City of Dublin to Test Emergency Phone System on November 29th
On November 29, 2010, the City of Dublin plans to conduct a citywide test of its emergency phone notification system. The calls will begin in the afternoon and will continue until the entire database has been attempted. The message that will be delivered directs recipients to the City website – www.dublin.ca.gov – to add additional contact numbers, and it also asks that recipients spread the word by mentioning the system to family, friends, and neighbors.
According to City Manager Joni Pattillo, this test will give City personnel the chance to operate the system as if there has been a community wide disaster. “The City of Dublin takes its disaster preparedness responsibility very seriously and sees this event as an opportunity to inform citizens of the ways in which they can receive critical emergency information,” said Pattillo.
The City uses the CodeRED Emergency Notification System to reach its residents and businesses. All individuals and businesses should take the time to visit the City’s website and add contact information into the CodeRED system, including cellular phones, other non-traditional phones, email addresses, and regular post mail addresses. If your contact information is not in the database, you will not receive a call when an urgent message is sent.
In particular, businesses should register, as well as individuals who have unlisted phone numbers, those who have changed their phone number recently, and those who use a cellular phone exclusively or a VoIP phone system like Vonage. To register and learn more about the CodeRED system, simply follow the CodeRED link on the City’s website.
Those without internet access may call (925)833-6650 Monday through Friday from 8AM to 5PM to submit their contact information. Required information includes a street address (no P.O. boxes) for location purposes and a primary phone number. Additional phone numbers, email addresses, and regular postal mail addresses may also be provided.
Questions regarding the system should be directed to Roger Bradley, Senior Administrative Analyst at (925)833-6650.
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11:26 AM on November 27th, 2010
Thanks for the helpful article. This seems like a great service for keeping informed of local emergencies. I just entered my contact information into the CodeRED database. However, I can’t see any way to verify that my information is up to date or to make any changes to it in the future. As a test, I went back to the CodeRED start page and re-entered my address and phone information to see if it would tell me that the information was already in the database and let me see the previously-entered data in case I wanted to make any changes. But instead it just let me create a duplicate record. Who wrote this application!
Now, suppose I change my cellphone service and my old cell number is assigned to someone in another town or county? I assume that whoever gets my old phone number will get future Dublin CodeRED emergency calls to that number, with no way to opt out. Maybe someone reading this can figure out how to make changes to their database entry and let us all know the secret. If the only solution is to call the city and have someone manually update the database, that will be very lame. Who is going to remember to do that in a couple of years when they move or change phone numbers? CodeRED should send you an email with a link to update your information, but I’ve received nothing so far. I repeat, who wrote this application!
1:16 PM on November 29th, 2010
Hi Anonymous – I forwarded your comment to Dublin City Hall and they provided this response:
Residents can update their CodeRED contact information as often as they desire; hence, the system allows residents to enter their information as often as it changes. At the current time, only the City of Dublin has the authority to review and approve updates to the system. Simply, each time a resident enters new contact information into the database, and upon City approval, the previous data is overwritten. The website application does work and there is no need to call the City to update your information, although the City will gladly help any residents that need additional assistance. The City understands that a personal account for residents to manage themselves is being developed by CodeRED and should be available in the near future. Hopefully, that will add some simplicity and peace of mind to database management. For those residents that leave their email address, the City can send reminders to update their database information, ensuring that it stays current and fresh.
If there is a need for further information, please contact Roger Bradley, Senior Administrative Analyst at 925-833-6650 for assistance.
Thx, John Z.
3:28 PM on November 30th, 2010
Dear John,
Thanks for looking into this. Apparently I was correct in my previous comment and there is no way to verify if your information in the database is correct. If you accidentally enter the wrong street address, phone number, or email address, is that faulty record going to exist forever? This could mean that the wrong person’s phone number could be called each time there is a city alert, with no way for that person to get off the list. Fortunately no one in Dublin will ever enter a single piece of incorrect data. LOL
The city says “each time a resident enters new contact information into the database, and upon City approval, the previous data is overwritten”. How do they determine if the new record is supposed to replace an existing record? What are the key fields? Street Address? Email address? First & Last Name? All of the above? What if you entered one of those fields incorrectly; how will they match it up with your newly-inputted data?
It seems like someone could deliberately or accidentally make a huge mess of this emergency database until CodeRED implements a User ID & Password system. I think they should have waited until the system was ready for the modern world of online information management before unleashing it on the unwashed masses.