'Westport, Ct. Y2k Committee (Mission Statement)
asked in the TimeBomb 2000 (Y2000) Q&A Forum
The First Selectman of Westport, Ct. (our New England
equivalent of a mayor) has just formed a Y2k committee and
assigned it the task of investigating the community's state of
preparedness in regard to the Y2k problem. I think this
statement was well written, particularly considering that it
came from a small town government. With the permission of
the Selectman's office, I am posting it on the Internet as a
model for use by other communities.
I am a member of the committee and I will follow this up
with additional information as the work of the committee
progresses. Please feel free to pass this information along to
your local government and emergency planning
organizations.
For further information, please contact
EDPERRAULT@COMPUSERVE.COM
------------------------------- SELECTMAN'S YEAR
2000 COMMITTEE
MISSION
The Selectman's Year 2000 Committee shall assess
Westport's readiness to cope wth the so-called "Y2K"
problems, and recommend prudent measures to enhance our
preparedness. The committee shall review town
computer-related issues and, with the Emergency
Management Committee and other town officials, any
possible public safety and health issues that might arise as a
result of potential Y2K problems.
OBJECTIVES
(1) Understand the scope of the potential Y2K problems
that exist in Westport's computer operations and what
measures have been taken or should be taken to correct
them. Because Westport's school computer system is so
closely linked with the town's system, the review shall include
school-related issues as well.
(2) Understand, to the best of the committee's ability,
potential problems that might arise with outside suppliers and
vendors (utilities, banks, etc.), as well as those commercial
firms that supply goods and services vital to the public health
and welfare (food stores, service stations, etc.).
(3) Enhance the public's understanding of potential Y2K
problems as they might affect Westport.
(4) Seek to prevent unnecessary public anxiety or panic over
the issue by gathering the most objective assessments as
possible.
(5) Develop a plan that allows the committee to accomplish
its mission and objectives.
-------------------------------
The only items missing from the above are explicit references
to embedded systems and to problems due to lapses in
government services. The first two objectives could be
considered to implicitly include those items and I hope to
ensure that they are interpreted that way. I'm particularly
encouraged by objectives (3) and (4). It makes me believe
that Diane Goss Farrell (our First Selectman) "gets it".
Perhaps the copy of Ed Yourdon's TIME BOMB 2000 I
gave her last month helped.
In July, 1998 it was announced by FEMA that Westport has
been designated one of only 50 "Disaster Resistant"
communities in the country (the only one in the State of
Connecticut). Achieving this distinction required a lot of
contingency planning, equipment upgrades, and training on
the part of Westport's emergency response organizations.
This segues quite neatly into Y2K contingency planning and
probably is one of the reasons why Westport is taking this
seriously.
Asked by Ed Perrault (EdPerrault@Compuserve.com) on July 28, 1998.
Answers
Ed - Where can I see that FEMA report? I want to know
who the other 49 are. Thanks.
Answered by Amy Leone (aleone@amp.com) on July 28, 1998.
Hi Amy. I got the information out of a blurb in the local
paper. But you got me wondering too, so I just visited the
FEMA web site and navigated myself to their PROJECT
IMPACT page (http://www.fema.gov/impact). Project
Impact is the "Disaster Resistant Community" project.
If you go to the above URL and select COMMUNITIES
you will get to a map with links to regional info about which
communities are involved in the project. The regional info has
further links to info about the specific communities. The site
also has a search engine.
I was unable to find a comprehensive, single page list of all
50 communities. I'm guessing that there is one in each state.
Answered by Ed Perrault (EdPerrault@Compuserve.com) on July 28,
1998.
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