Emergency management, as a stand-alone office, is a rarity.  Typically EM offices are associated with other emergency response agencies.  While having a good knowledge of fire and law enforcement duties is great, many other aspects of EM are ignored.  An office associated with LE will generally spend most activities around homeland security and LE.  An office associated with fire will seek out opportunities in wildland urban interface, haz-mat, or technical rescue.  There needs to be a blend of activities that includes other major areas like public works (roads, facilities, fleet). 

Unfortunately funding from DHS is geared towards LE and Fire responders.  The rest of the broad realm is missed.  Sheltering of evacuation and of animals, and providing equipment to public works divisions is often ignored.

Emergency Management offices need the adequate funding to be autonomous entities within the respective governing body.  They need the ability to staff across multiple genre.  Most offices in medium to small communities have a single person in the job of emergency manager.  And a good portion of those are dual function (fire chief, deputy/police captain, etc).  EMPG monies need to be made available to fully staff an EM office according to the vulnerability of the community.  Funding is often very limited and difficult to access due to local or state rules.  It is often limited to a single position in an office.  Smaller communities with high risk vulnerabilities (rail, CKI) often require more than an "individual", who may only work the job as part of his duties.

Why the contribution is important

Emergency Mangement offices, emergency managers, emergency management coordinators/planners are often underfunded by local government (until needed).  And the funding in place to assist EM offices (EMPG) is threatened every year for cutbacks. 

I can buy stuff to protect firefighters and LE all day long with DHS money.  But I cannot provide a solid emergency management office, consistantly for my community.

Don't get me started about the EOC grants!!

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glwoodbu
Posted by glwoodbu September 01, 2009 at 03:09PM
This issue has broader implications for both federalism and funding: how do we decide which level of government pays for which government service? I could argue that lack of local funding for an emergency management office is a local concern, not a federal concern. But I could also argue that a successful "national system" of emergency management requires robust and capable entities throughout the network, therefore there is a federal interest in funding local programs. One way to look at it is from the taxpayers perspective: do I, (as a taxpayer to all levels of government,) expect that when disaster strikes the "system" of emergency management will respond? Or am I most concerned that my local community's abilties are sufficient? The concept of "shared responsibility" plays out here, but we need to answer who pays for which share and why. No, this is not a new or easy dilemma.
torema
Posted by torema September 01, 2009 at 05:11PM
This is, indeed, a complex issue. We need to couch this discussion within some amount of context. First of all the funding from DHS is almost always divided among the disciplines by an organization that is lower than the State, in fact reasonable close to the local community, but high enough to take a reasonalby broad view. On the other hand - most funds arrive at this local agency with stict guidelines and Mr Tannen is quite correct, they are focused most heavily on LE and FD but this is changing. I would like to think this is a forum to expand that focus. I, too, struggle to provide some form of EM with little or no funding. I think of equal importance, however, is the need to establish emergency management as a real profession. Walk behind a fire chief's vehicle and it is likely to have a FIRE plate on it. Or in the case of the police chief - a POLICE plate. What is on the Emergency Manager's car? With the push towards regionalization, what plate? Who hires the EMD? In short we can have a comfortable conversation about the LE or FD community but we are less sure exactly what we are talking about when we say EM. So, first we need to define this role at all levels. Then we can define the interfaces between levels that make the job work. Only then can we have the reasonable discussion suggested above, who pays for what at what level?
pmocek
Posted by pmocek September 02, 2009 at 01:13PM
Unless this is about federal emergency management (and as I read it, it's about county emergency management) why would DHS be involved, particularly in funding?
GreySave
Posted by GreySave September 03, 2009 at 10:03AM
<< Sheltering of evacuation and of animals,>> << why would DHS be involved, particularly in funding? >> Funding from DHS funneled through State EMA offices and eventually Regional offices is available for animal sheltering / care in emergency situations. Take a look at Pennsylvania's State Animal Response Team (PASART) which now oversees the County Animal Response Teams (CARTs)within Pennsylvania. The funds are there if at a Regional level (Often made up of several Counties banded together in a Response Group) there is a willingness to distribute the funds for that cause. I am a CART Coordinator. The program does work and was modeled after those created in other states. Pennsylvania is now considered one of the leaders if not "the" leader in disaster response planning and action for animals. www.pasart.us Funding from DHS can be used for other Regional entities right down to the County / local levels. Alan
jdgoldasich
Posted by jdgoldasich September 03, 2009 at 10:52AM
Emergency managers, as a group, need to remain an seperate office. For them to be subordinate to LE or a Fire Department is to defeat their purpose. Those who are subordinate to another emergency service are restricted in their ability to be an objective administrator when necessary. They will always be subject to the whims of bosses who have a vested interest in only one form of emergency activity. Emergency managers need to remain above the fray of parochial interests and be the generalist managers they should be.
homelander
Posted by homelander September 03, 2009 at 05:09PM
Yes. Local OEM needs more power to bring together police, fire and other agencies. Fire and police are operating with nominal cooperation. I refer you to the funding alignment suggestion which would seem to be a great mechanism to ensure cooperation by making OEM a necessary partner in any multi-agency partner community plan.
marshah
Posted by marshah September 07, 2009 at 01:41AM
Wow, I wish I had several hours to discuss this...my pet peeves First responders are not emergency managers. It's like handing an emergency manager a gun and saying "go out and protect and serve". First responders manage their event, emergency managers prepare for and respond to the impact...much larger, complex issues involving every discipline. If we can't staff a department of trained Emergency Managers, representatives from other departments must become liaisons, and be responsible for supporting the EM...so they can actually manage. Require first responders with Emergency Operations Center responsibilities to take emergency management training (emergency planning, recovery, whatever we identify as the key ingredients) Check with IAEM. We have to start by getting everyone educated about what we do...DHS funding could certainly support emergency management by encouraging first responders and other disciplines participate in emergency management trainings and conferences to that trust and relationships can develop. Placement of the Emergency Management in the organization is across the board. City Manager/County Executive, Police Dept, Fire Dept, consultant? Would you ever see an accountant reporting to the Building Department or a Human Resources Director reporting to Public Works...maybe not great analogies, but let's get serious. The Emergency Manager should report to the top executive of the jurisdiction so that they have authority behind their requests and the executive knows when and why things aren't getting done. OK, I have to stop now! :)
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