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Santa Fe emergency teams outline improvements after Hurricane Barrel; city already receiving FEMA reimbursements
Summary
An after‑action report identified EOC Wi‑Fi, equipment and training gaps. Officials said the city has received about $110,000 from FEMA and expects roughly $422,000 more in reimbursements against $660,000 of submitted expenses.
City emergency management staff on Jan. 9 presented an after‑action report on the response to Hurricane Barrel that praised interdepartmental coordination but identified areas for improvement, including equipment ownership, Emergency Operations Center (EOC) connectivity and training.
Interim Police Chief and Emergency Management Coordinator described strengths in communications, debris management and resource coordination, and outlined several corrective actions. Staff reported an identified Wi‑Fi power‑supply issue in the EOC that has been fixed and plans to upgrade the police department network switch to improve bandwidth to City Hall. The report also recommended purchasing additional street‑department equipment and replacing an old, nonfunctional City Hall generator.
Staff said training gaps limited personnel assignments during the response and proposed NIMS and TX‑200 (emergency management) classes available through state programs to certify staff for EOC roles. Officials also discussed establishing neighborhood communication partners to speed accurate information to residents during incidents.
Finance Director Rudy told council the city has already received about $110,000 in reimbursements from FEMA and is awaiting roughly $422,000 more; he said all applications have been submitted and are under review. Staff said the city submitted about $660,000 in eligible expenses and expects most reimbursements by summer if reviews proceed on schedule.
Council asked staff to prioritize improvements and prepare a timeline and budget for the coming fiscal year; staff said they will return with a prioritized plan for council review.
