This budget adjustment is proposed to recognize $165,000 in insurance payments the City received for the old platform and hire a new Emergency Management Coordinator.
The platform was hit while stopped on a call and was totaled by the insurance agency. The City received $165,000 in insurance. These funds will be recognized and the budget increased to purchase replacement equipment to outfit the new platform for $132,901 and increase the Fire Rescue Budget by $32,099 to fund the 1956 Fire Engine remodel and outfitting the new blocker engine the city purchased from Converse.
Staff is proposing to approve a new Emergency Management Coordinator position to oversee the City's emergency operations center, emergency policy and procedures, and grant writing. This position can be funded from the CARES act in the current fiscal year and is proposed to be funded in the proposed FY 2020-21 budget.
The primary role of the Emergency Management Coordinator is to help the community, the city, and organizations by having a system in place for anticipated hazards and area vulnerability. In addition, the EMC is a position that wears many hats and is someone who builds relationships and networks with internal and external stakeholders during non-disaster or emergency times while playing a crucial role in compliance and coordination within the EMC job scope. This position will ensure we are ready in regards to Mitigation, Preparedness, Response, and Recovery in the event of a disaster, large scale emergency, multi-jurisdictional emergencies, as well as pandemics like COVID 19.
The emergency manager must develop relationships with other local, state, and federal emergency response agencies/organizations in order to better facilitate inter-agency operations during emergency and non-emergency periods.
The emergency manager is also responsible for raising community awareness of emergency preparedness and response by bringing in volunteers from the community to help in administrative functions or as trained, volunteer community responders. In developing community volunteer assistance, the emergency manager can effectively augment the emergency response force and relieve some of the burden from professional responders. Additionally, the standalone Emergency Manager will also allow greater opportunities to create and develop joint training exercises with regional partners, as well as developing region wide community preparedness events.
At present, the EMC responsibilities are handled by the Fire Chief which in turn causes a significant division of that position's time. With the geographic location of Schertz being in three counties, it requires the emergency manager to attend approximately 11 meetings a month in order to maintain compliance and cooperation across all three while continuing to develop and grow our regional partnerships.
Texas Department of Emergency Management Annexation review requires updates to our Emergency Operations Plan and related annexes annually. To be effective, this updating process must be a proactive, streamlined, and continually ongoing course of events that are strategically planned out during the course of the year. When this proactive process occurs, it will greatly improve our abilities during the most difficult of time while freeing up time for department heads and EM team members to focus on their primary jobs.
The emergency manager plays an essential role in pre, during, and post organizational preparation and recovery to emergency management necessitated response. This position in cooperation with a finance department liaison ensures all emergency management requirements and needs are met for the successful coordinating of state and federal reimbursement efforts.
Examples of what this position is tasked with in order to enhance our efforts in mitigation, preparedness, response, recovery, planning, exercising, and training:
- Planning tabletop and full-scale disaster exercises as required by TDEM
- Grant writing, management, tracking, and reporting for Homeland, FEMA, and state.
- Attend all Regional Emergency Preparedness Advisory Committee (REPAC) meetings.
- Attend and participate in Emergency Management meetings for all three counties.
- Form, manage, and maintain partnerships with community stakeholders
- Form manage and maintain relationships with local, state and federal government and their respective officials
- Champion regional cooperation of all first responders
The City of Schertz hiring an Emergency Manager will help make us more resilient for future disasters and pandemics. Grant money is available from TDEM and FEMA to help offset the salary and benefits of an emergency manager in an amount up to 50% of the cost. In addition, the Emergency Manager can assist the City in finding grant opportunities that has the possibility of bringing in more money to the City than the cost of their position.
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