Council creates City Hall campus emergency‑preparedness committee after June false‑alarm review

The Public Safety and Health Committee approved a substitute ordinance June 12 creating a City Hall Campus Emergency Preparedness Committee to coordinate the city’s emergency‑preparedness work relating to city‑owned buildings and to provide periodic reporting to elected officials and employees.

Sponsor Council President José Perez said the ordinance responds to the May 15 false‑alarm incident at City Hall and aims to ensure city employees have clear, codified emergency procedures and regular updates. Administration officials said they have already formed a cross‑departmental work group that has met repeatedly since May 15 and has started implementing operational fixes, including tests of City Hall’s public address system and steps to improve opt‑in emergency text messaging.

Why it matters: Committee members emphasized employee safety and a need for timely, transparent reporting on changes to emergency plans and communications protocols.

Committee changes and administration view Administration staff, including Chief of Staff Nick Desiato and operations staff who have coordinated the response, described ongoing work across multiple departments — police, fire, Department of Emergency Management, the city clerk’s office, employee relations and public works — and said they have identified a number of action items to improve communications, training and PA/text systems.

Desiato said a standing work group has met multiple times since the incident and has delivered immediate fixes, and he asked that a public reporting cadence be set so aldermen and employees receive regular updates. Some committee members suggested updating an existing “central safety committee” ordinance rather than creating a new panel; staff said the central safety committee will meet June 26 and the new committee will coordinate with it.

Vote and next steps The substitute ordinance (file 250288) passed the committee. Members asked for regular updates and for administration to include council leadership and the city clerk’s office in future briefings. The administration committed to ongoing meetings, to providing status communications to the council and to returning with policies or materials for codification where appropriate.

Ending note The committee flagged two priorities: public updates for employees and council members, and keeping operational workgroups free to develop technical, nonpublic solutions where that is appropriate for safety and legal reasons.