The adoption of a new Business Continuity Policy at the Council Meeting held yesterday sets in place the final step to ensuring Council is agile in its response and capabilities to maintaining essential services during an undesirable event.

Council staff have been formalising a Business Continuity Plan, in particular Council’s response to the current Covid-19 outbreak in NSW.

Armidale Regional Council General Manager James Roncon said unfortunately Council’s response and actions to COVID last year were never formally documented and did not follow an established Business Continuity Plan.

“Even though Council managed through last year’s COVID-19 outbreak and essential services were maintained, an established plan of action has not been available to the organisation now,” said Mr Roncon

Each department has completed a Business Continuity Sub-Plan that focuses on Council’s response at three levels of escalation that guide the organisation through what is required to maintain essential services if the COVID outbreak deteriorates and our region has to respond to changes to the Public Health Orders.

“I applaud the work of Council staff and Councillors’ adoption of the Business Continuity Policy. Completing this essential planning will give confidence to the community and to the organisation that we can now act quickly and consistently in the event of the Public Health Order changing for our region, at any time,” said Mr Roncon.

Published on 29 Jul 2021