Austin Emergency Management outlines new structure, community-focused plans and alert upgrades

Austin Emergency Management Director Jim Redick told the Austin Public Safety Commission on Oct. 6 that his office has changed its name and internal organization and is rewriting emergency plans and outreach to be more usable during disasters.

Redick said the office — renamed from “Homeland Security and Emergency Management” to “Austin Emergency Management” — reorganized on Oct. 1 for the new fiscal year into two branches: a public information/finance/technology branch and an operations/strategy/training branch. “We are in a state of just wholesale change,” Redick said, adding the shift is intended to make planning, exercises and response more streamlined and accessible.

Redick said the department is adopting a “whole‑of‑community” approach that brings city departments, higher education, the private sector, nonprofits, the military and faith groups into planning. He described the use of emergency support function (ESF) annexes — the operational contacts, authorities and resource lists tied to the city’s basic response plan — and said the city is considering adding a separate ESF to recognize emergency medical services.

The office is rewriting the city’s foundational “basic plan” so it is usable in an Emergency Operations Center and by partner agencies and…