Connect-CTY™
 The Town
of Pleasant Garden is pleased to announce the launch of the
Blackboard Connect service, our new town-to-resident notification
system. With this service, town 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 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 Blackboard Connect image to sign up.
Connect-CTY™
Frequently Asked Questions
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.
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 Blackboard Connect Inc.
(BCI). BCI 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.
BCI only utilizes secure transmissions with its customers. No
confidential information is ever transmitted between BCI 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. BCI 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 Town Office number:
(336)
674-3002. In addition, every message will begin with
the same standard announcement: " Hello, this is the Town of
Pleasant Garden calling with an important message. 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 our town hall office at
(336) 674-3002 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 us at 336-674-3002 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.
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