Address Department The Greene County 911 Addressing Department duties include assigning new Addresses and maintaining the database of all structures in Greene County. All this information is maintained in a file known as the Master Street Address Guide (MSAG). They coordinate all addressing changes, via the MSAG, with all local telephone providers. The postal Service issues Management Instructions DM-940-89-03 on 07/07/89 which establishes guidelines and responsibilities for the conversion of delivery address from a rural route and box number to a city style address (house number & road number/name). For information on how to post your address properly visit the Posting Address page. Greene Counties Addressing Guidelines meet's State and Federal ( Postal Service, N.E.N.A) addressing standards. Even if you receive mail at a P.O. Box or from another location you must still have a 9-1-1 address. LISTED BELOW ARE SOME COMMON QUESTIONS ABOUT 911 ADDRESSING AND THEIR ANSWERS Q: Why do you need a 911 address? A: It has been said many times that reason to be implemented 9-1-1 not only here but across the country is to reduce the time it takes to respond to an emergency situation. In most areas in the county residents have a difficult time trying to tell a repair person how to get to their residents, imagine trying to tell an emergency team how to find you in the dead of night while a loved one is hurt, a burglar is at the door or the house is on fire. Q: I have a post office box, do I still need a 9-1-1 address? 9-1-1 needs to have a locatable address for every house that could potentially call 9-1-1. Even if you receive mail at a P.O. Box or from another location you must still have a 9-1-1 address. Q: How do you determine what my address will be & can I make my own 911 address? You can not by any means create your own 911 address. If you do emergency responders will not be able to find you in an emergency if you are unable to talk. Our Addressing Scheme is based upon distance. Each 1/1000th of a mile (5.28 feet) is a potential address. We normally start at the beginning of the road (the intersection closest to the center of the County), and using a Distance Measurement Indicator (DMI), measure the distance to the center of the driveway of the structure for which we're assigning an address. The resulting number is the address. We deviate only slightly to designate addresses on the left or right side of the street. Odd addresses are always on the left, with even on the right. For instance, if you live at 1525 Nowhere Lane, you live a little over one and one-half miles down the road This method of addressing is invaluable for our Emergency Responders. As soon as our Dispatchers give them the address, they know exactly how far down the road the house actually is, and on which side of the road. Q:Why do I have to stake out my driveway or have a permanent driveway before you'll assign an address? A:As we stated above, the driveway is the key point of the address. It's the only part of the residence that intersects the road, and therefore our only reference point on which to build the address. Driveways are key to the whole operation. Many times we will measure from another known good driveway to the new one (add the address of the first driveway to the distance to the next). Q:Why do I have to notify the Phone Company if my address changes? A:Even though we maintain a database of all structures in the County, we cannot keep up with changes in telephone numbers, people moving, etc. The obvious choice for that function is the Telephone Company (TelCo). If you need to call 911, it will be from a telephone. Only the phone folks have an up to date database of all telephone numbers and the addresses for them. We provide the MSAG to the phone companies to use as a reference (that's how they know if you've got a valid 911 address). Bottom line here is, if the telephone company doesn't know where you live, neither will that ambulance or fire truck responding to the call from your house! The system is there for you! Help us ensure your information is correct. If you have any questions or concerns about your address please use the contact information below. Charlie Garant (423) 638-8663 Mon - Fri 8am to 430pm