The city has completed an After Action Review, which it's describing as a "military-style" assessment of what went wrong during the bouts of winter weather. It found six problem areas where the city needs to improve, including lack of resources, inconsistent internal and external communications, and training gaps, among others.
Emergency Management Director Rob Larkin said the city's operations relied too heavily on reactive measures, rather than pre-set plans for a variety of winter disruptions.
"A one-size-fits-all approach is not effective," he said. "We must tailor our operations to meet the forecasted and received weather in scale, flexibility, and timing."
Mayor Linda Gorton will also be asking the city council to sign on to agreements with eight new contractors to scale up the city's resources and experienced personnel. The budget request will run close to $4 million, but Gorton says a green light from council is vital.
"We are always trying to do better," she said. "And this is very important that it go forward so that the team can continue working on this."
The team includes a workgroup that will be tasked with implementing the After Action Review recommendations, which include improving software to allow for planning and executing snow and ice routes.
At least two council members are already sounding optimistic about the changes, saying they're ready to commit additional dollars to the overhaul.
"We're seeing ice more than we have in the past. It used to be a once-in-a-decade event. Now we've had an ice storm two years in a row, so this response to better address snow and ice is what I'm glad to see... and will probably support any additional budget request to make sure that gets adjusted," Councilman James Brown said.
The new dollar requests will come this week as the budget process ramps up.