For the first time in ten years, the City of Sacramento is updating its emergency operations plan. The existing plan is full of outdated information.

Since the last update in 2005, the city has created a new emergency operations center and has increased staffing and training levels. None of this information was incorporated into the old plan.

But, Sacramento Police Lieutenant Steve Winton says the new plan will include that information and  recommendations to improve response time, communications, and public involvement during an emergency.

"With the city's volunteer coordinator, we're going to have a place for spontaneous volunteers to come in and help us out during a disaster," says Winton.

There will also be updated staffing information.

"We've asked and the department directors have granted and agreed that they will leave their staff assigned to the emergency operations center for at least two years," he says. "What this allows is it maintains the level of training and a consistency within the staff itself so we don't have turnover that creates us to restart, retrain and redo everything all over again."

The operations center would like more emergency information posted to the city's website, more access to traffic and police cameras, and an outreach program to the homeless when severe weather is likely.

When the new proposed plan is completed, the city manager must approve it before it goes to the city council for a vote.