The
Village of Long Grove is pleased to announce the launch of the Connect-CTY
service, our new village-to-resident notification system. With this
service, village leaders can send personalized voice messages to residents and
businesses within minutes with specific information about time-sensitive or
common-interest issues such as emergencies and local community matters.
The Connect-CTY service will be
used to supplement our current communication
plans and augment public safety/first
responder services.
Please
accept our invitation to participate in this great service. We know that your
personal information is important, and rest assured that we will not share it
with anyone. If you have NOT already received a test phone call from us,
or you would like to provide additional contact information, click the Connect-CTY image to sign up.
Frequently-Asked Questions
What is the Connect-CTY
service?
The Connect-CTY service
allows authorized civic leaders to create and rapidly disseminate
time-sensitive messages to every telephone number stored in the notification
database. With the Connect-CTY service, authorized users
can send thousands of messages in minutes. Only authorized officials are
allowed access to the system.
How does the service
work?
Authorized officials record
a voice message that is then delivered quickly to individual phones in the
notification database.
What types of messages
will be sent using the service?
Any message regarding the
safety or welfare of our community would be disseminated using the Connect-CTY
service.
Examples would include
severe weather warnings and updates, hazardous traffic or road conditions inside
the village or affecting local routes, and any other situation that could
impact the safety, property, or welfare of our citizens.
Does the Connect-CTY
service replace other systems that have been used to provide time-sensitive
information to residents?
This system is a
significant enhancement to existing means of communication and is supplemental
to, not a replacement for, the systems we have used in the past.
Is my telephone number
included in the notification database?
It is our intention and
hope that every residence and commercial facility in our community be included
in the notification database. For businesses, we initially store one main
phone number. For residents, we may have more than one number that
belongs to you in the database. Residents and businesses may request to have
additional contact information entered into our database for priority
notifications.
May I use a cell phone
as my notification database listing?
Yes, we can accept cell
phone numbers in the database and encourage you to request that your number be
included.
What precautions are
being taken to protect personal information?
Connect-CTY® is
a service of The NTI Group, Inc. (NTI). NTI takes security and privacy concerns
very seriously and does not sell, trade, lease or loan
any data about our clients to any third party. From a
technical perspective, we utilize multiple physical and virtual layers of
firewalls to maintain data security. NTI only utilizes secure
transmissions with its customers. No confidential information is ever
transmitted between NTI and its customers using e-mail or FTP, but
rather always utilizes either a VPN tunnel or SSL. Data is hosted in
state-of-the-art facilities which require photo identification, thumb-print
recognition, keyed access, and are manned 24/7 with full-security
personnel. All data is encrypted prior to being placed on tape for
offsite storage. NTI also retains an external, independent security firm to
perform annual security audits.
Will there be a way to
positively identify incoming calls which are made by the village using the
system?
The caller-ID number for
calls generated by the Connect-CTY service will be:
Will the Connect-CTY
service work if I have a call screening system on my phone?
There are several varieties
of call screening devices which use differing protocols for screening. In
general, the system has been found to work with these devices; but, some may
require some type of pre-programming to allow our village’s telephone number to
pass through. We may conduct periodic tests to assure that messages are
being delivered to numbers in the notification database.
If I am a non-resident
home or condominium owner, what phone should be listed in the notification
database?
For non-residents or owners
who reside outside of our village, you may provide an additional phone number
to be included in our database as a point of contact during certain
situations. In general, calls are sent to the primary phone number only,
but we also have the ability to call multiple numbers for each resident or
business. Please contact the Village Hall at (847)-634-9440 to
provide us with that information.
If I have provided more
than one phone number, when will they be called?
Should a situation arise
that requires us to contact you at multiple phone numbers, we can activate the
system to place a simultaneous call to all of your numbers. In most cases, we
will be sending calls only to one phone number.
My primary phone or my
second listing is a cell phone with a non-local area code. Will the Connect-CTY
service call numbers outside the area?
Yes. The area code
does not impact whether or not a call is made.
How does the Connect-CTY
system respond to busy signals or no-answer situations?
For busy signals, the call
will be repeated several times in an attempt to reach you. The same is
true for No-answer and Call-waiting. If the phone is answered by a
message recorder, the message will be left on the answering device. If,
after several attempts the call does not successfully go through, the system
will stop attempting to call.
I am receiving village
notification calls at my fax or my secondary phone line. Can I switch to
have the system call my primary phone number?
Yes. Please contact the
Long Grove Village Hall at (847)-634-9440 to change the phone number in
our notification database.
I was not able to listen
to the entire call. Is there a way to repeat the message?
Yes, at the end of the
message playback, simply press the star (*) key on your telephone to have it
repeated in its entirety.
I answer the phone but
the “Hello” message repeats. It then hangs up,
calls back, and the same thing happens again. How can I hear the
entire message?
Repeating or looping of
messages happens when the system detects excessive noise in the
background. This can be caused by loud radio/television volumes, people
talking, or busy traffic noise. When you receive the next call, say
“hello” once and turn down the volume of your radio/television or press the
mute button on your telephone to allow full message delivery.