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VIDALIA, La. — For any issue in the Town of Vidalia, whether it’s a water leak, power outage, or an alligator at City Hall, there will soon be a phone number to call to address it — even after normal business hours.

A live person from a call center will answer, gather all the information, and get it to the right person for the job, said Dustin Hinkle, the town’s executive director of media and communications.

Hinkle gave a presentation on Tuesday during the regular Board of Aldermen meeting about the reporting application called Vidalia Cooperative Communications System.

The program, which officially launches June 1, will be a resource to residents for reporting issues such as power outages, water leaks, air quality issues, or “really anything,” Hinkle said.

In life-or-death emergencies, always call 911. But to cut back on 911 calls that don’t require a law enforcement officer or medical response, the call center can help, Hinkle said.

Additionally, the town can send out alerts through the system to keep residents informed, he said. Residents can send photos of an issue and verbally tell the on-call worker what is going on, all while creating a digital record of the problem that staff can see in real time and that never gets deleted.

A benefit of that is, when it comes time for the town to apply for grants for natural disaster relief from agencies such as the Federal Emergency Management Agency, those detailed records are invaluable, officials said.

The person reporting the issue can also remain part of the process going forward and receive updates in the issue through its resolution, even if the issue is handed off to another person on staff, Hinkle said.

There are still steps to “refine” this system before it officially launches to the public, he said.

To sign up for these alerts when the program launches, visit vidalia-la.notify.daupler.com/auth.

Current utility clients that have their mobile number on file will automatically be included in notifications, Hinkle said, adding once they receive a notification, they can choose to opt out if they do not want to receive these types of updates.