UPPER MERION TOWNSHIP
Emergency Alert Notification System

 

Sign Up Now! Upper Merion's Alert System using Connect-CTY– Should certain situations arise in Upper Merion Township that could affect you and your family, Connect-CTY lets township officials notify you quickly by telephone, cell phone and email. Stay informed during an alert or emergency. Your registration with Connect-CTY allows officials to quickly send you an email, or send a voice message to your home phone, cell phone or other device. You let Connect-CTY know your notification preferences. Click on the button to sign up now!

 

Frequently Asked Questions

1. What is the Connect-CTY service?
The Connect-CTY service allows your Township officials to create and rapidly disseminate time-sensitive messages to every telephone number stored in the township's notification database. With the Connect-CTY service, authorized Township officials can literally send thousands of messages to its residents and businesses in just minutes. Only authorized Township officials are allowed access to the system.

2. How does the service work?
Authorized officials record a voice message that is then delivered quickly to individual phones and devices registered in the Township's notification database.

3. What types of messages will be sent using the service?
Any message regarding the safety, security or welfare of our community would be disseminated using the Connect-CTY service.

Examples would include unusually severe weather warnings and updates, hazardous traffic or road conditions inside the township or affecting local routes, and any other situation that could impact the safety, property, or welfare of our residents and businesses.

4. Does the Connect-CTY service replace other systems that have been used to provide time-sensitive information to residents?
This system is a significant enhancement to our existing means of communication and is supplemental to, not a replacement for, the systems we have used in the past.

The Police Department 24-hour information line (610) 265-3232 will remain available for use. Also, TV, radio and our township web site will continue to broadcast important announcements.

5. Is my telephone number included in the notification database?
It is our intention and hope that every residence and commercial facility in our community will register to be included in the notification database. For businesses, only one main phone number will be stored in the system. For residents, more than one number that belongs to a residence may be stored in the database. You may request to have a secondary number be entered into the database for priority calling.

6. May I use a cell phone as my notification database listing?
Yes, the system can accept cell phones as secondary phone numbers in the database and we encourage you to request that your additional phone numbers be included.

7. What precautions are being taken to protect personal information?
Connect-CTY ™ is a service of The NTI Group, Inc. (NTI).  NTI takes security and privacy concerns very seriously and does not sell, trade, lease or loan any data about their clients to any third party. From a technical perspective, they utilize multiple physical and virtual layers of firewalls to maintain data security. NTI only utilizes secure transmissions with its customers. No confidential information is ever transmitted between NTI and its customers using e-mail or FTP, but rather always utilizes either a VPN tunnel or SSL. Data is hosted in state-of-the-art facilities which require photo identification, thumb-print recognition, keyed access, and are manned 24/7 with full-security personnel. All data is encrypted prior to being placed on tape for offsite storage. NTI also retains an external, independent security firm to perform annual security audits.

8. Will there be a way to positively identify incoming calls which are made by the town using the system?
The caller-ID number for calls generated by the Connect-CTY service will be the same as the Township main office number: (610) 265-2600. In addition, every message will begin with the same standard announcement: "Hello, this is Chief Fonock calling with an important message from Upper Merion Township." The message content will follow this standard introduction.

9. Will the Connect-CTY service work if I have a call screening system on my phone?
There are several varieties of call screening devices which use differing protocols for screening. In general, the system has been found to work with these devices; but, some may require some type of pre-programming to allow our township's telephone number to pass through. We may conduct periodic tests to assure that our messages are being delivered to all numbers in the notification database.

10. If I am a non-resident home or condominium owner, what phone should be listed in the notification database?
For non-residents or owners who reside outside our township, you may provide an additional phone number to be included in the database to contact during certain situations. In general, calls are sent to the primary number only, but the system also has the ability to call multiple numbers for each resident or business when requested by that resident or business. Please contact our township office at (610) 265-3232 to provide us with that information.

11. If I have provided more than one phone number, when will they be called?
Should a situation arise that requires us to contact you at multiple phone numbers, we can activate the system to place a simultaneous call to all of your numbers. However, in most cases, we will be sending calls only to one primary phone number.

12. My primary phone or my second listing is a cell phone with a non-local area code. Will the Connect-CTY service call numbers outside the area?
Yes. The area code does not impact whether or not a call is made.

13. How does the Connect-CTY system respond to busy signals or no-answer situations?
For busy signals, the call will be repeated several times in an attempt to reach you. The same is true for No-answer and Call-waiting. If the phone is answered by a message recorder, the message will be left on the answering device. If, after several repeated attempts the call does not successfully go through, the system will stop attempting to call.

14. I am receiving town notification calls at my fax or my secondary phone line. Can I switch to have the system call my primary phone number?
Yes. Please contact us at (610) 265-3232 to change the phone number in our notification database.

15. I was not able to listen to the entire call. Is there a way to repeat the message?
Yes. On most devices at the end of the message playback, simply press the star (*) key on your telephone key pad to have the message repeated in its entirety.

16. I answer the phone but the "Hello" message repeats. It then hangs up, calls back, and the same thing happens again. How can I hear the entire message?
Repeating or looping of messages happens when the system detects excessive noise in the background. This can be caused by loud radio/television volumes, people talking, or busy traffic noise. When you receive the next call, say "hello" once and turn down the volume of your radio/television or press the mute button on your telephone to allow full message delivery.

For more information, please contact Charles Bailey, Upper Merion Police Department, Telecommunications Supervisor, at 610-265-3232, ext. 268.