For County & Municipal Government

Citizen alerts that actually reach people

Boil-water notices buried in spam. Permit updates no one reads. Emergency alerts that arrive too late. Blasts delivers critical government communications through a dedicated notification inbox citizens opted into — no email filters, no SMS costs, no app downloads.

Get Free Sandbox Key → See HTML Alert Example ↓

The communication gap in local government

12%

average open rate for government email newsletters

$4,200

monthly SMS cost for a mid-size county (10,000 subscribers)

72hrs

average delay before citizens see non-emergency notices

Built for public service

🚨

Emergency Alerts

Boil-water advisories, severe weather, road closures, evacuation orders. Time-critical notices that can't wait for email delivery.

📋

Permit & License Status

"Your building permit #BP-2026-4521 has been approved." No more citizens calling the office to check status.

💧

Utility Billing Alerts

Payment due reminders, usage spikes, service interruptions. Reduce delinquencies and call center volume.

🏛️

Public Meeting Notices

Board meetings, public hearings, zoning changes. Increase civic engagement with reliable delivery.

🗳️

Election & Voter Info

Polling location changes, early voting hours, ballot drop-off sites. Nonpartisan, informational only.

🏗️

Code Enforcement

Violation notices, inspection scheduling, compliance deadlines. Documented delivery with read receipts.

Rich HTML emergency alert example

This is what a real county emergency blast looks like — fully formatted HTML with merge tags

📱 Live Preview — Citizen's Screen Blast Inbox

💻 API Call — Batch Send with HTML

# County emergency blast — all enrolled citizens
curl -X POST "https://api.blasts.app/api/v1/partner/messages/batch" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $API_KEY" \
  -H "X-Blasts-Timestamp: $(date +%s000)" \
  -H "X-Blasts-Signature: sha256=..." \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
  "batch_name": "boil_water_2026_07_21",
  "body_html": "<div style=\"font-family:sans-serif\">
    <div style=\"background:#dc2626;color:#fff;
         padding:20px;text-align:center\">
      <h1>⚠️ Boil Water Advisory</h1>
      <p>Washington County Public Works</p>
    </div>
    <div style=\"padding:20px\">
      <div style=\"background:#fef2f2;border:2px solid
           #fca5a5;border-radius:12px;padding:16px\">
        <h2 style=\"color:#dc2626\">
          Action Required — {{name}}</h2>
        <p>District <strong>{{district}}</strong>
        is under a boil water advisory.</p>
      </div>
      <p>Duration: 24–48 hours</p>
      <p>Water stations: Oak Park, City Hall,
         Fire Station #7</p>
      <a href=\"https://washco.gov/advisory\"
         style=\"background:#dc2626;color:#fff;
         padding:12px 32px;border-radius:8px;
         display:inline-block;font-weight:700\">
         View Full Advisory →</a>
    </div>
  </div>",
  "body_plain": "BOIL WATER ADVISORY: {{name}}, District {{district}} is under advisory. Boil all tap water 1 min before use. Stations: Oak Park, City Hall, Fire Station #7. Info: washco.gov/advisory",
  "priority": "urgent",
  "recipients": [
    {
      "to_email": "jane.smith@email.com",
      "merge": {
        "name": "Jane Smith",
        "district": "3"
      }
    },
    {
      "to_email": "bob.wilson@email.com",
      "merge": {
        "name": "Bob Wilson",
        "district": "5"
      }
    }
  ]
}'

# Response:
{
  "ok": true,
  "batch_id": "bat_a1b2c3...",
  "accepted": 2,
  "rejected": 0
}

Why Blasts beats current channels

	Gov Email	Mass SMS	Blasts
Actually seen by citizens	✗ 12% open rate	✓ But 30%+ opt-out	✓ Dedicated inbox
Rich formatting	✓ HTML (often stripped)	✗ 160 chars	✓ Full HTML + CSS
Attachments	✓ Often blocked by filters	✗ MMS only (expensive)	✓ PDFs, maps, images
Cost per message	Low but low visibility	$0.02–0.05 per segment	Fraction of SMS
Delivery confirmation	✗ Unreliable	✗ Carrier-dependent	✓ Webhook read receipts
Citizen consent model	Implicit (often spam)	TCPA regulated	✓ Explicit opt-in enrollment
Merge tags / personalization	✓ With ESP	✗ No	✓ {{name}}, {{district}}, etc.

Deploy in under a week

1. Get API Keys

2. Enrollment Page

Add an enrollment link to your county website (washco.gov/alerts). Citizens click once — no app store, no download. Chrome & Edge.

3. Connect Your Systems

One REST API call from your permitting system, utility billing, or emergency management platform sends the blast.

4. Monitor & Audit

Webhook callbacks confirm delivery. Debug dashboard shows every attempt. Full audit trail for public records compliance.

More government examples

📋 Permit Status Update — Single Send

# Notify a citizen their building permit is approved
curl -X POST "https://api.blasts.app/api/v1/partner/messages/send" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
  "to_email": "homeowner@email.com",
  "body_html": "<div style=\"font-family:sans-serif;padding:20px\"><h2 style=\"color:#059669\">✅ Permit Approved</h2><p>Your building permit <strong>#BP-2026-4521</strong> for <em>142 Elm Street</em> has been <strong style=\"color:#059669\">APPROVED</strong>.</p><p>Next steps: Schedule your first inspection at <a href=\"https://washco.gov/inspections\">washco.gov/inspections</a></p></div>",
  "body_plain": "APPROVED: Building permit #BP-2026-4521 for 142 Elm Street. Schedule inspection at washco.gov/inspections",
  "metadata": { "permit_id": "BP-2026-4521", "type": "building" }
}'

💧 Utility Billing Reminder — Batch Send with Merge Tags

# Monthly water bill reminders for all accounts
curl -X POST "https://api.blasts.app/api/v1/partner/messages/batch" \
  -d '{
  "batch_name": "water_bill_aug_2026",
  "body_html": "<div style=\"font-family:sans-serif;padding:20px\"><h2>💧 Water Bill Due</h2><p>Hi {{name}}, your water bill for account <strong>{{account}}</strong> is <strong>{{amount}}</strong>, due <strong>{{due_date}}</strong>.</p><a href=\"https://washco.gov/pay\" style=\"background:#2563eb;color:#fff;padding:10px 24px;border-radius:6px;display:inline-block;font-weight:700\">Pay Online →</a></div>",
  "body_plain": "Water bill due: {{name}}, account {{account}}, amount {{amount}}, due {{due_date}}. Pay at washco.gov/pay",
  "recipients": [
    { "to_email": "resident1@email.com", "merge": { "name": "Sarah Chen", "account": "WTR-90421", "amount": "$67.42", "due_date": "Aug 15" } },
    { "to_email": "resident2@email.com", "merge": { "name": "Mike Torres", "account": "WTR-90522", "amount": "$89.10", "due_date": "Aug 15" } }
  ]
}'

🏛️ Public Meeting Notice — Campaign

# Create a campaign for monthly board meeting notices
curl -X POST "https://api.blasts.app/api/v1/partner/campaigns" \
  -d '{
  "campaign_name": "board_meeting_aug_2026",
  "body_html": "<div style=\"font-family:sans-serif;padding:20px\"><h2>🏛️ Board of Supervisors Meeting</h2><p>The next regular meeting of the Washington County Board of Supervisors will be held:</p><ul><li><strong>Date:</strong> Tuesday, August 5, 2026</li><li><strong>Time:</strong> 7:00 PM</li><li><strong>Location:</strong> County Admin Building, Room 201</li></ul><p>Public comment period begins at 7:30 PM. <a href=\"https://washco.gov/agenda\">View agenda →</a></p></div>",
  "body_plain": "Board of Supervisors meeting: Aug 5, 7 PM, County Admin Bldg Room 201. Public comment at 7:30 PM. Agenda: washco.gov/agenda",
  "recipients": [
    { "to_email": "citizen1@email.com", "merge": {} },
    { "to_email": "citizen2@email.com", "merge": {} }
  ]
}'

Modernize citizen communications

Get your free sandbox key and send your first citizen alert in under 10 minutes.

Get Sandbox Key → More Code Examples Visit blasts.app