Local government officials wondering how to pull together numerous
Y2K preparedness plans within their community can now consult a
free planning blueprint on the web.
The Millennium Management
Blueprint was created by the Candle Corp. in Santa Monica,
Calif., in response to what its executives say is a lack of
cohesive planning on the part of many local governments.
Candle, an information technology firm, consulted its own
experts and government planners on the best way to integrate
various Y2K contingency plans being developed by public and private
groups in communities across the country.
‘When we talked to communities, most were active in trying to
correct computer systems,’ says Richard Kennedy, who directs
Candle’s Millennium Institute. ‘What was missing was looking
outside to those connections and linkages to the private sector and
nonprofits.’
Company officials say citizens will look to local leaders on
Jan. 1, 2000, if interruptions in essential services occur, and
many are ill-equipped to cope.
The blueprint was developed to help government Y2K managers
decide where to begin, how to monitor their and others’ progress,
and how best to communicate to the public what’s in the works.
The Y2K bug refers to potential interruptions in basic services
if inadequately programmed computer chips misread the year 2000 for
1900. Although technicians are busy remediating computer programs,
there is a worry that not all of the offending data will have been
routed from integrated systems by the turn of the century.
The Millennium Blueprint’s aim is to bring together computer
experts, engineers and emergency managers with community and
neighborhood groups who understand a community’s specific needs and
vulnerabilities.
The intent of the plan is to ensure that if a glitch should
occur in water, power, police, and fire or hospital services, it
will have been anticipated and, consequently, will be
short-lived.
The management blueprint was sent to 10,000 municipalities free
of charge. Los Angeles and several other California cities have
adopted portions of the plan, Kennedy said, which is flexible
enough to be modified for cities both small and large. At least 100
others have consulted the web site since the blueprint was unveiled
in May.
‘We’re not pretending to be the leaders’ in Y2K remediation,
says Kennedy. ‘If we could just nudge a few more people along,’ he
added, the goal of the institute will have been met.
Contacts: Richard Kennedy, Deborah Kelfer, directors, the
Millennium Institute, Candle Corp., Santa Monica, Calif., through
Dennis Wolcott, Stoorza, Ziegaus, & Metzger, Los Angeles,
Calif., 213-891-2822; web site:
www.TMA2000.org.
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