The towns of Martha's Vineyard and the Dukes' County Sheriff have contracted with Emergency Communications Network to license its CivicReady high-speed notification solution. The Civic Ready system enables town or county officials to quickly deliver messages to targeted areas or the entire town or county.
Such systems are only as good as the telephone number database supporting them. If your phone number is not in our database, you will not receive a call. One of the reasons the CivicReady system was selected is that it gives individuals and businesses the ability to add their own phone numbers directly into the system's database. This is an extremely important feature-no one should automatically assume his or her phone number is included. We urge all individuals and businesses to log onto West Tisbury and follow the link to the "CivicReady Community Notification Enrollment" page.
Those without Internet access may use the computers at the Library or Howe's House. Required information includes first and last name, street address (physical address, no P.O. boxes), city, state, zip code, and primary phone number; additional phone numbers can be entered as well.
All businesses should register, as well as all individuals who have unlisted phone numbers, who have changed their phone number or address within the past year, and those who use a cellular phone or VoIP phone as their primary number.
CivicReady allows geographically based delivery, which means street addresses are required to ensure emergency notification calls are received by the proper individuals in a given situation. The system works for cell phones, too, but we need to have an associated street address to provide relevant messages.
CivicReady gives those who want to be included an easy and secure method for inputting information. The data collected will only be used for emergency notification purposes. Questions from WT residents should be directed to the West Tisbury Emergency Management Director, 508-693-0050.
Enrollment
Although we have a database installed from phone company records, we need a firm geographic location to associate with the phone numbers. The online form allows enrollment for cell phones, text messaging, and email. You can also opt out of any mode.
If you are a West Tisbury resident, give your address as your physical street address in West Tisbury, no matter what your mailing address may be. After you type in your information, pushing the 'continue' button will take you to a map page.
At the bottom of the map page, you should see a "submit" button. If you do not, resize the view on your computer screen using the zoom control in the lower right-hand corner of the screen.
Locate your residence in WT on the map, and double-click. A star should appear at the location. If you make a mistake, just double-click again. When you're ready, push "submit". That's all there is to it.
Tell your friends, family, and neighbors, and if they're not computer literate, give them a hand.