• The Florida Division of Emergency Management has temporarily extended its contract with emergency notification alert system management company Everbridge, according to a Security and Exchange Commission document.
•  The state initially moved to terminate the contract following an inadvertent early morning emergency alert. 
• A secondary filing reported that Florida reneged on the termination, temporarily extending Everbright’s contract through the end of the calendar year. 

The state of Florida has opted to temporarily extend its contract with emergency alert management company Everbridge, as confirmed by the Florida Division of Emergency Management (FDEM).

According to a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) document filed on April 21, FDEM initially moved to rescind its contract with Everbridge after the company mistakenly issued an early morning emergency alert. The early termination, pending approval, prematurely ends the contract on June 30, a full year earlier than originally agreed upon.

A subsequent filing made by Everbridge on April 27 reported a secondary modification that extended Everbridge’s contract through the end of the calendar year. The six-month value of the contract amounts to $1.75 million, according to the filing.

“On April 27, 2023, [Everbridge] and the FDEM entered into a Contract amendment that rescinds the termination and modifies the end date of the Contract to December 31, 2023,” the filing reads. “The amendment also adds an option for a six-month renewal of service to June 30, 2024, the original length of the Contract.”

FDEM told The Capitolist on Monday that as the beginning of hurricane season approaches, the agency finds it critical to maintain a mass notification system to share live-saving alerts and information via television, radio, and wireless alerts.

Despite the extension, however, agency leaders stated that it has already begun the process to obtain a new vendor for emergency notification services.

On April 20, Everbridge, the entity responsible for overseeing the state’s emergency notification system, inadvertently pushed a test notification to all cell phones in Florida in the twilight hours of the morning. The mishap drew the ire of state officials, including Gov. Ron DeSantis, who called for “swift accountability.”

Following the error, FDEM announced its intent to terminate its contract with Everbridge, which issued an extensive apology for its oversight, attributing it to “human error.”

“We have a long history of supporting the State of Florida and the FDEM dating back to 2016,” read the statement. “We identified an unfortunate procedural human error in this monthly test that we are investigating. We are committed to the State of Florida and to FDEM as a partner, as we are with all of our customers, to continue to improve and ensure best practices are applied.”