To: Board of Supervisors, County of Sonoma
Department or Agency Name(s): Emergency Management
Staff Name and Phone Number: Chris Godley / 565-1152
Vote Requirement: Majority
Supervisorial District(s): All Districts
Title:
Title
Public Utility Database Use for Emergency Alerting Agreement
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Recommended Action:
Recommended action
Authorize the Director of the Department of Emergency Management to enter into agreements with public utilities and other agencies to obtain resident accountholder contact information to enroll residents in the County’s Emergency Community Alert and Warning systems.
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Executive Summary:
A recent California law allows counties to obtain resident contact information from public utilities and other agencies in order to enroll residents in county alert and warning systems. This item authorizes the Director of Emergency Management to enter into no-cost agreements with public utilities (ex. Pacific Gas & Electric and Healdsburg Power) and other agencies to obtain customer contact information for exclusive use in the County’s emergency alert and warning systems.
Discussion:
In 2018, California Senate Bill 821 became law (Section 8593.4 of the Government Code), authorizing each county to enter into agreements to access the contact information of resident accountholders through the records of a public utility or other agency, including an electrical or gas corporation, responsible for water service, waste and recycling services, or other property-related services for the sole purpose of enrolling county residents in a county-operated public emergency warning system.
The law provides for safeguards on the use of this contact information including a) prohibiting use of the information gathered for any purpose other than for emergency notification, b) a requirement for procedures to enable any resident to opt out of the warning system, c) a process must be established to terminate access to the contact information of the resident, and d) that the confidentiality of the contact information must be protected under reasonable security.
Previously, the County has paid as much as $40,000 to update our emergency alert systems by purchasing commercial telephone contact databases, and those databases were limited to landlines associated with physical addresses. The utility databases are more accurate with recent information, including cell phone numbers correlated to physical addresses. By incorporating these databases from public utilities and other agencies in accordance with law, the County will be able to enroll more residents with notably more accurate contact information thereby increasing the effectiveness of alert and warning systems without additional costs.
Prior Board Actions:
None.
Fiscal Summary
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Expenditures |
FY 19-20 Adopted |
FY20-21 Projected |
FY 21-22 Projected |
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Additional Appropriation Requested |
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Total Expenditures |
-0- |
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General Fund/WA GF |
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Contingencies |
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Total Sources |
-0- |
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Narrative Explanation of Fiscal Impacts:
None.
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Staffing Impacts: |
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Position Title (Payroll Classification) |
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Narrative Explanation of Staffing Impacts (If Required):
None.
Attachments:
Sample Draft Utilities Agreement for Data Sharing (A1)
Related Items “On File” with the Clerk of the Board:
None.