WE MUST WORK TOGETHER TO PREPARE FOR Y2K; MILLENNIUM MANAGEMENT BLUEPRINT HAS BEEN PREPARED TO HELP L.A. TACKLE A COMPLEX ISSUE.

Byline: Richard Riordan and Don Knabe 

BY now everyone knows what Y2K is. The six-month countdown has begun to the year 2000, as we're reminded daily in the news columns, editorials and on the Internet. It's endlessly fascinating and reads like science fiction, without being fiction.

While many view Y2K as a technical problem - rooting out ``millennium bugs'' in computers - the City of Los Angeles and County of Los Angeles are concerned about the bigger picture. What about people? What about their lives and livelihoods? This is of primary concern to your government.

Your leadership, therefore, is being proactive. We look to be the national model for preparedness and contingency planning on Y2K, and have formed the Los Angeles Millennium Management Leadership Team to help government, private industry and residents get ready for Y2K.

Members of the team have been invaluable in providing infrastructure and resource information and will continue to be helpful by distributing preparedness information to their workplaces and in the community.

Why is this important? Because Y2K is a potential problem unlike any other. We know the exact date of Y2K, but we do not know the geographic scope, duration, or volume of any potential impacts.

It is very possible that Y2K will pass without a ripple. But we must prepare for the contingencies.

This leads us to conclude - we need to work together.

The city and the county rely heavily upon computers to run vast and complex systems - from the Department of Water and Power to the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, fire departments and the county hospital system.

We have been hard at work making city and county computers Y2K ``ready'' by mid-1999. In addition, major private sector operations are also working hard to ensure their systems are Y2K ready. While we expect to achieve this technical mark, it still does not fully address all of the computer interconnections that support our way of life.

If disruptions occur, Y2K will likely impact us at the local level, leading us to look for local solutions.

Should we panic? No. Nor should we be complacent. Y2K will be a management problem and social phenomenon more than a technical one. Y2K is like a bad storm: Be prepared, but don't overreact.

From our vantage point, it is in the best interest of the region to take an umbrella approach in addressing the complexities of Y2K. Partnerships with private, nonprofit emergency agencies, churches, community organizations, neighborhood associations and other entities will help.

To tackle this complex issue, the team is utilizing a Millennium Management Blueprint prepared by the Candle Corp. of Santa Monica, which is partnering with the city and county emergency operations organizations. This blueprint provides a road map for local governments to understand what we are up against, and to provide solutions to help reduce disruptions to businesses, residences, emergency services, schools, utilities and commuters.

Educating yourself and your family and friends is critical. We believe Y2K is like El Nino in that it is better to over-plan than to be under-prepared.

As leaders in the public and private sectors, we share the responsibility to protect our constituencies and employees. And we ask residents to join our crusade.

Your mayor, City Council, Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors and business and community leaders need your participation in preparedness and contingency planning for Y2K. We know the date, we know the time, we can and should do something about it. All of us. Today.

To learn more about the Los Angeles Millennium Management Leadership Team and our community preparedness plan, contact the City of Los Angeles' Web site at www.cityofla.org; the County of Los Angeles' Web site at www.co.la.ca.us, or www.TMA2000.org.