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Select Board approves townwide Comprehensive Emergency Management Plan
Summary
The Select Board approved the town’s base Comprehensive Emergency Management Plan; staff emphasized the plan sets roles and responsibilities and committed to annexes and exercises to operationalize checklists and training.
The Select Board voted July 1 to approve the Town of Brookline’s Comprehensive Emergency Management Plan (base plan), which town emergency management staff said defines roles, responsibilities and coordination procedures for major incidents.
Deputy Emergency Management Director Cheryl Snyder asked the board to approve the base plan as the foundation for annexes and functional procedures. “It addresses the roles and responsibilities of all Brookline departments, agencies, government operation, organizations, volunteers, and community partners,” Snyder said, and emphasized that annexes (hazard‑specific and functional) will follow.
Board members asked about exercises and training. Snyder said the town maintains a schedule of annex development in the Emergency Management Strategic Plan and that draft annexes — including damage assessment and public communications — are in development. She described a layered approach to exercises, from tabletop discussions to larger functional exercises, and said this year’s near‑term activities include a tabletop on lithium‑ion battery hazardous materials response and later planning for mass‑care/sheltering exercises.
Select Board members urged the office to plan at least one cross‑departmental exercise that tests decision‑makers and communications across departments, including the Select Board and town leadership. “When the emergency happens, it’s total chaos and confusion,” Chair Bernard Green said; board members emphasized the need for checklists that clarify what elected officials should and should not do in a major incident.
The Select Board voted aye to adopt the base Comprehensive Emergency Management Plan. Snyder and staff said the base plan will be supplemented by annexes and that they will pursue exercises and training to test the plan in coming months.
