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Civiletto pulls CodeRED support

Fourth Ward Councilman Mike Civiletto pulled his support from the CodeRED system at Wednesday’s Public Safety Meeting, thus saving the city of Dunkirk $5,000 on it’s recently passed 2019 budget.

“I did call NYSAlert and talked to the guy who’s in charge of it in Albany and they’re using the Everbridge system which is a competitor of CodeRED,” Civiletto stated.

“It’s actually stronger than CodeRED, so everything that CodeRED can do, Everbridge can do, NYSAlert can do, so I am pulling my support for CodeRED pending the approval of Chautauqua County approving some additional permissions.”

Civiletto originally wanted the system as he was concerned over residents not receiving travel bans and advisories during unfavorable weather conditions. He also found that the system was handy in alerting citizens and visitors alike if events such as the Fourth of July fireworks or Music on the Pier were canceled. With New York State implementing the new Everbridge system however, the need for an additional paid service which does the same things, and more, is now redundant in his opinion.

According to a recent poll conducted by the OBSERVER, residents don’t know much about NYSAlert and so the city is looking at marketing it more in the summer, especially with the addition of Everbridge.

“It’s something that our tax payers are already paying for in their state taxes, so we might as well take advantage of it,” Fire Chief Mike Edwards added.

The money allotted in the budget for the CodeRED proposal will be put back into the budget through a budget transfer.

Police Chief Dave Ortolano would also like to remind city residents who are traveling for the holidays, that the department has a House Watch Program. The program is for individuals and families who are away from home for a few days, or weeks, at any time during the year. To sign up for this free program, a resident can fill out the form at the police station. Patrols will visit each property on the list everyday and check all doors and windows as well as the perimeter. Last year the department conducted roughly 800-1,000 property checks.

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