HomeMy WebLinkAbout5.a. Year 2000 Readiness Plan CITY OF ROSEMOUNT
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY FOR ACTION
MEETING DATE: March 16, 1999
AGENDA ITEM: YEAR 2000 READINESS PLAN AGENDA SECTION:
DEPARTMENT HEAD REPORT
PREPARED BY: SUSAN WALSH AGENDA NO.
ASSISTANT TO ADMINISTRATOR '�� T�" � �
ATTACHMENTS: YEAR 2000 READINESS PLAN APPROVED BY:
SUMMARY
The purpose of this report is to review with the City Council a draft of a formal plan, which outlines how the
City will address the Year 2000 problem. Much has already been said about the Y2K phenomenon. The
potential problem is that automated systems that are date-dependent may cease to operate(or operate properly)
on January 1, 2000 and later.
In order to be best prepared for Y2K, documentation of efforts is occurring and will continue. Documentation is
also critical for legal defense, and the City will need to be able to demonstrate that it took reasonable and
prudent steps to identify and address problems. Attached is a summary of the proposed plan which summarizes
the proposed plan.
City staff will keep the Council well informed on our Y2K activities outlined in the plan. Specifically, we will
keep you informed on our progress in developing contingency plans to address any Y2K problems that may
arise. As the policy states, our top priority is to ensure that the public health and safety is protected.
RECOMMENDED ACTION: MOTION TO ADOPT THE CITY OF ROSEMOUNT YEAR 2000
READINESS PLAN.
SUMMARY OF YEAR 2000 PLAN
Policp Statement: This mission statement summarizes the objectives of the plan and indicates
that the Year 2000 problem is a top priority of the City.
Organization of City Efforts: This includes (1) organizing a committee of staff inembers; (2)
designating a coordinator; (3) adopting a city-wide policy and(4)keeping all city council and
staff inembers aware of the city's Y2K efforts. This step is completed except for adopting the
plan.
Inventorv: Identify systems, equipment, service providers and interfaces that could have YZK
problems. This phase has been for the completed although staff will continue to review items
that should be part of the inventory. .
Assessment & Vendor Contact: Assess the magnitude of the City's potential Y2K problems;
contact vendors, service providers and interfaces; prioritize systems and equipment by how
critical they are to the operation of essential city services. For several months, city staff has been
in contact with vendors. We will continue working on this phase.
Fixes and Testin�: Upgrade,modify, patch or replace equipment or systems with confirmed
Y2K problems; conduct tests to verify that fixes have resulted in full Y2K compliance. All of
the city personal computers, network system and software programs have been tested. Some
equipment or vehicles cannot be tested for compliance—such as squad cars and trucks.
Contin�encv Planning: Develop specific plans to deal with possible Y2K-related failures of city
equipment and operations; integrate contingency plans for specific systems into a city-wide Y2K
Emergency Management Plan. This phase has not been completed but has been discussed by
staff. On March 25, some city staff inembers will be attending a county-wide Y2K meeting.
We will hear from Dakota County and utility companies about their Y2K readiness and identify
areas that need cooperative efforts and shared resources.
Communication: It's essential to have ongoing communication with citizens and businesses.
Citizens will be informed via city newsletter, web page and individual communication.
Disclosure Statement: President Clinton signed into law the Year 2000 Information and
Readiness Disclosure Act. The law encourages free exchange of information regarding Y2K by
prohibiting the use of information as evidence for potential lawsuits. This will be included in
any written statements the City issues with regards to the City's preparation and readiness for
January 1, 2000.
i
CITY OF ROSEMOUNT YEAR 2000 READINESS PLAN
POLICY STATEMENT
The City of Rosemount recognizes that the Year 2000 problem may impact city departments and
services. To minimize the possible interruption of public services provided to citizens and
businesses of Rosemount, the City of Rosemount has and will continue to address the Year 2000
problem as a top priority. The City of Rosemount commits to make its best efforts to ensure the
continuity of essential services.
ORGANIZATION OF CITY EFFORTS
Organization of the Y2K Committee:
The City's Y2K committee is made up of the city administrator, assistant to administrator, public
works director,public works superintendent, fire chief, assistant fire chief,police chief, finance
director, community development director, and parks and recreation director. At the biweekly
department head meetings, discussion will be held on Y2K. The purpose of the committee is to
review the status of Y2K assessment, identify and complete Y2K-related remediation and
develop a contingency plan for the City and community for providing essential services during
Y2K-related failures that may occur.
Designation of City Y2K Coordinator:
The City Administrator has designated Susan Walsh, Assistant to Administrator, as the City Y2K
Coordinator. Walsh is responsible for coordinating efforts to ensure the entire spectrum of Y2K
issues is addressed. Walsh is also the City contact for Y2K communications throughout the
process.
City Council and Staff Members' Awareness and Involvement:
City council and staff will be kept aware of Y2K efforts during 1999. This will occur through all
employee meetings, department staff ineetings, and written materials to ensure that all potential
Y2K-related systems are reviewed. Awareness and involvement will be the responsibility of the
coordinator and the Y2K committee members.
1
INVENTORY
A major duty of the Y2K Committee will be to direct an inventory of all of the City's equipment,
hardware, soflware, firmware, interfaces and contracted services. Below is a description of these
five major categories into which Y2K at-risk systems fall:
1. Hardware: Includes personal computers,mainframe computers, network hardware.
2. Software: Includes any office automation programs (Windows,word processing,
spreadsheet, database, e-mail, etc.)
3. Firmware: Often referred to as "embedded chips", these are often found in such items as
security systems, elevators, vehicles,pagers and utilities.
4. Interfaces: Includes exchange of data or currency with other governments and banks
(through automated deposit and withdrawals).
5. Contracted Services: Most commonly, these related to utilities such as electricity, natural
gas, telephone service and cable television.
A significant amount of the inventory process has been done. Y2K staff team members will
review what has been accomplished and identify other areas for inventigation. The scope of
systems already reviewed and remaining to be reviewed includes,but is not limited to:
• Traffic signals
• Street lights
• Water and sewer utilities
• Elevators
• Security systems
� Pagers
• Cellular phones
• Radios and consoles
� Vehicles and other motorized equipment
• Diagnostic equipment
• Medical devices
• PC's, printers, network equipment
� Office automation software (Windows, Microsoft Office)
• Specialized Applications (GIS,building permit program, scheduling program, utility
program)
• Internet Access
• E-Mail
• Banks, Dakota County
• Natural gas providers
• Electric providers
• Telephone systems
It is also important to ensure that all new purchases are Y2K-compliant as a condition of
acceptance.
2
ASSESSMENT AND VENDOR CONTACT
The Y2K committee members will assess the City's equipment, interfaces, soflware, firmware
and contracted services for Year 2000 compliance. The next step will be to contact vendors of
systems and components identified as having potential Y2K problems to determine if problems
indeed exist and how they can best be addressed.
Service providers and interfaces will be contacted to determine what actions are being taken to
address potential Y2K problems. (This has primarily to do with utilities and banks relative to the
City.) Questions to them will focus on whether they see any potential problems in providing
continued service on or after January 1, 2000. At a minimum letters will be sent to utility
companies,but it is anticipated that city staff will meet in person with utility representatives.
Although it is expected that all Y2K problems will be addressed on a timely basis, non-compliant
systems and equipment will be prioritized based on how critical they are to the operation of
essential city services. If there is any evidence that an essential service may fail, or be may be
adversely affected by failure with a service provider or interface, contingency plans will be in
place to address that failure.
FIXES AND TESTING
After the City has determined which equipment or systems have Y2K problems, an action plan
will be developed for making fixes and testing to be sure those fixes will actually work. Non-
compliant systems will generally be addressed in the following ways:
• Repair the non-compliant component with an upgrade or"patch";
• Replace the unit; or
• Abandon the system.
In deciding which fix is appropriate for each situation; information received from vendors or
manufacturers, the city's budget and personnel restraints and which city operations are critical
will be taken into account.
CONTINGENCY PLANNING
The Y2K staff team will coordinate with departments to develop contingency plans for possible
Year 2000-related failures to continue the provision of essential City services. The committee
will focus on these additional steps:
• Develop specific plans for Y2K-related failures of City equipment, systems and operations.
• Recognize that most Y2K-related failures that may affect providing essential City services
will relate to power, water and sewer,transportation, communications and information
systems.
3
• Integrate any contingency plans into the City-wide Emergency Management Plan.
• Recognize that many, if not most failures,will be of short or intermediate duration (and can
still be significant, like loss of power), and plan accordingly.
COMMUNICATION
Since the Year 2000 problem has the potential to affect everyone in the community, it is
important to have ongoing communication with citizens and businesses. Through press releases,
city newsletter and media interviews, citizens and businesses will be informed of the City's
efforts in preparing for the Year 2000 problem. Residents and businesses will also be made
aware of potential disruptions and the City's contingency plans.
YEAR 2000 READINESS DISCLOSURE STATEMENT
On October 19, 1998,President Clinton signed into law the Year 2000 Information and
Readiness Disclosure Act. This law is intended to encourage the free exchange of information
related to both private and public entities' efforts regarding the Year 2000 problem by generally
prohibiting the use of such information as evidence in several types of potential lawsuits against
the party making the disclosure, even if the information later turns out to be inaccurate. All City
of Rosemount written communications shall include the following:
Information contained in this communication relates to the City ofRosemount's Year 2000
efforts. The disclosure of this information is intended to serve as a Year 2000 Readiness
Disclosure under the Year 2000Information and Readiness Disclosure Act, Public Law 105-271.
4