MPR: Towns Gear for Y2K

Towns Gear for Y2K
By Mark Steil
February 8, 1999

When the midnight bell tolls December 31, there's a good chance some city employee who drew the short straw will be standing next to a water pump or some other piece of equipment, praying it functions normally as the year 2000 begins. The Y2K computer bug has crawled onto the radar screen of small government, and most are taking it seriously.

It's the unknown that worries Greg Isaackson. He's the clerk/administrator in the southwest Minnesota town of Cottonwood. He doesn't deal with this sort of problem everyday, so he's not exactly sure how it's going to turn out.

Isaackson: It's been kind of a process of hearing more about it, reading more about it, and then we're coming to the realization that there are some things we need to check out to make sure we don't have problems.

He says the city's main concerns are its water and sewage pumps. Its not a computer that's the worry, but rather computer chips.

Isaackson: It's really electronics that contain embedded - or could possibly contain embedded chips - that may be time sensitive.

The problem is finding out what sort of electronic guts are in a system. Isaackson says Cottonwood's wastewater system was built more than 15 years ago, and the company that installed it has since gone out of business. That means Isaackson has to scramble to get information.

Isaackson: We're going to have to check with manufacturers, original manufacturers, as well as those we know of who are servicing the equipment now. To find out what they know of the equipment as far as if their are any year 2000 problems connected with that.

Isaackson says although he believes there will be only scattered problems, nothing major, the city should be prepared for anything. He says it's possible some homeowners may have heating problems if time-sensitive thermostats fail. A larger danger is a power failure, possibly compounded by sub-zero temperatures.

Isaackson: One of the things that our city is going to be looking at is to provide alternate locations, shelters if you want to call it that. Probably we'll be looking at for sure our community center, might involve having one or two churches available or the school, that type of thing.

The city would have generators on hand ready to power the buildings if needed. Isaackson does not expect much, if any, shelter demand New Year's Day, but says it makes sense to get ready for a range of possibilities. Other government officials throughout the region feel the same way. In Sioux County in northwest Iowa, Sheriff Jim Schwiesow is very worried.

Schwiesow: It has the potential of being very serious. It has the potential of disrupting all of our transportation. Disrupting the disbursement of our electrical power.

Schwiesow says his Y2K apprehension is based on his Christian faith. He believes judgment day is near and says the computer bug may be part of the societal breakdown that event will bring. He's probably not the only sheriff in America who believes that, but may be the only one acting on it.

Schwiesow: I have about 300-400 people that are licensed to own and carry personal firearms. And I issue those licenses. And I'm going to contact each one of those people by letter and ask if they would be willing and ready to serve as a special deputy if the need would arise.

The sheriff's position has provoked outrage as well as laughter and definitely is not representative of how most city and county officials have responded to the Y2K bug. The major concern is that the water flows and phone systems work.

Berg: I think what we'll see is a lot of small aggravation type things, but I don't think that the economy will grind to a halt.

Charles Berg says Blue Earth County in southern Minnesota is ready for the year 2000. The county information services director says as the date draws closer though, uncertainty rises. He says computer software vendors have begun to hedge.

Berg: Two years ago people were starting to give out ironclad guarantees that everything was fine. Now what we're finding is that the vendors themselves have discovered that there's a lot more to it than they originally expected. And so most of the statements that we're getting are statements that say like, 'to the best of our knowledge,' or 'we believe that our software is correct.' It's very hard to get somebody to give you an ironclad guarantee these days.

No matter what happens, the Y2K bug has actually provided a benefit for local government officials. It's forced them to closely examine and inventory equipment. In doing that, they've found gaps and duplications which when fixed will help them operate more efficiently.

	Sign up to receive e-mail newsletters

	Audio help

	Text: Sm : Md : Lg