Emergency results reported

About 356 households are currently signed up for the City of Albany emergency call out system, and although 88 percent of those were successfully reached during a test of the One Call Now system that took place on the morning of Wednesday, Feb. 20, city call out system coordinator Chuck Sheppard would like to see those numbers improve.

“We have a little less than 1,500 water meters in Albany, so I think that we have around 1,000 families,” Sheppard said. “Currently there are quite a few people who would not be contacted by the system if it became necessary to let people know about a city emergency. We are doing the best we can to get the word out there and ask them to sign up.”

Shackelford County no longer has a county-wide call out system, so the City of Albany’s emergency call could be the only notification that local residents receive.

“We haven’t had one in about three years,” said sheriff Ed Miller. “The county defunded that program.”

One Call Now system is how Albany would inform its citizens of a boil water notice, a local flood, an evacuation notice, or any other city emergency.

“All that they have to do to get signed up is come by City Hall, or call 762-3133, and ask to be listed on One Call Now,” said Sheppard. “The only information that we need is a name and a phone number.”

Multiple phone numbers can be listed with each name, to include various family members’ cell phones, work phones, and home phone, according to Sheppard.

Last week 356 members were signed up for the system, with a total of 553 phone numbers listed.

“When the test was run, of the 553 phones numbers registered, 28 had been disconnected or changed,” said Sheppard. “There were 38 phones that were busy or unanswered, and two that were bad numbers. That added up to a total of 68 phones that had been registered that we were unable to contact.”

One Call Now made multiple attempts to reach each of the busy or unanswered numbers. 

The company was able to reach 485, or 88 percent, of those listed with the city. 

The computer generated message – “This is a test of the Albany emergency call system. This is only a test” – was delivered to 221 people and left on an answering machine in 264 cases. The message is only delivered in English.

“So far no one that has registered has needed something besides English,” Sheppard said.  

Because of privacy issues, the company can not give Sheppard the names and numbers of those who did not answer, so Albany residents who did not receive the test call are being asked to contact City Hall and verify that they are listed on the system correctly.

Sheppard also requested that people who change phone numbers or who disconnect a listed number contact the city to have the old number removed from the system.

“We’ve already added a few numbers since last week,” said Sheppard. “And I’ve removed two numbers from people who asked to be removed from the system.”

The coordinator reminded people on the system to make sure that they and their phones do not disregard or block the 877-698-3261 call originating from One Call Now. 

“One of the people who didn’t answer last year was my wife,” said Sheppard. “She thought it was a sales call. This year she answered.”