The Carroll County Board of Supervisors voted 4-1 this (Monday) morning to approve a contract with a third-party vendor to improve the county’s communications with its residents. County officials had been in discussions with TextMyGov, which had put together a $15,000, two-year contract for the board’s consideration. Carroll County IT Director Dalton Morrison explains how the system would work.
Your browser doesn’t support HTML5 audio
Board Chair Scott Johnson says he previously spoke with Manning City Administrator Dawn Meyer about her thoughts on the service, as the City of Manning has been using it for several years.
Your browser doesn’t support HTML5 audio
The service costs $6,000 per year and covers up to 75,000 individual texts over the course of the contract year. Landon Beck, a TextMyGov representative, says many people will be automatically enrolled when the service is up and running.
Your browser doesn’t support HTML5 audio
Phone numbers that are not automatically enrolled can sign up via the county’s website once the service is active, which is expected to be by the end of September. Opting out is as simple as texting “STOP” to the number once the system is live and a resident has received the first text message. District 2 Supervisor Mike Andersen says he likes the idea of a county text-messaging service, but the cost seems high.
Your browser doesn’t support HTML5 audio
District 5 Supervisor Mark McCrea echoed Andersen’s sentiment. The council voted 4-1 to approve the contract with TextMyGov, McCrea being the sole nay vote. Now that a contract has been approved, county staff will begin the onboarding process with TextMyGov. Carroll Broadcasting will have more on its implementation before its launch.