Dearborn council approves TextMyGov contract to expand citizen texting and issue reporting

The Dearborn City Council authorized a two‑year contract with TextMyGov for $50,000 to add a texting channel for non-emergency, geographically targeted notifications and issue reporting. Community relations director Ollie Phillips told council the platform will let staff send opt‑out texts for neighborhood alerts—such as parking notices and water-main updates—and can be expanded to two‑way exchanges in a later module. "It's an opt out service, so if you don't wanna get the texts, you don't have to get the texts," Phillips said.

The contract is structured with $29,000 in the first year and $21,000 in the second. Administration said it plans a soft launch to work out caps and routing; councilmembers asked about timing and the ability to send city-specific alerts to small geographic areas. The clerk recorded that unanimous roll will be attached to the item; the administration expects to begin the rollout within a few weeks of contract execution.