The city of Dearborn says it is tapping into a new online community information provider to increase the speed and effectiveness of its communication with residents.

The city has created a new online account with the Internet provider called Nixle.  Through Nixle, the city says Dearborn residents will be able to receive important and timely information about Dearborn through e-mail, online or in a text message.

Nixle allows  users to choose what type of information they would like to receive and how they would like it to be received.

Users can sign-up to have alerts from the Dearborn Police Department sent directly to their phone via SMS, while having city government posts only sent to e-mail. And all Dearborn Nixle posts will be visible on the Nixle website.

The service is free for Dearborn residents. Anyone can go to www.nixle.com and type Dearborn, Michigan into the search to see the latest post, but an account must be set up with Nixle in order to receive messages.

“The City of Dearborn and its police department are pleased to provide this service to its residents as it offers a reliable and secure way for us to quickly get important information out to our residents,” said Police Chief Ronald Haddad in a city issued press release.