FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CLIFTON, NJ — October 22, 2026 — Clifton City Council candidate Tafari Anderson is proposing measurable emergency preparedness upgrades to help residents receive timely warnings, clarify departmental responsibilities, protect residents who may need additional assistance, and ensure the City addresses problems identified through drills and emergencies.
“Emergency preparedness is not something City Hall should address only after a disaster occurs,” Anderson said. “Residents deserve a coordinated plan with clear responsibilities, tested communications, and measurable follow-through before emergencies happen.”
Anderson’s proposal would direct the City to conduct a citywide review of its hazard assessments, departmental response procedures, emergency communications, evacuation protocols, and continuity-of-operations plans. The review would address flooding, severe storms, infrastructure failures, hazardous incidents, and other emergencies that could threaten residents’ safety or disrupt essential services.
The proposal would require the City to:
- Map flood-prone neighborhoods, vulnerable infrastructure, and critical facilities so emergency planners can prioritize high-risk areas and direct resources where they are most needed.
- Identify residents who may require additional assistance during evacuations or prolonged outages, including residents who may need transportation, shelter, medication, medical support, or accessible communications.
- Assign clear responsibilities and coordination procedures among police, fire, public works, emergency management personnel, and regional partners so departments can respond without confusion or delay.
- Conduct at least one interdepartmental emergency exercise each year and document each deficiency, the department responsible for correcting it, and the deadline for completion.
- Test backup communications regularly to confirm that emergency information can reach residents if primary systems fail because of a power outage, storm damage, network disruption, or another emergency.
- Expand accessible emergency notifications and public preparedness information so residents understand what is happening, what actions to take, where to obtain assistance, and how to prepare.
- Review evacuation procedures and access to essential services to identify gaps involving transportation, shelter, medication, medical care, and other needs during evacuations or extended service disruptions.
- Publish appropriate after-action summaries following major emergencies that identify lessons learned, corrective actions, responsible departments, and implementation deadlines while protecting sensitive security information.
“Preparation must be measured through training, exercises, and demonstrated improvements—not simply by maintaining plans on a shelf,” Anderson added. “Residents should be able to see whether the City tested its systems, identified problems, and fixed them.”
The proposal would establish public measures for evaluating progress, including:
- Completion of the annual interdepartmental exercise.
- Testing and documented performance of backup communications.
- Response-time improvements identified through drills.
- The number of documented deficiencies corrected by their deadlines.
- Completion of updates to evacuation and continuity-of-operations procedures.
- Publication of preparedness actions and appropriate after-action summaries.
These measures would give residents a clearer way to evaluate whether emergency planning is improving in practice. They would also help City officials identify recurring problems before an actual emergency places residents, first responders, and essential services at greater risk.
Anderson also recommends pursuing eligible state and federal emergency-management grants while evaluating long-term staffing, maintenance, equipment, and operating costs before committing taxpayer funds. Any proposed investment should be assessed for its expected public-safety benefit, ongoing cost, and ability to improve response capabilities.
“Clifton must prepare for emergencies before they become crises,” Anderson concluded. “Responsible leadership means protecting lives, safeguarding infrastructure, and ensuring taxpayer investments produce measurable results for residents.”
Media Contact:
Media Team
Phone: 201-888-4846
Email: AndersonforClifton@Gmail.com
Website: https://AndersonforClifton.com
Paid for by Friends for Tafari Anderson.