Savvy Citizen coming to Forward Township

The app is free for township residents and provides the ability for instant communication.

Forward Township will join a growing list of communities using Savvy Citizen, a real-time alert system that will soon give residents quicker notice of detours, downed trees and meeting changes.

Supervisors approved the platform Monday, with Chairman Tom DeRosa, Vice Chairwoman Amy Cline and Supervisor Dave Levdansky voting unanimously to move ahead with the service, saying it will help close long-standing gaps in how the township reaches residents.

Cline said she first learned of the program in 2017 through the township’s COG.

Since the closure of the Daily News and with many residents not using Facebook, she said it has grown harder for local governments to share timely updates — especially in a township split across two ZIP codes.

“It’s been a challenge,” she said. “Doing mailings can be a challenge. We’ve been talking about it, and I haven’t been in a position to endorse it or include the funding for it in the annual budget until this year.”

She contacted the platform’s founder ahead of budget discussions and negotiated a reduced rate.

The township will pay $1,500 per year, down from the regular $1,849, and the company will waive the setup fee.

The service is free for residents, who can opt in through the app or by email or text.

“It allows our township to put out bulletins if there’s a tree down, if there’s a water main break, if there’s an accident,” she said. “If there’s an event going on, the concerts in the park or something like that, where we need to get news out to you quickly, you can opt in.”

Supervisors backed the idea without hesitation.

“I think it’s a great idea,” DeRosa said.

Levdansky thanked Cline for pushing it forward.

“It seemed like a really good, easy technology,” he said. “Some people use Facebook, some people don’t. This is something I think we could use.

“Amy, I’m glad you followed up on this because I do think it’s a wise thing to do. For a road being closed, for any emergency, there’s all kinds of stuff going on and I think this is something all of our citizens will benefit from.”

Cline noted residents can subscribe to alerts from any participating municipality, including nearby Elizabeth Township.

“When you go to the website, you can opt in to messages or alerts for how it works best for you,” she said. “If you want to receive them by email or texts to your cellphone, you can customize it to suit you, and choose to get news from other communities.”

One resident asked whether Savvy Citizen could replace legally required newspaper advertisements for meetings, bids or other public notices.

“No,” Cline said. “When we have to put legal notices up, it needs to be in a newspaper of general circulation. That’s being discussed at the state level, but for now we’ll still do legal notices to meet our state obligation. More communication is better than none.”

She said the township hopes to roll out the app soon, with staff training and website integration planned.

Police, fire and emergency personnel will also be able to send alerts directly from their phones when it comes to township news and events as administrators are determined.

Savvy Citizen is operated by Pittsburgh- based Management Science Associates, a firm with roots dating back to the 1950s.

The platform allows municipalities to send push notifications, emails or text alerts in under a minute, and messages can include maps, agendas and other attachments.

Officials can mark exact locations of closures and service impacts using Google Maps, schedule meetings and events on a shared calendar, and target alerts to specific neighborhoods.

There is no limit on the number of messages or administrators.

The platform now includes live integration with FEMA’s Integrated Public Alert and Warning System (IPAWS). This add-on allows verified municipal officials to send emergency alerts that reach every phone in a geographic area — even those belonging to residents who have not downloaded the app.

Savvy Citizen also offers other optional add-on tools for municipalities, including advanced emergency alert modules, extended messaging analytics and features that support multi-agency communication during large-scale events. Communities can choose which of these they want to enable based on their needs and budget.

Savvy Citizen is currently used by 53 municipalities across Allegheny, Fayette, Washington and Westmoreland counties, according to the platform’s public community directory.

It was adopted by Charleroi Borough in September.

In addition to Charleroi, it is currently used locally by Elizabeth Township, Glassport, Liberty, Lincoln, North Versailles and South Park in Allegheny County, and by Allenport and Centerville in Washington County and West Newton in Westmoreland County.