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Harvey County emergency management warns federal grant reductions would shift more responsibilities locally
Summary
Emergency management director said the county’s Emergency Management Performance Grant funding has fallen from about $31,112 in 2022–23 to an anticipated $24,492 for 2025 and that reduced state or federal support would increase local workload and costs.
Mike Anderson, Harvey County Emergency Management director, told the Board of County Commissioners on Feb. 11 that his office’s Emergency Management Performance Grant (EMPG) is an annual cost‑matching grant that has declined in recent years.
Anderson said Harvey County received $31,112 in both 2022 and 2023 and received $27,192 in 2024; county staff applied for 2024 funding and expected roughly $24,492 for 2025 after a 10 percent congressional reduction that the Kansas Division of Emergency Management initially absorbed for counties. He said EMPG funds have historically supported the director position.
Anderson warned of operational implications should federal or state emergency‑management staffing or funding shrink. “All events start local and end local,” he said, and if support at higher levels is reduced the county would shoulder more responsibilities, including for hazards such as wildland fire, hazardous‑materials incidents and severe weather.
He described emergency management as an around‑the‑clock function and outlined recent out‑of‑office coordination activities, from hazmat incidents to remote coordination during travel, saying uncertainty about state and federal support increases local risk and resource needs.
Commissioners asked whether the potential funding reduction would affect programs or staff; Anderson and other staff said those grant funds have been applied to personnel costs and that local contingency planning is under way.
Ending — Commissioners thanked Anderson for the briefing and recognized that a changing federal and state funding picture could prompt future budget discussions.
