OLD ORCHARD BEACH — Community groups hosting public events in Old Orchard Beach have a new way of getting the word out.

On Tuesday night, the Town Council approved a policy by town staff to post notices on a digital sign installed in December on the corner of E. Emerson Cummings Boulevard and Saco Avenue in front of the fire station. The cost for the sign and installation was about $25,000, according to town documents.

Town Manager Larry Mead said the sign can be used for official notices by town government, the School Department and by the Edith Belle Libby Library.

Community organizations that have a special event permit approved for a public event by the Town Council can request a notice for the event be put on the sign.

Under the policy, Mead said, organizations ask to use the sign in writing no more than 30 days from the requested posting date and no later than seven days prior to the event. Messages for community events can be displayed for up to three consecutive days, he said.

The town is responsible for managing the content and has final say of the wording, he said.

Officials government messages would have priority should there be a scheduling conflict,vMead said.

“Matters of public safety would have priority in all cases,” he said.

Old Orchard Beach Community Friendly Connection, a group with the goal to make the town a great place to live and work, conducted a community survey. The results, which were released in the spring, revealed that 70 percent of respondents found out about community events from signs posted in town.