Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Emergency Management topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Emergency management and LEPC brief commissioners on drone purchase, EOC staffing and text.gov subscription
Summary
LEPC representatives recapped a prior drone purchase and explained funding rules for LEPC money; emergency management staff flagged EOC staffing changes and said they will cancel a duplicative vendor subscription to Nixel in favor of text.gov.
LEPC and emergency management representatives updated county commissioners on local emergency-response funding and communications services. A LEPC representative said the panel purchased a drone with LEPC funds last year and that the unit is housed at the sheriff's office while county staff train multiple people to operate it. "Last year, we bought a drone with money from the LEPC... that drone is at the sheriff's department, and we are currently getting people trained so that we have a drone team in the county instead of a drone guy," the LEPC representative said.
Why it matters: LEPC funds are dedicated to hazard planning and emergency-response equipment. How those funds are used affects local response capacity and interagency operations.
Emergency-management staff described a pending change in EOC staffing and salary lines tied to those changes. One speaker said the Emergency Operations Center salary line will change because a new manager (Jim) has taken over and the position is set as a two‑person function. Commissioners also discussed the county's 911/"09/11" fund, and emergency-management staff warned that the 911 fund is being drawn down: "We are spending more out of that fund than we receive every year," a speaker said, and added prior estimated annual revenue at roughly $262,000.
Staff also discussed the county's subscription communications platforms. One official said they plan to discontinue a duplicative contracted service with Nixel because the county is migrating to text.gov. "I believe it's next month is when I'll be canceling the contract with Nixel... I'm gonna send Nixel a notification come October to go ahead and not renew us for the following year," emergency-management staff said. The text.gov cost was discussed as about $7,000 and staff said they petitioned a state 911 board to pay for it.
Local commissioners and staff also reviewed LEPC small grants and recurring revenues; staff said the LEPC typically receives small recurring payments of about $4,000 per year tied to county size and state distribution formulas. No formal vote or motion was taken; commissioners asked staff to provide follow-up detail on 911 fund balances, the EOC staffing changes, and timelines for contract cancellations for Nixel once the text.gov migration is complete.
