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Main Home Page System Features Home Page Communications Community Module Constituent Relations Emergency Messaging FAQs Module Media Central New Release Newsletters
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Emergency Messaging SystemAlthough the Emergency Messaging System (EMS) module is one of the least used modules in the E-Government Content Management System (CMS), it is one of the most popular features. The magnitude of the communications problem is best illustrated with an example.Background & ExampleThe frequency and severity of weather related emergencies over the recent past have highlighted the need for an effective method for municipalities to communicate with their constituents. The severity of the communications problem can be illustrated using the massive snowstorm experienced in the North Eastern states a couple of years ago as an example.The storm, which dumped up to three feet of snow on the effected area, was accompanied by very heavy winds in the early part of the storm. As snow removal equipment plowed the snow on major roads it was blowing back onto the roads as fast as it was plowed. As a consequence, in many areas the storm was over 24 hours old and plows were still on major roads. People on secondary and tertiary roads were concerned about the lack of snow removal activity and started calling town halls and the road departments. The municipal phone systems were simply not designed to accept the magnitude of incoming calls. When residents continuous received busy signals their frustration resulted in a perception that official phones were deliberately being taken off the hook A better communication medium is clearly needed. Enter the E-Government.com’s Emergency Messaging System. Emergency Messaging ComponentsThe E-Government EMS has two components:
Starting a website “State of Emergency” is simply a matter of a website administrator entering the site maintenance area and clicking on a link titled “Start State of Emergency.” Subsequently the link will change to “Terminate State of Emergency.” Upon starting a state of emergency the administrator is requested to enter content for the “Emergency Home Page Top Section Title” and “Emergency Home Page Top Section Body.” This is the section appearing at the top of the new home page. The temporary home page is a “What’s New” page type which always displays the first section (entered above) at the top of the page and display subsequently added sections in reverse chronological order. The most recently added section is display at the top of the list and previous entries are moved down on the list. Each entry has the date and time it was originally entered. The title of the first section might be something like: “Our Town is Currently Under a Snow Emergency” The body of the first section could be: “Our Town is currently under a snow emergency. We will do our best to keep you informed with developments and announcements.” News items will appear below in reverse chronological order, the most recent on the top of the list. Each item will also show the time and date of the posting.” As the emergency progresses any authorized administrator can return to site administration and add messages as frequently as desired, the more the better. The administrator simply adds more content to the then current home page. At the conclusion of the emergency the administrator reenters the maintenance section and clicks on “Terminate State of Emergency.” The temporary home page and its contents are erased and the original home page is restored. While the emergency is in progress all of the municipalities website content is available for viewing with the exception of the original home page. Live DemonstrationTo show the ease of using the E-Government.com Emergency Messaging System enter the following URL into your browser’s address area:http://e-govdemo.com This shows the home page of the demo site. It may be in emergency or non-emergency mode depending upon how it was left the last time someone tried the demo system. The next step is to engage site administration. Opening a second browser window gives you the convenience of making a change and then viewing your changes by simply toggling between the two browser windows. Enter: http://e-govdemo.com/admin Log into site administration by entering “admin” (without the quotation marks) as both the “Your User ID” and as “Your Password.” Once into administration you will see a group of links at the top of the page. The one at the top left says, “Log out from E-Gov Demo.” Immediately to the right of the log out link is one saying either “Start State of Emergency” or “Terminate State of Emergency.” If the link is “Terminate State of Emergency” click on the link to start the demo from the normal non-emergency state. The link will toggle to the next step in the sequence. If you are in the normal state the link displays “Start State of Emergency.” Once you have put the site into a State of Emergency and entered the top-of-page title and initial section, return to administration. Scroll down a little until you see “Page and Document Administration.” At the top of the drop menu, click on “Emergency Home Page - /index.php.” When the next screen displays, enter a new section. Go back to the Demo Home Page and click on refresh to see the content you just loaded. Continue this process during the entire state of emergency. When you are finished with the demo go back to administration and click on “Terminate State of Emergency.” This is only a demo site so don’t be afraid to change things or try other features of the E-Government Content Management System. E-Government.com Demo Page SummaryThe E-Government.com Emergency Messaging System, combined with the E-Government Content Management System empowers a municipality with the ability to frequently communicate emergency information for constituents in a timely fashion. Minor changes in conditions can be instantly communicated in “real time.” A resident can read all messages posted during the entire state of emergency and determine the exact date and time the message was originally entered.Future EnhancementsThere have been several enhancement suggestions. These include:
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Communications - Community Module - Constituent Relations Emergency Messaging - FAQs Module - Media Central - New Release Newsletters Other Major E-Government.com Sub Web Sites
Home Page - Media Central - FAQs E-Government.com 15 Hunter Drive Tuckerton, NJ 08087 Email: President Urban LeJeune Phone: 609-294-0320 - FAX: 609-294-0320
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