By JOHN THOMPSON
Coweta Editor

With predictions of everything ranging from planes crashing, banks collapsing and power plants failing, local governments are slowly starting to realize the "Year 2000" computer problem could cause many problems in conducting the city's business.

The city of Senoia jumped to the forefront Monday night in trying to avoid problems by purchasing a new $10,000 computer system that officials from Taylor Business Systems said will prevent any problems when the calendar year changes to 2000.

For the last few years, computer gurus have been warning the public about the impending peril of 2000. Virtually every computer system is built to go through Dec. 31, 1999, but when 2000 hits, many computers will record the date as 1900.

Imagine a light bill that's due in Jan 15, 2000, but the computer reads it as being due Jan. 15, 1900. The late charges would be astronomical, and citizens would be storming the Bastille to get their bills changed.

That's just one of the many scenarios that could unfold if the country's computer systems aren't fixed by the end of next year. The city was presented with an option of purchasing a used system from Stockbridge that was Year 2000-compatible or purchasing a new system.

If the city purchased Stockbridge's system, the city would only have a limited amount of warranty and registration time left on the software before it would have to buy its own, said Senoia Mayor Joan Trammell.

Trammell recommended the city buy the new system under a lease purchase plan that would cost the city approximately $180 a month. The new system will keep the city from experiencing any Year 2000 problems and dramatically speed up the city's computer system, the mayor added.

By buying the new system, Senoia moved to the forefront in the county trying to kill the "Y2K" bug. Tuesday morning, Coweta County Administrator Theron Gay said he was holding meetings with different department heads to try and form a county plan to head off any Year 2000 problems. Gay said he would report back to the commission after the meetings and present a recommendation to deal with the problem in a quick manner.