RICHLAND COUNTY (WACH) -- The Richland County Sheriff's Department is changing the way instant updates are shared with the community through social media.
The department announced it will no longer be sending urgent messages via NIXLE, a source it has been using since the fall of last year.
Sheriff Leon Lott says when the department signed up for the instant text/email alert system, he was promised there would be no cost. In April, they were issued a bill and have since stopped using the service.
"In this day and age it is imperative that citizens receive instantaneous information without there being a financial burden to the taxpayers," a release from the sheriff's department explains. "Therefore, the Department will continue to provide great options for our personnel and our citizens to be informed."
Lott explains despite dropping NIXLE, timely alerts will still be sent through the department's website, Twitter and Facebook accounts.
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