City officials gather for advanced preparation

City leaders around the country gathered recently in person and virtually to discuss emergency response tactics in a meeting and video-conference hosted by the National League of Cities and Washington, D.C. The event, which was billed as a Multi-City Summit focusing on disaster preparedness, was broadcast live by video telecast and webcast, gathering leaders together at locations in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Beaumont, Texas, Bismarck, North Dakota, and Washington, D.C.

Personal relationships and sticking together were major themes in an event that seemed geared, in part, toward preventing the kind of competitive fall-out that was seen in the Gulf region during the immediate aftermath of Katrina. “We have worked to develop the relationships in advance, to formalize them, to have a plan, to practice it, to stay flexible and, most importantly, to stick together,” Connie Sprynczynatyk, executive director of the North Dakota League of Cities, was quoted as saying. The event also highlighted the release of a new tool that D.C. mayor Anthony Williams has been closely involved with: an internet and cable broadcast National City Network, serving city leaders, public officials, citizens, and the media.

-read the NLC round-up here, and visit the National City Network here