Spotlight on New Freedom
“Excellence in Resident Communication”

Government

Introduction

Andrew Shaffer, manager of New Freedom Borough (PA-York County) wanted a better way to communicate with the 4900 plus residents the borough services. The borough had tried social media but ultimately shut down their Facebook page because of the spread of misinformation and arguments among residents. Andrew, who has experience with emergency alert systems, opted not to purchase one due to how difficult they are to use and their inability to handle community events and more helpful information.

“Savvy Citizen is the best tool for local governments to quickly push information out to residents,
and it handles community events better than any notification system I have used in the past.”
— Andrew Shaffer, Manager, New Freedom Borough

The Challenge

  • Facebook social media page spread misinformation and caused arguments.

  • Past emergency alert systems have been difficult to use.

  • Needed an easy way to share community events and other information with residents.

What Did MSA Do

New Freedom Borough selected Savvy Citizen to fill their communication need. After being a Savvy Citizen user for more than a year and a half, Andrew is happy with his experience.

“Savvy Citizen is the best tool for local governments to quickly push information out to residents, and it handles community events better than any notification system I have used in the past.”

The Results

Now New Freedom Borough is highly engaged with their residents through Savvy Citizen. The borough uses Savvy Citizen to post municipal meetings, events and notifications on a weekly basis. Not only does the borough value keeping residents more informed, they also believe in supporting their residents in time of need. Recently, a local family suffered a fire at their home and was left in need of help. New Freedom Borough took up a collection for clothes, gift cards and other items on behalf of the family and used Savvy Citizen to notify residents of the opportunity to contribute. As a result, a steady stream of items has been arriving at the borough office to help the family.

For Andrew, Savvy Citizen is also a real time saver.
“Savvy Citizen is very easy to use. I can quickly create an event or send a notification. One of my favorite features is the suggested notifications. These are pre-written notifications that I can select to send out. New notifications are presented on a monthly basis and if one is not applicable, I can easily dismiss it. This feature saves me from having to type routine notifications.”

Additionally, New Freedom Borough utilizes the Savvy Citizen website calendar plug-in, which embeds the Savvy Citizen calendar directly into the municipality’s website. Doing so eliminates the need to enter the same information twice, further saving time.

“Savvy Citizen has been the answer we’ve been looking for. Local community events, information, street closures, emergencies, and weather-related issues are relayed instantly to our residents. Much better than trying to use other social media outlets and without all the problems that go along with them.”
— Kim Butcher, Mayor, New Freedom Borough

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