FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
The City of Springfield computer servers that authenticate employee user names and passwords, allowing access to most computer programs and files, are down as of Monday morning. Data is not compromised, but some municipal daily work processes are slowed, due to inaccessibility to electronic files and records.
Emergency response processes, such as 911 dispatch and Police and Fire calls for service are largely unaffected, because the primary dispatch activity is handled via radio systems. The Springfield-Greene County 911 Emergency Communications center and its Computer Aided Dispatch system is still functional. Director Zim Schwartze said she does not expect the issue to cause any delays in response time or service.
Police Chief Paul Williams said police are still able to respond to calls and take reports, albeit, officers will be hand-writing reports for the time being. The Fire Department’s emergency response is unaffected.
Microsoft is handling this as a critical outage and the City’s Information Systems Department is working with the company and local technical service providers to diagnose the problem in order to restore the server and back-up server that is affected.
The cause of the issue is not yet known. City departments are using back-up paper processes to facilitate customer activities, although service will certainly be slower because of the lack of access to email (in most instances) and the inability to access digital files immediately.
Acting City Manager Collin Quigley said City departments have Continuation of Operations Plans (COOP) in place to deal with these types of scenarios.
City officials appreciate the public’s patience at this time.
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For more information, contact Director of Public Information & Civic Engagement Cora Scott at 417-380-3352.