Johnson County adopts mutual-aid policy to clarify disaster assistance
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Summary
The Board of County Commissioners unanimously approved Resolution 096-25 to formalize a policy for rendering mutual aid to other municipalities and public safety agencies after a discussion about protocols, fiscal limits and best practices.
The Johnson County Board of County Commissioners on Sept. 1 adopted Resolution 096-25, a policy intended to formalize how the county renders and requests mutual aid during disasters. Commissioners voted 7-0 to approve the measure.
The policy formalizes the county's approach to requests for assistance, specifying that staff will evaluate whether a request can be met without jeopardizing local services and that decisions will be made in collaboration with the county manager's office and emergency management. Dan Robeson, who presented the item, said the term "standard mutual aid protocols" refers to recognized financial and operational processes for providing assistance and pursuing cost recovery, and that different mechanisms exist depending on the event and the request.
Commissioners asked for clearer guidance on how the county decides to commit resources, and Commissioner Ashcraft suggested staff review best practices used by counties of similar size before finalizing administrative guidance. Commissioners noted the county maintains a reserve for emergency preparedness that provides roughly $3 million of flexibility and said discretion is necessary to respond to incidents that do not fall under a formal disaster declaration.
The discussion referenced mechanisms such as the Emergency Management Assistance Compact and regional mutual-aid arrangements used during past events. Commissioners also said participation in the Kansas City regional resource-sharing agreement should help coordinate practices across jurisdictions.
The motion to approve Resolution 096-25 was made by Commissioner Allen Brand and seconded by Commissioner Hanslick. The clerk recorded a unanimous roll-call vote in favor.
Commissioners said this resolution is intended to be a policy framework; they expect continued coordination among emergency management, the county manager's office and county staff to ensure the county can both provide and receive assistance without compromising local operations.
No amendments were adopted; staff were asked to continue due diligence in collaboration with regional partners and to consider the suggestion to review peer-county policies for reserve usage and cost-recovery best practices.