The Florida Division of Emergency Management has extended its deadline for terminating a contract with a software company that state officials blamed for an early morning test alert last week.
Government officials said last week that they would end their contract early with Everbridge, a company they said was responsible for a test alert sent to Floridians’ phones at 4:45 a.m. on April 20.
According to a United States Securities and Exchange Commission filing, the company was notified on April 21 that their contract would end on June 30 — one year early. The termination date would come one month into Florida’s hurricane season, potentially leaving the state without an emergency alert system during major storms.
However, on Thursday, the emergency management division and Everbridge modified the contract end date to Dec. 31, according to the filing. The amended contract also includes an option to extend the contract for another six months, through June 30, 2024, which is when the contract was initially set to expire.
Alecia Collins, a spokesperson for the emergency management division, said the state plans to find a new vendor before the December deadline. The division will then terminate its contract with Everbridge once the new vendor has run multiple tests during a transitionary period.
“We just don’t want to shut it off without some type of way to notify citizens of emergencies,” Collins said.
The Emergency Alert System notification on April 20 emitted a blaring noise usually reserved for Amber Alerts when children go missing or severe weather. Floridians across the state took to social media to vent their frustrations at being woken up early.
“TEST — This is a TEST of the Emergency Alert System,” the message said. “No action is required.”
Collins said the notification was supposed to test television emergency alerts. The Florida Association of Broadcasters normally schedules these alerts for early in the morning, when few people are watching television.
The state first signed a three-year contract with Everbridge in 2016. It then renewed the contract in 2019 for five years, agreeing to pay the company $17.5 million for the extension. So far, the state has paid $13,742,613 of the contract, according to the Florida Accountability Contract Tracking System.
The six-month value of the contract is $1.75 million, according to the SEC filing.
Times Staff Writer Max Chesnes contributed to this report.
