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Office of Emergency Management seeks staff for 9‑1‑1 consolidation, special‑events coordination
Summary
The Office of Emergency Management briefed council on a planned consolidation of 9‑1‑1/ Emergency Operations Center operations into a single facility and asked for a special‑events coordinator and an emergency‑communications deputy to oversee organizational and operational consolidation.
Anne Arundel County’s Office of Emergency Management (OEM) briefed the council on May 13 about a multi‑year plan to consolidate 9‑1‑1 operations with the county Emergency Operations Center (EOC) and requested a small number of new staff to manage the transition and increase special‑events coordination.
Director Preeti Emerick and Deputy Joe Corona said the project has completed schematic design and is entering design‑development work for a joint 9‑1‑1/EOC facility. The consolidation aims to bring emergency communications under OEM’s operational oversight and to strengthen coordination between fire, police and county emergency planners.
OEM requested a special‑events coordinator (part‑time/1,500 hours requested) to centralize planning and make the special‑events permitting process easier for organizers and county departments. Emerick said the role would increase consistency in permitting, reduce duplicated effort across police, fire and inspections and help public‑safety agencies prepare appropriately for permitted gatherings. The department also requested a deputy director for emergency communications to lead operational policies and organizational work ahead of the new center’s opening and to ensure that staffing, equipment and procedures are aligned prior to consolidation.
OEM staff said the 9‑1‑1/EOC consolidation team is working to stay within the capital budget by trimming nonessential design features and phasing some work (for example, deferring a traffic‑signal installation to a later phase). County staff said they have begun public meetings with neighboring communities and will continue outreach during design development.
Why this matters: Consolidating 9‑1‑1 and EOC operations changes where first‑response coordination happens and creates a new permanent hub for incident management. The staffing requests are designed to reduce duplicative work across agencies and to make permitting and special‑events safety planning more consistent countywide.
Council queries focused on (a) whether the special‑events work will produce net savings if fee revenue is recovered and (b) how OEM will demonstrate improved efficiency. OEM agreed to deliver a flowchart showing the coordinator’s operational responsibilities and communications lines with police and fire.
