Hi Tiffany,
First, welcome to the site! I'm not sure that there is a "correct" answer to your question. What are you looking to cover? If it's a large area, you're probably better off with a scanner (probably the best overall option). If it's a smaller area that is covered by a single frequency, the pager might be the better option, but you'll have to get the paging tone frequencies from the department. Look at your local departments and news media social network presence as well. Sometimes Twitter is the fastest way to find out about something.
First, welcome to the site! I'm not sure that there is a "correct" answer to your question. What are you looking to cover? If it's a large area, you're probably better off with a scanner (probably the best overall option). If it's a smaller area that is covered by a single frequency, the pager might be the better option, but you'll have to get the paging tone frequencies from the department. Look at your local departments and news media social network presence as well. Sometimes Twitter is the fastest way to find out about something.