South Greensburg is hoping to create some Savvy Citizens

South Greensburg hopes to keep residents better informed about borough happenings with a smartphone app.

The borough has started posting information to the Savvy Citizen app.

Council agreed to pay Savvy Citizen about $1,000 to try the app for one year, according to President Clentin Martin.

“We simply want residents to be more aware of what’s going on,” Martin said. “Part of our comprehensive plan was better communication with our residents.”

The app is free to use. It includes a calendar of community events and can be used to send notifications about road closures and emergencies.

Martin said about 100 people have signed up so far.

He said he hopes people who don’t usually pay attention to the township’s existing communications efforts might be more receptive to an app.

“A lot of people don’t read things,” he said. “We send out a bulletin a couple times a year; we put it on our sign; we put it on our website. (Savvy Citizen) is just an additional way.”

Several other local communities started using the app in the last few years, including Richland, Pine, McCandless and Plum.