Placer County Board of Supervisors Supports Disaster Preparedness for Local Businesses

Published on March 09, 2016

The Placer County Board of Supervisors have approved support for the Capital Region Business Resiliency Initiative, which provides resources for small businesses and helps increase their disaster preparedness.

"Small businesses are among the most vulnerable and often the least prepared for disaster," said Jennifer Montgomery, District 5 Supervisor. "They provide a cornerstone to Placer County's economy. Helping our businesses prepare for disaster is a step we can take that will protect the county as a whole."

The board of supervisors approved inserting an informative flier about the critical importance of business resiliency in the county business license renewal mailers, announcing the availability of a toolkit found online at the Resilient Business website . The toolkit highlights existing best practices and online resources, consolidating this important information into an actionable, accessible and clear set of steps that small business can use, on their own time and according to their own needs, to create preparedness plans and increase their ability to withstand disaster.

To help businesses put the resiliency toolkit into effect, a consortium of business organizations and local governments has teamed with Valley Vision, a regional leadership organization, to sponsor a hands-on workshop on preparing for disaster on March 17, from 7:30 a.m. to 11 a.m. at the Placer County Association of Realtors office, 270 Technology Way in Rocklin. Business owners and managers can register online. The cost is $20.

Approximately 80% of businesses in the region have fewer than 20 employees. When a disaster causes small businesses to close unexpectedly for five or more business days, 25-40% of them never reopen, causing a loss of jobs, economic vitality and community resources. Drought, fire, and floods, as well as man-made disasters, all threaten businesses within Placer County.

Valley Vision developed and is managing the Capital Region Business Resiliency Initiative to help businesses create capacity to withstand disasters or other adverse events that may befall them, thereby increasing the resiliency of the businesses themselves and also of the region's overall economy.