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.

-- Ed Perrault (EdPerrault@Compuserve.com), July 28, 1998

Answers

Ed - Where can I see that FEMA report? I want to know who the other 49 are. Thanks.

-- Amy Leone (aleone@amp.com), 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.

-- Ed Perrault (EdPerrault@Compuserve.com), July 28, 1998.

Thanks!

-- Amy Leone (aleone@amp.com), July 29, 1998.