Merced County emergency manager briefs Livingston council on updated disaster council, training and mutual aid

Adam Amaral, emergency services manager for the Merced County Office of Emergency Services, told the Livingston City Council on Oct. 21 that the county recently updated its disaster council ordinance and is working to align local emergency plans with state and federal frameworks.

"The disaster council is a local government body in California designed to develop and coordinate preparedness response plans for disasters," Amaral said, summarizing the California Emergency Services Act and the council's role in preparedness, planning, training and recovery.

Amaral said Merced County's disaster council was last updated in 1996 and that the county's Board of Supervisors approved a new ordinance on Oct. 29. He said the ordinance must be recognized by the state Office of Emergency Services before a local disaster council can exercise its intended coordination functions.

The presentation described a multi-jurisdictional approach in Merced County that folds city emergency plans into a countywide multi-jurisdictional emergency operations plan, aligns with the state's standardized emergency management system and relies on mutual-aid agreements with neighboring jurisdictions. Amaral said the council's membership includes the county supervisor (Chair Jim Pacheco), the county's director of emergency services, county department heads, the county fire chief, the sheriff and city managers or city emergency directors from the county's six cities.

Amaral flagged two issues for local officials: reduced grant funding and gaps in training and exercises. "We've seen a decrease to 7 to 10% of grant funding on an annual basis," he said, and he urged jurisdictions to emphasize training and exercises so plans are executable and not simply documents on a shelf. He cited FEMA estimates that every dollar spent on mitigation and preparedness can reduce recovery costs.

Councilmembers asked how training and exercises would be delivered. Amaral said recent tabletop exercises validated draft flood plans and that his office, which participates in regional training committees, has provided two dozen classes over the last three years and will continue to offer training to city staff.

Supervisor Jim Pacheco, who chairs the county disaster council, thanked Amaral and said he looks forward to collaboration between the county and Livingston on tax-sharing and fire services issues that may overlap with emergency planning.

Amaral said the disaster council does not itself possess emergency powers when a local emergency is proclaimed; its role is planning and coordination. He closed by asking for local participation in working groups to share planning, training and public information responsibilities across jurisdictions.

Councilmembers thanked Amaral and asked staff to bring the city's updated emergency plan back for council approval later in the meeting.