The city of Starkville will introduce the app CivicReady to send important alerts to its residents.
CivicReady will send alerts about local emergencies, road closures, event management, utility issues and any other concerns that may affect a person’s everyday life in the city.
The city will send alerts as text messages, emails and voice messages to those who wish to receive the communication.
Residents have the option to opt-in for the app. If they choose to opt-in, they will have the option to customize which type of alerts they wish to receive.
Most of the city’s departments, such as the police and utility departments, will have access to send alerts through the system.
The Board of Aldermen approved the program at its recent meeting and planned to implement CivicReady for Starkville residents at the end of April or the beginning of May.
Prior to board approval, city officials discussed implementing a system of mass communication with its information technology department for approximately six to eight months. They sought to build a plan around the idea to be able to go forward with their project.
The system is currently in the project management phase after the board’s approval in early March. The city will continue to work on how to deliver messages and programming the ability to opt into the system.
The city’s technology director, Joel Clements, played a part in choosing the CivicReady system for the city.
“We have done a great job overall of using social media, but we’re missing out on a huge portion of people that could potentially benefit from this,” Clements said. “That’s really the main driving factor is we’re getting the word out, but we wanted a way to reach people not only quicker, but also to reach more people.”
Clements said that the efficiency of the messages is what drew the city to approve the system.
The population of Starkville is over 24,000, according to the most recent census. The system can send about 60,000 texts per minute and 50,000 emails per minute.
CivicReady uses geotargeting technology for the alerts. This technology locates where someone is within the city and determines if a certain alert needs to be sent to that person’s device.
There will be an option for residents to receive alerts for specific locations, like neighborhoods. 
Mayor Lynn Spruill has been a leading part of the mass communication plan. She said CivicReady is not limited to the permanent residents of Starkville and encouraged Mississippi State University students to opt-in.
“I think this is their home, and I want them to feel as though the information that we have to provide is of value to them since they’re living here in Starkville,” Spruill said.
CivicReady will not give alerts about happenings on MSU’s campus, but it will send alerts about any major events such as game days to warn people about any road closures or traffic.
Even though the system does not include coverage for campus, Clements said even those who live on campus will benefit from it.
“We encourage people that live on campus, and then all students and staff or faculty, everybody associated with campus to sign up for this, because many of the things we do will affect, you know, how you get to school or things like that,” Clements said.
Caroline Dewberry has lived in Starkville her whole life. She is now a senior at Mississippi State University majoring in communication.
Dewberry said CivicReady could benefit the Starkville community.
“Any way to make any form of improving communication within any kind of residence or just the city of Starkville as a whole, I think that is just a really smart way to get the word out to people,” Dewberry said.
CivicReady is available to download on the Apple App Store and Google Play. Following its release, residents can sign-up online.