Belen Launches TextMyGov SMS Alerts March 5; Text BELEN to 91896

The City of Belen will roll out a TextMyGov short-message service to residents on Thursday, March 5, 2026, the city announced in a News Flash posted Feb. 26, 2026 on the City of Belen website. The announcement says residents may receive an initial text from the short code 91896 that will display as “City of Belen, NM,” and that residents who do not receive that initial message can opt in manually.

To opt in manually, the city’s post instructs residents to text the keyword BELEN to 91896 and then reply YES to the confirmation prompt; the post adds that participants can opt out at any time by texting STOP. The city’s announcement repeats the keyword and confirmation flow and emphasizes the two-step process of keyword then YES to verify opt-in.

The Belen news item lists the kinds of notifications the service will deliver, naming events, water main breaks, road closures, and meetings as examples. The post appears in the News Flash section under the headline TextMyGov Announcement and also points residents to a site feature labeled Create a Website Account - Manage notification subscriptions, save form progress and more.

Belen’s announcement carries the consumer note “Msg & Data rates apply,” followed in the post by the phrase “Please visit:” with no URL provided in the uploaded snippet; the city text also contains a minor typographical artifact in one line that references 91896 and the label “City of Belen, NM.” Those details were included in the city’s news flash as presented on Feb. 26, 2026.

As a point of comparison, other municipalities using TextMyGov have set categories and message limits; in Lebanon, the city said the service is free to participants and noted users may receive up to 4 text messages a month for opted-in categories. Lebanon Mayor Matt Gentry said, “The City is trying to reduce the use of a phrase that we hear far too often, ‘I had no idea that was going on.’” That example illustrates how Belen’s TextMyGov rollout could augment existing city communications on social media, the city website, and newsletters.

Belen residents should watch for a message from short code 91896 beginning March 5, 2026, and follow the keyword and confirmation steps if they want to receive alerts about water main breaks, road closures, city meetings, and community events; those who prefer not to receive texts can stop messages by replying STOP to the short code.