to communicate with residents. Being that a huge swath of
the population now relies upon smartphones for news and
other information, the team felt that a mobile app would be
an effective way for municipalities to share information with
their residents.
From concept to completion, the app was built
completely in-house at MSA over a period of 18 months.
“This time included discussing the concept with roughly
a dozen communities to ensure there was a need for the
product prior to building it,” says McConnell. “Every
municipality we talked to shared the pain point of wishing
they could reach a greater number of their residents with
the information that comes to their attention that, if shared,
would make their residents’ lives better.”
The app delivers a variety of information, such as summer
camp registrations, family movies in the park, delays in trash
pick-ups, traffic alerts, road paving schedules, tax payment
deadlines, and more.
“Our biggest success, besides the launch of the product, is
seeing how the app is bringing local communities together,”
adds McConnell. “We see synergies and coordination
between adjoining communities when they are scheduling
calendar events. This enables citizens in both communities
to enjoy and be more aware of local happenings.”
For instance, residents who live in a given community
can also sign up to receive news and notifications from
neighboring communities that are participating in Savvy
Citizen.
“So, from one product, Savvy Citizen users will stay up to
date not only with what’s happening in their communities,
but also in the others they frequent,” says McConnell.
Benjamin Estell, Borough Manager for Dormont,
explains, “Savvy Citizen provides an easy and direct way
to reach residents. Whether it’s a road closure on Hillsdale
Avenue or details about a
community event, like our Street
Fair, we utilize Savvy Citizen to
deliver information to residents.”
“What’s unique about
Savvy Citizen is that, for those
communities whose police are
not yet using an emergency alert
system or are unhappy with the
one they have, the app can serve
both purposes, as we permit access
for the police department to enter
posts as well. In fact, over the last
few months, we received interest
The app delivers a
variety of information,
such as summer camp
registrations, family movies
in the park, delays in trash
pick-ups, traffic alerts,
road paving schedules,
tax payment deadlines
and more.
from many police departments looking for a better way to
communicate,” says McConnell.
The company is looking forward to sharing the app with
more communities in the future, and eventually hopes to
take it nationwide. In 2018, Savvy Citizen will be exhibiting
at the Allegheny League of Municipalities (ALOM) Spring
Educational Conference and the Pennsylvania State
Association of Township Supervisors (PSATS) Annual
Conference, among others.
“The goal is to let more people know that this new
communication method is available to residents for free. They
simply download Savvy Citizen on their phones and sign up
for the information they want to receive,” says Warden. “There
is nothing else they need to
do or learn. They’ll just be
better informed.”
The app is free for
users to download, and is
available for both Android
and Apple smartphones.
Residents who don’t have
smartphones can sign
up for notifications via
email or text message by
visiting the app’s website,
www.savvycitizenapp.com. n
CARLYNTON-MONTOUR
❘
SUMMER 2018
15