Nixle, a formerly free e-notification system which has been in use by Cranberry’s police and public works departments for the past several years, has changed its business model and will now start charging municipalities for the service it had previously provided to them as a public service. In order to continue meeting its state DEP-mandated requirements of resident notification and, at the same time, centralizing its own resident communication tools, as well as Facebook and Twitter, into a single package, Cranberry’s Board of Supervisors agreed at their June 30 meeting to authorize $17,237 for the purchase of the Blackboard Connect service for a year. In addition to becoming the Township’s chosen emergency notification system, Blackboard will serve as its one-stop shop for residents to sign up for all Township content and to specify the ways they would like to receive it.
Sign up information will be posted to the website late in August.