Barrington prepares plan for a villagewide disaster

Barrington officials Monday night will discuss a proposed continuity-of-operations plan to be implemented in a major disaster in the village that might incapacitate some administrators.

Village Manager Jeff Lawler said the plan is the latest element of Barrington's emergency preparedness recommended by FEMA, and an improvement of a similarly themed plan that anticipated Y2K computer problems more than a decade ago.

Though time-consuming, crisis preparedness has changed into a much more sophisticated and detail-oriented task in the 21st century, Lawler said.

"It's become much more of a science than what it was in prior years," he added.

The motivating factor, Lawler said, is the knowledge that it's much more useful to know where village operations will be conducted from and who will be in charge before a disaster occurs than to try to make such decisions in the aftermath.

Police, fire, public works and finance are village departments that would likely have major roles to play in a disaster, Lawler said. A seven-person succession of authority for each department is spelled out in the plan.

Though Barrington has never faced a disaster that forced it to go without the use of its own village-owned buildings, the whole point of the plan is to envision and prepare for the worst-case scenario, Lawler said.

Village board members intend to go over the plan one more time at their committee of the whole meeting Monday evening so that they may vote it into law at their next regular meeting on June 28.

The plan is meant to be an ever-evolving document, however, that can be adapted to changing circumstances and new knowledge in the future, Lawler said.

The plan includes training to ensure employees remember its essential details and how to respond under different circumstances.

"I'm really proud of the work that they've done," Village President Karen Darch said of staff. "It is the responsibility of the local government to be ready for a disaster. When you think about it, it's the obvious next step."

She emphasized that the purpose of the plan is to lay out a timely response to emergencies, but doesn't make any real changes to the authority of the village board.

The leadership of the board remains with the village president, and the order of succession goes through the trustees by first their seniority and then their vote count in elections.