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Towns seek antidote for Y2K computer ills
08/23/98
By RON SOUTHWICK
Staff Writer
(First in a two-part series)
Though a 1995 survey called the Princeton area one of the three most "wired" communities in the country, government officials in Princeton Borough are just now beginning to deal with the threat of the year 2000 computer bug.
Computer-rich Princeton University, one of the world's top research universities, and several high-tech businesses and think tanks call the borough home. The mayor and half of the borough council members have their own e-mail addresses.
But with the exception of the police department, local officials have done little to see how the year 2000 computer threat could affect other municipal government systems.
"I need all the departments to tell me what needs to be done," said Borough Clerk Penelope Edwards-Carter, who said she would be reviewing all systems with borough Administrator Thomas Shannon.
The borough isn't necessarily behind other towns, which isn't a good thing. Many towns haven't addressed the problem and many that are trying to do so aren't aware of how many systems can be affected.
Why care about Y2K, as the year 2000 problem is called in business circles? Because the millennium bug could be a municipal nightmare, according to both computer experts and local officials who are addressing the issue.
Critical systems that could be hampered or even fail if unchecked range from 911 dispatching to water and waste treatment to traffic lights. While residents may cheer that tax collection could be slowed, towns could face huge challenges providing services with delays in getting money to pay for them.
"No one knows where the communities are," said Grace Polhemus, president of Technology New Jersey, a nonprofit group based in West Windsor that is attempting to document the Y2K status of every town in the state.
"Local officials need to take the lead on this. They don't really understand how the Y2K problem could affect their town," Polhemus said.
The New Jersey State League of Municipalities conducted a survey in the spring to see if towns were dealing with the year 2000 problem. Of the 282 towns that responded, only one in five said it had fully prepared to deal with the issue. A little more than half the towns considered it a significant problem.
Even the league's survey, as valuable as it is, doesn't ask towns what they are doing to avoid problems. And that information is critical because the year 2000 problem could affect so many systems.
Technology New Jersey is hosting a half-day seminar Friday at the Hyatt Regency Princeton in West Windsor to heighten awareness of the problem. It is designed to show local officials how they could be affected by the millennium bug.
The year 2000 problem refers to a programming problem in which dates were programmed into computers with only two digits for the year -- the "19" being assumed. In the year 2000, no one knows precisely what will happen.
Computers may interpret the digits as 1900 and simply produce erroneous data or, in worst-case scenarios, shut down entirely.
Consultants and analysts insist that the problem goes beyond large mainframe computers and even software. It affects everything with microprocessors, including items that many towns addressing the problem said they never guessed they'd have to anticipate.
Those issues include telephone dispatching for 911 service, tax collection, utilities, heating and air-conditioning systems and alarm systems, said Lou Marcoccio, the year 2000 research director for the Gartner Group, a Connecticut-based consulting firm.
"If you have automation in any functions in your city and town, it needs to be checked," Marcoccio said. "That's the bottom line."
Even traffic lights must be checked, Marcoccio said. While he admits it is only a small number, some lights have embedded computer chips that can be affected by the date switch.
In Trenton, city officials say the software controlling eight of the city's 76 traffic lights needs to be upgraded to prevent problems.
"These cities and towns are going to have to check or put together a disaster recovery plan in case that they have to be fixed or replaced," said Marcoccio.
Many towns aren't even checking such items, said Marcoccio.
The Gartner Group advises thousands of clients, including many cities. And Marcoccio says most municipalities nationwide aren't taking steps to deal with the Y2K problem.
"Los Angeles, New York, Chicago -- some of the largest cities -- have set up year 2000 project teams," Marcoccio said. "Most of our mid-sized cities are barely discussing the issue."
Why the rush, if Jan. 1, 2000, is more than 16 months away? Because finding and fixing the problems isn't enough, experts say. The systems need to be tested to see how they would respond if it were the year 2000.
Those tests take time. And those in the know say towns, especially those operating on a fiscal year that begins in July, don't have until late 1999 to fix it.
"It's not a year 2000 problem. It's a July 1, 1999, problem," said Tom Terry, executive director of computing services at the New Jersey Institute of Technology.
Towns also have to deal with the services they don't control. They must work with vendors and other businesses that support their computer systems, such as banks and insurers, to see if they are compliant. If they rely on an outside firm to handle tax billing and collection and that firm isn't ready, the town ultimately still has the problem.
"If you're working with outside providers for financial services or social services, if they aren't Y2K-compliant, your whole system will crash," said Bill Havlena, an associate professor at NJIT.
Noting that most cities and towns get their funding from a variety of public agencies, Marcoccio said if he were a local official, he would ask for assurances that the funding will continue.
"That's the first thing I'd worry about if I were them," he said.
Towns may face another problem in upgrading their software. Their computer programs may have been written by an employee who left his or her job 15 years ago. Upgrading those programs could be tremendously difficult.
"Many municipalities and many companies are working with outdated systems," said Havlena.
The federal government is forcing state and local governments to address the issue.
Last month, the federal Securities and Exchange Commission passed new rules requiring local governments to inform their bondholders if the year 2000 problem will pose any material costs to investors. The SEC has imposed the same requirements on publicly held companies.
The commission is taking the action to ensure that towns and states can repay their debts and avoid potential fraud charges. While the SEC likely wouldn't dole out fines to states or towns unless willful fraud could be proven, the agency will fine local governments that don't disclose problems.
"They need to provide investors with information about their year 2000 issues," said Duncan King, an SEC spokesman.
State officials are promoting awareness but aren't demanding accountability from towns.
They say their focus has been on making sure municipalities are aware of the year 2000 bug and are taking steps to solve their problems.
"We're holding seminars and doing everything we can to get the word out," said Marc Pfeiffer, assistant director of the division of local government services in the state Department of Community Affairs.
"Clearly, at this point many municipalities are not Y2K compliant, but they're working on it and we're confident that all of them will be able to function in January 2000," he said.
Pfeiffer said he does not know if there are any municipalities that are already Y2K compliant. The department has not surveyed towns to see how many are ready for the year 2000, and there are no plans to conduct such a poll.
The department is spending the bulk of this year making sure municipal administrators and elected officials know the issue and are dealing with it, Pfeiffer said.
"Next year we'll start asking about contingency plans," he said.
Groups such as Technology New Jersey are trying to get towns to address the issue. Last month, the group sent surveys to every mayor in the state asking how they are addressing the year 2000 problem.
The 13-question survey asks mayors to say if their towns will be able to dispatch emergency services and have water and power, and if the businesses and vendors they rely on for daily services will be compliant.
If towns respond, says Polhemus, the president, she plans to put those responses on the group's Web site (www.technologynj.org) so residents can click onto their town and find out its readiness.
"We don't want to cause a panic," she said. "If we share information, we can discuss problems and issues."
The seminar on Friday is another way of promoting awareness, she said. Officials from Newark and North Brunswick will talk about how they have addressed the problem.
Morris Enyeart, a North Brunswick councilman who has spoken to municipal officials about the year 2000 problem, said many towns still don't realize the scope of the problem. North Brunswick had to replace computer systems for its police and tax collection services at a cost of about $500,000.
"I think awareness is still a problem," said Enyeart, who runs a computer consulting business.
"It's starting to come up not so much from municipalities but from residents who are questioning what they're doing," Enyeart said.
At least two towns aren't waiting to deal with the issue. For opposite reasons, Trenton and Pemberton Township offer cautionary tales for other towns.
Since last year, the City of Trenton has taken a number of initiatives to deal with the Y2K problem. Jacob Eapen, the city's business administrator, said most systems should be fully tested by next spring.
City emergency dispatching for police and fire departments should be compliant by this fall, Eapen said.
The city also is installing a new computer and software system to handle billing and customer service, partly to deal with the year 2000 problem, he said. The new system will cost $1.3 million, including support services. But Eapen predicted that with its increased efficiency, the system will pay for itself within four or five years.
The city will replace eight traffic lights by the fall. In those eight lights, the software needs to be updated, and new chips inside the lights that may be date-sensitive will be replaced.
"Generally, we feel comfortable with our Y2K compliance," said Eapen, who added that a new tax collection system that is being installed also is compliant.
Officials in Pemberton Township don't feel as comfortable, although they are taking the matter seriously.
"I think the biggest problem facing me and others like me is there isn't one clear-cut direction to deal with it," said township Administrator Brian J. Valentino.
Valentino said the state has offered some awareness training on year 2000 issues but can't provide a blueprint for every town.
With most towns using different software systems or modifying them to their own needs, Valentino said, "My problem is different from the next person's problems."
Another problem Valentino said he faces is a limited budget. He said the township, like many small towns, can't afford to buy new computer and software packages. So the focus shifts to upgrading and fixing current systems.
But Valentino said there is a shortage of Y2K guidance for towns. "We've kind of been left on our own to deal with it," Valentino said.
"Normally when these wide-ranging problems come up, there's a coordination or sharing of the problem among different organizations," said Valentine. "In this case, it's everyone for himself."
Valentino, who took the administrator's job in May, admitted that the borough is behind in addressing "nontraditional computer applications." Valentino said he now understands that everything with a computer chip in it needs to be checked.
"We just have our fingers crossed and hope it's not too late," said Valentino.
Several other towns say they will be ready soon, although many municipalities didn't respond to requests for information about their preparations.
Officials in Princeton Township authorized the spending of $200,000 to upgrade the township computers, largely to make them compliant, said township Manager James Pascale. Township police also have said that their systems can handle the year 2000 problem.
Still, municipal officials shouldn't assume that a computer is Y2K compliant just because it is new. Nearly all software being sold and most computers sold before April 1997 aren't Y2K compliant, said Marcoccio of the Gartner Group.
Municipal officials must check with the manufacturers and get them to verify whether the systems and software are compliant with the year 2000, Marcoccio said.
Other municipalities, including Hamilton, Burlington City, Bordentown Township, West Windsor and Hopewell Township, say they are dealing with the problem.
Hamilton Administrator Joseph Bellina said that computer systems for the township's police and health departments are Y2K-compliant. And he said a contractor has assured that services such as payroll processing and tax collection will be done without a problem.
Bellina said the township began discussing the issue two years ago.
"I think we've dealt with it," Bellina said.
Smaller towns such as Hopewell Township have fewer systems to check. Still, Elaine Borges, the township's chief financial officer, said the township has checked with every bank it uses and hired a consultant to review the township's computer and software system.
She said she feels comfortable that the township had taken the appropriate steps. But she also said that she was glad she has been working on the issue for more than a year.
"It's still a learning process," she said. "It's going to be hard to play catch-up at the end."
NOTE: Staff Writer Mark Perkiss contributed to this report.
Tomorrow: Will the state government be ready to fight off the year 2000 computer bug