subject matter.
         • The person sending a voice message shall introduce themselves at the beginning of the message including their name and title.
4. Notification cancelations
   1. Not all activations require the issuance of a cancelation notification. Examples of activations that DO NOT require a cancelation notification include but are not limited to:
      1. Severe Weather Conditions; Flood Warnings;
      2. Natural Disasters; Construction Updates; Crime Alerts and Watches; Power Outages;
   2. Examples of activations that DO require a cancelation notification include but are not limited to:
      1. Missing Persons/Amber Alerts; Imminent Danger from Fire; Hazardous Material Incidents; Bomb Threats;
      2. Hostage Situations; Criminal Manhunts;
      3. Vicious or Dangerous Animals Running at Large; Road Closures;
      4. Terrorist Threats or Activity;
   3. Events which were the basis for activating the citywide emergency siren system, as determined by the City Administrator or designee.
5. Notification reports and error rates
   1. At the conclusion of each notification, a written report detailing the notification times, non-working telephone numbers and missed-calls is provided in the ENS. The report shall be reviewed by the sending department to correct any errors that were encountered and determine if the notifications were timely and efficient. A determination shall also be made whether to try contacting citizens again or in another manner if the message was not successful in reaching its intended audience.
   2. Tier 1 users shall be responsible for updates to the contact information, as appropriate and available.
   3. The primary phone number of each household and business will be updated by the ENS vendor.
   4. Each City of Melrose resident and business shall also have the opportunity to update their personal information such as land line telephone number, work telephone number, SMS (text) number, cellular number, email address and category selection via a web site link or by submitting information to authorized city staff. Information will also be provided to residents on how to opt out of the system.
6. Use of ENS by outside agencies
   1. In extraordinary, emergency or exigent circumstances, other federal and state governmental units, may request that the Mayor activate the City’s ENS for a Priority Notification. Whenever such use of the ENS is proposed, the Mayor or their designee shall make a determination as to whether the circumstances presented, warrant activation in conformance with these policies and procedures. During time-critical police or fire involvement with state authorities, The Police or Fire Chief may deem necessary, the use of the system to alert citizens.

Creation of notification categories (Alert and Event Subscriptions)

• When an employee has a need to add a new category for opt-in notifications (Alert Subscription), the need should be brought to the department director for review.
• If deemed acceptable by the director, the director shall submit the category inclusion to the Mayor and ENS administration team.

• If the Mayor and ENS administration team deem the category is fit for inclusion, the category will be added

• For Event Subscriptions, a keyword will be created for use in the subscription by the Chief Information Officer in conjunction with the director.

• Event Subscriptions proposed by departmental directors should include a time span for how long the event will be active.

Maintenance of department contacts

• The Human Resources (HR) Director or his/her designee will be responsible for the creation, update and removal of employee information

Protection of System Data

• Data contained in the ENS shall not be shared with or sold to any party outside of the City of Melrose. The City will keep information submitted to the ENS confidential.
• Upon request of information under the Freedom of Information Act, the request shall be brought before the city solicitor for review.