The City of Selma is pleased to announce the launch of the
Connect-CTY® service, our new city-to-resident
notification system. With this service, city leaders can send
personalized voice messages to residents and businesses within
minutes with specific information about time-sensitive or
common-interest issues such as emergencies and local community
matters. The Connect-CTY service will be used to supplement
our current communication plans and augment public
safety/first responder services.
Please accept our invitation to participate in this great
service. We know that your personal information is important,
and rest assured that we will not share it with anyone. If you
have NOT already received a test phone call from us, or you
would like to provide additional contact information, click the
Connect-CTY image to sign up.
Frequently
Asked Questions about the
Connect-CTY® service:
What is the Connect-CTY
service? The Connect-CTY service allows authorized civic
leaders to create and rapidly disseminate time-sensitive
messages to every telephone number stored in the notification
database. With the Connect-CTY service, authorized users can
send thousands of messages in minutes. Only authorized officials
are allowed access to the system.
How does the service work?
Authorized officials record a voice message that is then
delivered quickly to individual phones in the notification
database.
What types of messages will be
sent using the service? Any message regarding the safety or
welfare of our community would be disseminated using the
Connect-CTY service.
Examples would include severe
weather warnings and updates, hazardous traffic or road
conditions inside the town or affecting local routes, and any
other situation that could impact the safety, property, or
welfare of our citizens.
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 existing means of communication and
is supplemental to, not a replacement for, the systems we have
used in the past.
The call-in emergency information
line (559)-891-2200, which is activated during an emergency
situation, will still be available. Also, TV, radio and our town
web site will continue to broadcast important announcements.
Is my telephone number
included in the notification database? It is our intention
and hope that every residence and commercial facility in our
community be included in the notification database. For
businesses, we only store one main phone number. For residents,
we may have more than one number that belongs to you in the
database. Additionally, you may request to have a secondary
number be entered into our database for priority calling.
May I use a cell phone as my
notification database listing? Yes, we can accept cell
phones as secondary phone numbers in the database and encourage
you to request that your number be included.
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 our clients to any third party. From a
technical perspective, we 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.
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 City Hall Office
number: (559)-891-2200. In addition, every message will begin
with the same standard announcement: “Hello, this is Chief
______ calling with an important message from the City of
Selma”. The message content will follow this standard
introduction.
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 town’s telephone
number to pass through. We may conduct periodic test to assure
that messages are being delivered to numbers in the notification
database.
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 out of our town/city, you may provide an additional phone
number to be included in our database to contact during certain
situations. In general, calls are sent to the primary number
only, but we also have the ability to call multiple numbers for
each resident or business when requested by the resident or
business. Please contact David Lewis at City Hall (559)-891-2200
to provide us with that information.
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. In most cases, we will
be sending calls only to one phone number.
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.
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 attempts the call does not successfully go through, the
system will stop attempting to call.
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 David Lewis at (559)-891-2200 to change the phone number
in our notification database.
I was not able to listen to
the entire call. Is there a way to repeat the message? Yes,
at the end of the message playback, simply press the star (*)
key on your telephone to have it repeated in its entirety.
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.
Selma Fire Department
2857 "A" St.
(559) 891-2211
