HazMatHarry

With the recent fire in the Dobbs Ferry Village Hall which houses the fire department, police department as well as all governmental operations I would be interested in knowing what types of Continuity of Operations plans are in place in different municipalities.
What would your organization or municipality do if they had to evacuate/relocate out of their facilities for an extended period of time? How many departments or municipal governments have true Continuity of Operations plans in place? Do you have a place designated to relocate to? Are your records backed up and readily accessible, do you have communication and network systems in place at an alternate location, are you able to maintain communications? Governmental operations must continue regardless of the calamity that has occurred. People still need to go to Village/Town/City Hall for services.
Throughout history if you look at some of the worst responses to large disasters they were all excacerbated by the failure to maintain governmental operations. Preparing for smaller events will put the foundation in place for the major events.
Are we as prepared as we should be?

Nice post, if all the info you gave is "factual" as you've claimed, then you've added quite a bit of info about PAPD Airborne and ESU. Problem I have with it (even though I'm giving you a rep point anyway), is that nobody here was expressing support for anybody losing their jobs. If you follow this forum, then you know what cops and firefighters have been faced with regarding layoffs in Westchester County.(edit) I think I can speak for most members in saying we not in favor of people being layed off.(/edit)
You alluded to the difficulty in getting the proper authorization for PAPD Airborne support. Sounds like a ridiculous system to need up to four bosses to sign off on a flight. That's the PAPD hurting it's own unit, not anybody else.
A "contractual" agreement that required at least one PAPD officer to be on board for a flight? Bro, it's a POLICE chopper. What are non-police personel even doing in the cockpit? PAPD Airborne sounds like more of a service that didn't exist for anything or anyone outside of the PA, the more you describe it. And a daytime service only at that?
The comment I saw about PAPD ESU jumping calls came from a retired FDNY member. If he saw it happening in his career and called them on it in this thread, as far as I'm concerned that is FACT, and all I need to know that it does happen.
Sounds to me after your post, that the PAPD needs to get it's act together. First reason and this should be reason enough; PAPD protect the major airports in NY/NJ and as you claim a 25 mile ring around the Statue of Liberty. All of these assets and they are eliminating their airborne unit?
Maybe because they've been doing it wrong for so many years, and shuttling PA personel around like they were a bunch of Wall Street executives, instead of providing an emergency service, which would be the priority reason for a PD to own a chopper in the first place.
If they would have developed their air program to provide that local support, easier and more consistantly, they would have proved their worth to the emergency services community, and they probably wouldn't be on the chopping block, like a too expensive shuttle system for employees.
Think about it. We had USAir into the Hudson, we've had jumpers off the bridges, etc. We see the NYPD choppers dropping SCUBA divers into the water in a matter of minutes. We see the Westchester unit assisting with searches all over the county.
The PA chopper could have been utilized as a regular emergency air service for the whole area; yet from the chopper choice on down, it appears that is not what the PA powers to be intended.
Just my opinion.