News Release - Larimer County Rolls Out 'Continuity of Operations Plan'

NEWS RELEASE

CONTACTS:    Deni La Rue, Community Information Manager, (970) 498-7150, dlarue@larimer.org

Neil Gluckman, Assistant CountyManager, 970-498-7007

Frank Lancaster, CountyManager, (970) 498-7004, flancaster@larimer.org

Erik Nilsson, Emergency Manager, (970) 498-5310, enilsson@larimer.org

Gary Johnson, Managing Principal of RMA, 970-227-6417, gary_johnson@rma-llc.com

 

DATE:             June 27, 2006

 

SUBJECT:           Larimer County Rolls Out 'Continuity of Operations Plan'

 

*ATTN MEDIA: A photo of the hard-copy Plan along the ‘flash drives’ the Plan is also on is attached for email and message recipients. Fax recipients can request a copy of this photo through Deni La Rue.

 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

 

Larimer County , Colorado – The Board of Larimer County Commissioners today rolled out their ‘Continuity of Operations Plan’ through a contract with Loveland-based Risk Management Alliance LLC (RMA).  The purpose of the Plan is to provide a framework for LarimerCounty government so that in the event of a disruption to critical county services or facilities, County leadership is prepared to prioritize recovery efforts, allocate resources, and communicate with key partners.

 

The Risk Management Alliance team conducted interviews with county employees to identify the county’s critical functions and develop profiles for them.  The critical function profiles include information on leadership succession; services, supplies, and equipment required to provide the critical functions; key contacts; critical records and data bases; and alternate operating locations and infrastructure requirements. In addition to profiling the critical functions, building profiles were also developed identifying each location’s operations, critical functions, unique attributes, and risk vulnerabilities. In all cases, priority is given to recovery of critical functions first.    

 

Examples:

       In the case of a disabling fire at the Sheriff’s EmergencyCommunicationsCenter, emergency dispatch operations would shift to the Fort Collins Police Department.

       If the CountyCourthouseOfficeBuilding at 200 W. Oak is shutdown, some operations will be shifted to buildings at Midpoint Drive and others may go to the County’s Offices in Loveland.   

 

Larimer County’s Continuity plan will be available to County officials responsible for operations in the event of a disruption to critical county services or facilities in both a hard-copy paper form and on ‘flash-drives’ (a bic-lighter sized device carrying electronic data).  

 

Larimer County partnered with 10 other counties in the Northeastern All Hazards region to obtain a grant from Homeland Security to underwrite this planning effort. Being part of joint effort means all 11 counties involved will have a consistent plan format and a better understanding of how each works, along with how they may be able to leverage resources and provide backup support for each other. The Homeland Security grant was $120,000.

 

For information on plan development contact Gary Johnson or Doug Buffington at 970-227-6417. RMA’s website address is RMA-LLC.com.