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Council reviews business continuity and disaster recovery policies; IT director outlines roles and backup plan
Summary
Council reviewed three draft policies about business continuity, disaster recovery and IT roles. IT Director said policies are standard templates and explained that he is listed as plan owner/coordinator with delegation to a managed service partner if needed.
City of Easley staff presented three draft policies July 14 covering business continuity, disaster recovery and related IT roles, saying the documents are largely standardized templates recommended by external reviewers.
Jordan, the city’s IT director, told council he authored the documents and would serve as plan owner, business continuity coordinator and organizational leadership designee until any large-scale disaster required delegation. Jordan said naming a single point of contact reflected that the policies primarily relate to technology operations; he added the city maintains a managed service partner, Cyber Solutions, with technical staff available 24/7 to support operations.
Council members asked why the IT director held all three roles and whether the city administrator or mayor should be included for broader organizational leadership. Jordan said he would delegate responsibilities in a major disaster and that the city administrator would serve as his backup if Jordan was unavailable. Councilmember Rainey asked whether read-only access restrictions would prevent essential functions during an emergency; Jordan said elevated access increases security risk and that the MSP would be contacted for technical tasks requiring broader access.
Council also asked whether the 911 system and certain services are outside city control; staff clarified that 911 services are handled by the county.
No formal votes on the three policies were recorded in the transcript excerpt; staff said the policies have been in development since Jordan was hired and were recommended by agencies including the state law enforcement division and federal templates.
Operational details and concerns raised
- Plan roles: Jordan explained the plan owner maintains and updates the plan; the continuity coordinator implements the plan; organizational leadership would be assigned to Jordan with delegation authority for larger incidents. - Backup arrangements: Jordan said the city uses an MSP (Cyber Solutions) with multiple technicians available 24/7 to support the city’s IT operations. - Access and security: Jordan explained that granting more than read-only access to a single individual creates security risks; role-based access and delegation were discussed. - Records and FOIA: Council asked how records (emails, voicemails) are handled; staff reiterated requirements to retain certain records under FOIA for a minimum period (five years) when applicable.
Next steps
Staff recommended council ask questions and, if desired, vote on each policy individually at a future meeting. Council discussion signaled the need for clarification of role assignments and for documenting delegation paths and backups.
