Crime & Safety
Oradell OEM to Get New Office in Borough Hall
OEM Coordinator will share office space with Recreation instead of the Police Department
After years of sharing office space in the , Office of Emergency Management Coordinator Derek Kahill will be getting his own office by next week, though this time he will share it with the .
"The shared office with Recreation should be squared away by next week," Kahill said.
Serving as the OEM coordinator since 2005, Kahill, who is also a borough police officer, has run OEM operations from the police department for the past several years except in cases of emergencies. During Hurricane Irene, a central command dispatch center was set up in Council Chambers to accomodate Kahill's needs as the borough's generator only covers half of the building.
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"One thing I'm working on currently is a back-up generator for borough hall," Kahill said. "The bid specs should be completed soon and then we can get started."
His other main focus for the year is to have local businesses and the remaining homeowners to sign up for and renegotiate the borough's contract with SwiftReach for Reverse 911 services.
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As of , 750 residents had signed up for NIXLE but by last night approximately 1,475 homeowners are participating.
Nixle's publishing service allows verified government agencies, such as the Office of Emergency Management to send messages to local residents via phone text messages, email and web. Information is delivered almost instantly to a subscriber's specific geographic area and any other geographic area of your choosing.
"The plan this year is to get the businesses to sign up, particular for when we have road closures," Kahill said. "NIXLE has come in handy to notify residents of road closures or during power outages. "Also now that Bergen County is under contract again with Swiftreach for their Reverse 911 services, I believe I can renegotiate our contract for better pricing."
The Reverse 911 emergency notification system allows the police department to send voice messages and text messages to residents to their landlines or cellular phones
Registration for Nixle or Swiftreach can be done online.
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