FAQs • Billings • CivicEngage

Are there any fees associated with emergency notifications?: There are no fees to create an account for Target Notification, regardless of the number of phones and VoIPs that you enter. However, emergency notification calls to cell phones will be deducted from your cell phone’s plan minutes, just as any other incoming call. The cost of Target Notification services is paid by the Billings City/County 9-1-1 Center with the 9-1-1 fees associated with your telephone bill.

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Emergency Notification

1. Who should opt in?: All wireless and VoIP phone subscribers within Billings and Yellowstone County who wish to receive emergency notifications should register their telephone numbers on the Target Notification website. Landline (or hard wired) telephone customers and their locations are maintained in a separate database and do not need to be registered.

2. Will my information be sold or distributed?: No. All of the information you enter will feed directly into the Target Notification secure database. This information can only be accessed by system administrators and the data will never be sold or distributed to third parties.

3. When will I receive phone calls?: You will receive phone calls when the Target Notification system is activated and your address is within the geographic area chosen to receive the notification message. The Target Notification system will only be activated for emergency purposes during incidents that pose a risk to public safety or when emergency services officials may ask for the public’s assistance during a crisis incident.

4. What do I do if I move?: If you move after you have entered your information into the website, you will need to go back into the website and re-enter your information with your new address.

5. Can I add my landline telephone number?: Yes. You can enter your landline phone number into the Target Notification Opt-In website. Most landline phone numbers are already in the database and the data you enter into the site will NOT overwrite the existing information for your landline telephone number. If your landline phone number is not already in the database, then the new information will be entered into the database.

6. Can I enter my telephone number more than once at different addresses?: No. The last address that you enter into the website will be the only location that your telephone number is associated with. Your telephone number can only be in the database once, at one location.

7. Do I have to enter an actual address?: Yes. If you enter an address that does not exist you will not be in the database and will not be contacted when the Target Notification system is activated.

8. If I am in a location that is different than the address that I enter into the website for my wireless phone, will I still be contacted if an emergency affects the address entered?: Yes. No matter where you are physically located, you will only receive calls for emergencies that affect the address entered into the website. So if you are on vacation in a different state you will still receive a phone call if the address you entered is affected by an emergency.

9. After I create my online account, how long will it be before my phone number is “active” to receive emergency notifications?: Your phone number should be ready to receive emergency notifications about one week from your account creation date.

10. Are there any fees associated with emergency notifications?: There are no fees to create an account for Target Notification, regardless of the number of phones and VoIPs that you enter. However, emergency notification calls to cell phones will be deducted from your cell phone’s plan minutes, just as any other incoming call. The cost of Target Notification services is paid by the Billings City/County 9-1-1 Center with the 9-1-1 fees associated with your telephone bill.

11. Is the Target Notification system able to assist individuals that are deaf or hard of hearing?: Target Notification has TDD/TTY capabilities to assist those individuals.

12. If I have a “blocked” phone will this impact Target Notification?: Yes. You will not receive the notification call with a blocked telephone number.