Vermont emergency management director briefs Senate committee on staffing, mitigation funding and shelter readiness

Eric Forand, director of Vermont Emergency Management and Homeland Security, told the Vermont Senate Committee on Government Operations on Jan. 21 that mitigation demands and changing risks have stretched the agency and prompted requests for more staff and capital funding.

Forand said the agency has seen a sharp rise in mitigation applications: “between Irene and 2023, roughly 10 years, we had about 200 ... applications, and we've had 290 in the last one year,” and that mitigation funding has grown from “about $25,000,000” in an earlier period to “about $80,000,000” available now. He described buying out flood-prone properties, elevating homes and other measures as the agency’s principal mitigation work.

The committee was told why the state needs both more staff and a more resilient State Emergency Operations Center. Forand said the State Emergency Operations Center (SCOC) remained in near-continuous operation after the July floods and was evacuated during large events; the agency has been using an alternate SCOC in the Dill building and has requested capital funding, including congressional-directed spending, to build or harden a new facility. “We did request some congressional directed spending money for that,” Forand said, adding that any dedicated facility would be a significant capital expenditure.

Forand described personnel and organizational changes the agency has pursued. He said the core VEM staff is “about 30,” which he framed as sufficient to run a tight operations cycle for up to a week but not to sustain longer events without supplementing staff via state agencies, contractors, mutual aid or Emergency Management Assistance Compacts. He said the agency is seeking additional regional coordinators: “we asked the governor and the legislators last year for three more regional coordinators ... now we have six.” He said regional coordinators will increase contact with towns and help towns exercise plans and build mutual-aid relationships.

Committee members pressed Forand on local readiness. Several senators said many towns have emergency plans but do not exercise them or maintain volunteer rosters for shelters. Forand said the state revised its emergency management plan to add activation levels so the SCOC can scale up before incidents and described work to fold recommendations into local plan templates to prompt towns to address shelters, volunteers and food logistics.

Lawmakers and Forand also discussed buyouts and relocation. Forand said many buyouts leave residents to find their own housing, noting there is not a widespread municipal land bank practice for relocation. He said the state is trying to cover grant matches so buyouts can be closer to 100% for homeowners where possible. He warned that buyouts can reduce local tax base even while removing repeated flood exposure.

The briefing covered nonflood risks as well: Forand said wildfire and heat are rising hazards as drought and higher temperatures become more likely, and that the state is coordinating with partners — including the National Weather Service and Agency of Human Services — to identify needs such as cooling and warming shelters for vulnerable populations.

Committee members suggested incentives to move mitigation projects from plan to implementation, for example making projects eligible for particular grant pots if they are approved by regional planning commissions; Forand said the state maintains a list of submitted projects and must prioritize work within available mitigation funds.

Forand highlighted a recent large planned event — the April eclipse — as an example of successful preplanning: VEM’s pre-event coordination for what he said drew about 650,000 visitors helped avoid major incidents and showed the value of exercising planning functions ahead of time.

The committee did not take formal votes at the Jan. 21 meeting. Lawmakers asked Forand to provide additional statistics on mitigation projects and outcomes for public posting and follow-up with towns about the regional coordinator contacts and how towns can access state support for mitigation projects.