HomeMy WebLinkAbout1999-04-12 City Council (15)City of Palo Alto
City Manager’s Report
TO:HONORABLE CITY COUNCIL
FROM:CITY MANAGER DEPARTMENT:ADMINISTRATIVE
SERVICES
DATE:APRIL 12, 1999 CMR:205:99
SUBJECT:YEAR 2000 TRANSITION PLAN STATUS REPORT
RECOMMENDATION
Staff recommends that the Council review and provide feedback on staffs Year 2000
Transition Plan.
BACKGROUND
On February 8, 1999, staff provided Council with information on the status of the City’s
Year 2000 (Y2K) efforts (CMR: 127:99). This report provides an update to that information,
including the progress and activities undertaken since February 8, 1999, to prepare the City’s
computer hardware and software for Y2K and to communicate with the public regarding the
City’s Y2K planning efforts. This report and its attachments constitute a Y2K readiness
disclosure within the meaning of the Year 2000 Information and Readiness Disclosure Act,
P. L. 105-127.
DISCUSSION
As outlined in CMR 127:99, the City’s Y2K Transition Plan consists of three phases: 1)
assessment, testing and remediation of the City’s central computer system hardware and
software; 2) assessment, testing and remediation of departmental computer system hardware,
software and electronic devices; and 3) community awareness and preparation. The purpose
of the Y2K Transition Plan is to provide the necessary technical solutions and community
partnerships so that the City is able to make the Y2K transition successfully.
Phase I - Central Computer Systems
The City’s centralized computer hardware and software comprise the most critical areas of
concern. Staff has prioritized these systems into two categories: Mission-critical and
secondary systems. Mission-critical are those systems affecting public safety and delivery
CMR:205:99 Page 1 of 4
of utilities, such as Emergency 911 and Utilities dispatching; electric distribution system;
traffic signal system monitoring and control; and monitoring of the water/gas storm systems.
Secondary systems are those systems essential to City business operations. To this point,
staff has first concentrated its Phase I efforts on the mission-critical systems, and the
assessing, testing and remediation of these systems is almo. st complete. Attachment A shows
that all mission-critical systems have been tested, vendor certified, or are currently in the
process ofremediation or replacement. Those systems with vendor certification status are
also being tested. To assist staff in completing the testing and documentation, the City has
expanded its existing Y2K consultant contract. Assessing, testing and remediation of the
secondary systems is in process, and staff will report on its status in the next Council update
of the Y2K Transition Plan.
Phase II - Departmental Computer Systems
The City’s Y2K consultant is in the process of preparing a written inventory of all
departmental (non-centralized) computer applications, hardware, operating systems and
software; any equipment containing embedded processors or process controllers; and general
office equipment, such as facsimile and copy machines. Once the inventory is complete, the
consultant will identify and select the preferred options for addressing any Y2K compatibility
issues. The anticipated date of completion for this phase of the Y2K Transition Plan is still
June 1999.
Phase III - Community Awareness and Preparation
Phase III of the Y2K Transition Plan involves creating public awareness of issues related to
Y2K compliance and mitigating potential problems that could affect Palo Alto residents. The
Y2K Interdepartmental Committee, composed of staff from all City departments and the City
Auditor’s Office is working on an awareness program, to include a Mayor’s meeting,
neighborhood association meetings, the distribution of Y2K informational flyers, utility bill
inserts regarding ¥2K, and the creation ofa Y2K wcbsitc. Each of these items is discussed
in more detail below. ~
Mayor’s Meeting: To kick-offthe City’s Y2K public outreach efforts, a Mayor’s meeting
with residents has been scheduled at Mitchell Park on Saturday, April 17, 1999, from 10:00
a.m. to 12:00 p.m. In addition to the Mayor and appropriate City staff, the meeting will be
attended by representatives from other agencies, such as the Red Cross, the Federal
Emergency Management Agency, the Palo Alto Unified School District, and Santa Clara
County. A Y2K brochure, described below, will be available at the meeting for distribution.
Y2K Brochure: The Y2K brochure will include information similar to that on the Palo Alto
¥2K web site, which includes an explanation of Y2K, what the City is doing to address the
CMR:205:99 Page 2 of 4
issue, how residents might be affected, what residents can do to prepare and how to get
additional information. The emphasis, however, will be on what residents can do to prepare
for the year 2000. The brochure includes the following items residents might consider in
preparing for any Y2K problems that may occur:
Finances - check with bank, investment companies and retirement funds about their
Y2K compliance. Ensure that accurate financial and personal identifications records,
including bank statements, bill receipts, insurance policies, etc. are maintained.
Consumer products - Most electronic devices have embedded microchips, some of
which may be affected. Check with manufacturers regarding any essential electronic
or computer equipment in the home regarding Y2K compliance. This includes:
VCR’s
Programmable thermostats
Alarm systems
Digital clocks/watches
Electronic organizers with calendar chips
Cell phones/pagers
Garage door openers
Electronic locks
Home Office Products - Recently-manufactured equipment and software will be
compliant. Some older hardware and software may be vulnerable. This includes:
Computers, operating systems
Software applications
Pocket electric organizers
Fax machines
Health - If a resident is dependent on any medications and/or health equipment,
ensure that an adequate supply is on hand and contact the manufacturers of
equipment.
Food and Basic Supplies - To ensure adequate preparation for any emergency
situation lasting a few days or longer, it is generally a good idea to have stored water
and non-perishable food on hand, basic supplies such as flashlights, battery-operated
radio/TV, candles/lanterns and blankets, and to be in the habit of keeping the
automobile gas tank filled in case there are interruptions in the supply of gasoline.
CMR:205:99 Page 3 of 4
Y2K Utility Bill Insert and Announcements: A utility bill insert regarding Y2K is
scheduled to be mailed to 26,000 utility customers on July 15, 1999. Limited to one page,
the insert will be an abbreviated version of the Y2K brochure. In addition, in the next month
or two, a brief announcement telling residents how to get information on Y2K will be
included on the Utility and Community Announcement page of the City’s utility bills.
Y2K Website: The Y2K website is up and running. Set up in early February, it includes the
following information: 1) what the City is doing to prepare for Y2K; 2) the current status
of the City’s computer hardware and software; 3) what individuals can do to prepare; 4)
commonly asked questions about Y2K; 5) whom to contact regarding Y2K; and 6) a
collection of related Y2K web sites (refer to Attachment C). Updated regularly, the website
will evolve and expand as additional information is obtained from departments as to their
Y2K compatibility status. Since February 28, the website has been visited over 8,600 times.
This link to Palo Alto residents and other Internet-enabled users is providing a critical
resource in the public communication/outreach effort.
In the coming months, the Y2K Interdepartmental Committee will continue its public
outreach efforts. This will include neighborhood meetings, a Y2K video to be broadcast on
the Cable TV Public Access station, and an Emergency Operation Center test exercise to
prepare the City’s emergency response in the event of an actual Y2K incident.
December 31, 1999
The Y2K Committee will also determine what type of response may be necessary on or
around December 31, 1999, what staffwill need to be available, what actions should be taken
to ensure adequate response, and possible participation in the North American Electric
Reliability Council September 9, 1999 test exercise.
ATTACHMENTS
Attachment A: Year 2000 Transition Plan
Attachment B: Consultant Work Plan for Phase II
Attachment C Palo Alto Website text
DEPARTMENT HEAD APPROVAL:
CITY MANAGER APPROVAL:
Dir,ector, Admir~is!r~ti2e~Services
~ity Manager
CMR:205:99 Page 4 of 4
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ATTACHMENT C
I Search I Contact I Sitemap ~
PALO ALTO
Welcome to the Polo Alto Y2K Website
D espite growing awareness of the problem, nobody is
sure what computers -- or for that matter, any of the
countless devices and systems controlled by
microchips -- are going to do at the stroke of midnight when
December 31, 1999 rolls over to January 1, 2000. Some
computers and systems will make the change smoothly,
while others may behave erratically or even stop working.
This web site is to inform you of the efforts the City of Palo
Alto is making to ensure that its key systems continue to
function in the year 2000 and beyond. The following
information should answer most of your questions.1 We have
also included information about what you can do to prepare
your family or your business.
1 This information constitutes a "Year 2000 Readiness Disclosure" within themeaning of the Year 2000 Information and Readiness Disclosure Act, P.L.~05-127.
Updated: Monday, March 29, 1999.
City Preparation I Current Y2k Status I Community I FAO’S I Contact I Related Links
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Y.2K - CITY OF PALO ALTO - CITY PREPARATION wyslwyg://7/tattp://www.clty.palo-aito.ca.us/yzru u~.l~tmi
I ~earch I Con:act
PALO ALTO
City Preparation
Will the Y2K problems affect the average Palo Alto resident?
Yes, but nobody knows exactly how until January 1, 2000. What we do know is that
business and government at all levels are working hard to ensure that critical systems
supporting key services such as power and heating and telecommunications work
without interruption on January 1, 2000. While it is highly unlikely that disruptions
will occur in every computer or microchip-dependent activity, many of them could be
affected.
What is the City of Palo Alto doing to address this issue?
Since 1996, the City of Palo Alto has been addressing the potential problems that face
all users of computer systems regarding the Year 2000. Planned completion date for
the project is September 1999.
The City has undertaken a detailed review of each organization/department .,/~~,
to consider what remote processing may occur that has not yet been ~,~.~,/
certified. A consultant will review the departmental applications and
computer processors that exist within each organization to identify areas ,
that need to be reviewed or certified. This study will provide the necessary
assessment and remediation to allow the City to continue, uninterrupted, the services
and support expected by its residents and customers.
The City is developing a list of its suppliers, contractors, and third party
resources that supply goods and services to the City to ensure that these
organizations are compliant. These organizations will be required to
provide notification of the status of their Year 2000 compliance.
The City has initiated an effort to raise the awareness of the public to the
Year 2000 concerns and the activities taking place to ensure that services
will not be interrupted. Public outreach activities include establishment of
this web site, working with resident groups to discuss concerns, and an
emergency exercise (to be announced).
Updated: Monday, March 1, 1999.
Y2k Home I City Preparation I Current Y2k Status I Community I FAO’S I Contact I Related Links
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Y2K - CITY OF PALO ALTO - CURRENT Y2K STATUS wyslwyg://9/http://www.clty.palo-alto.ca.us/yz~acnec~st.ntm~
Current Y2K Status
PALO ALTO
The internal portion of the project is in various phases of completion
based upon the specific component. The components consist of the
computer hardware, computer operating systems, operating tools,
database management systems, applications systems, applications
and tools used on personal computers, and microprocessors and their
associated processing and internal configurations.
The status of various components is as follows:
New computing environments are in place for the control and distribution of
electric, gas, water, and wastewater. The hardware and software for these
functions have been documented to be Year 2000 compliant. These applications
also have manual overrides that can be utilized in the event of any failures.
The Regional Water Quality Control Plant has in place the required hardware
and software to be compliant.
The primary Financial, payroll, and Human Resource applications have been
certified by the vendor as being Year 2000 compliant.
The City has tested the interface with its bank and compliance has been
addressed.
The Utilities Customer Information System is being re-deployed and the vendor
of this software has assured compliance for the Year 2000 and beyond.
Hardware and operating system environments have been upgraded to be
compliant. Hewlett-Packard has developed test scripts to run on both the
HP9000 and HP3000 computers. Personal computers manufactured after 1996
have been certified as being Year 2000 compliant. All of the City’s personal
computers are in this category.
In future months, this site will detail each City department’s progress toward the goal
of being 100% Year 2000 compliant.
Updated: Saturday, March 13, 1999.
Y2k Home I City Prel~aration I Current Y2k Status I Community I ~ I Contact i Related Links
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Y2K - CITY OF PALO ALTO - WHAT YOU CAN DO wysiwyg://1 l/http://www.city.palo-alto.ca.us/y2k/you.htrn
I Search I Contact I Sitemap [
YEACommunity
PALO ALTO
The following are things you might consider in preparing for any Year 2000 problems
that may occur.
Banking
If you are concerned about what might happen to financial institutions, check with
your bank about its Year 2000 compliance..
Consumer products
Most electronic devices have embedded microchips. Some of them may be affected.
Check with the manufacturers for their Year 2000 compliance.
VCR
Alarm systems
Clocks
Digital watches
Cameras
Camcorders
Electronic organizers with calendar chips
Cell phones
Pagers
Home Office Products
Recently manufactured equipment and software will
hardware and software may be vulnerable.
° Computers
o Operating Systems
° Software Applications
¯ Pocket Electronic Organizers
° Fax machines
be compliant.Some older
Updated: Monday, March 1, 1999.
Y2k Home I City Preparation I Current Y2k Status I Community I FAO’S I Contact I Related Links
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Y2K - CITY OF PALO ALTO - FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTION S wyslwyg://13/http://www.clty.palo-alto.ca.us/yZKctaqs.ntmi
I Search 1 Contact I 5itemap I
PALO ALTO
YEAFrequently Asked Questions
We are providing some answers to the most frequently asked questions about Y2K:
What does "Y2K" mean?
What is the Y2K problem?
Where does the problem occur?
What does "Y2K" mean?
"Y2K" is the abbreviated form of Year 2000.
back to top
What is the Y2K problem?
The Y2K problem is very simple to explain. When computer programmers were
programming the first computers, they shortened the date to a two digit form in order
to save costly memory space. For example, 1972 became 72. In the past decade,
memory space has become cheaper and therefore able to hold more code. The
problem arises when a computer program attempts to read the date "00." To a
computer, it could mean "2000" or it could mean "1900." If a computer reads the
date as "1900," then it may miscalculate, malfunction, or shut down completely.
back to top
Where does the problem occur?
The problem may occur in three different areas: software, hardware, or data
communication.
Software If your software has a Y2K problem, then it may not function
correctly, or maybe even not at all. If you want to test your ’~.~__~ ~ ~
software, there is a simple date check you can do yourself.~ ~
First, go into your computer’s calendar. Change the date to
read 12/31/99 and the clock to read 11:59:00. Turn your ..............
computer off for more than a minute. Restart your machine
and open the calendar function. Make sure that the date reads 1/1/00 and
clock reads 12:01:05 (give or take a minute or two). Attempt to open a
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program and run all it’s functions. If it works correctly, it is considered
"compliant," or ready. If it does not run correctly, or will not open, it is not
compliant. If you are considering purchasing new software and want to ensure
that it is Y2K compliant, ask the salesperson at the computer store.
Hardware The hardware problem is also referred to as "embedded chips." This
refers to the codes that are stored in your computer in order
to make it run. They are embedded because these codes can
be used over and over again within different computer
systems. If you want to test that your hardware will operate
correctly, run the same test as described above. If your
computer does not run correctly~ then it is not compliant. Some older IBM
Compatible PCs may have problems, but machines sold after 1997 generally are
compliant. Macintosh computers don’t have a Year 2000 problem, because they
store the date as a long number based on the number of seconds since January
1, 1904.
Data Communication The term data communication refers to
communications by a computer to itself and other computers.
It involves analyzing data and producing information based on
that data. This problem is more difficult to detect. It would be
easy if your computer simply stopped producing data.
However, it could be miscommunicating with itself and other
computers and putting out wrong information.
back to top
Updated: Monday, March 1, 1999.
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Y2K - CITY OF PALO ALTO - CONTACT INFORMATION wyslwyg://15/t~ttp://www.clty.palo-a|to.ca.us/yagacontact.ntml
I 5earth I Contact
Contact Us
PALO ALTO
For further information regarding Y2K preparedness in the City of
Palo Alto, please contact Carl Yeats in the Administrative Services
Department (650) 329-2450, or mail inquiries to:
Carl Yeats
Administrative Services Department
250 Hamilton Avenue
Palo Alto, CA 94301
Updated: Monday, March 1, 1999.
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PALO ALTO
Related Links
We are providing additional links to sites containing useful Y2K
preparedness information. To make it easy for you to return to the
Palo Alto website, we recommend bookmarking this page before
clicking on a link.
U.S. Government Y2K site - The President’s Council on Year 2000
Conversion
Year 2000 National Education Taskforce - Send for free Year 2000
Survival Guide
Social Security - SSA is now 100% Y2K Compliant
Internal Revenue Service - Report from IRS Year 2000 Project Office
Official California site - From the state department of information technology
Red Cross - Preparedness Tips
Y2K in plain Enqlish - In these pages you will find a clear, easy to understand
description of the Y2K problem, definitions of Y2K terms, links to other Y2K resources
on the web, and answers to frequently asked Y2K questions.
Individual Preparation for Y2K - From Paloma O’Riley and the Cassandra Project
Survival and Enerqy Info - An Australian site with a huge number of links.
Updated: Monday, March 1, 1999.
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