Washington County emergency manager: one‑person office overwhelmed by floods, asks for added FTE
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Summary
Emergency Management Coordinator Dustin Lofi told the Public Safety Committee that the Office of Emergency Management is staffed at 1 FTE, supported incident response for 10 municipalities during recent floods, and requested an additional full‑time position to sustain planning, response, and recovery work.
Dustin Lofi, Washington County Emergency Management Coordinator, told the Public Safety Committee in August that the county’s Office of Emergency Management (OEM) is staffed by a single full‑time equivalent and was stretched thin during recent severe weather and flooding that affected roughly 10 municipalities.
Lofi said the office is responsible for hazard assessment, planning, grant deliverables, training and exercises, and incident resourcing, and that “the bandwidth of 1 county emergency manager does not effectively allow the mitigation, preparedness, response, and recovery activities needed to support the community.” He gave a recent example: he logged about 70 hours over a recent week supporting municipal responses, coordinating damage assessments, and answering calls and emails.
Why it matters: Lofi told the committee that extreme weather events have increased in frequency and severity and that local emergency management responsibilities are expanding even as some federal programs change. He said the county declared a state of emergency for recent flooding on Aug. 10 and that, year‑to‑date, the county has experienced multiple flash flood warnings, tornado watches/warnings and other weather hazards. He estimated historical hazard damages at about $63,000,000 in 2021 dollars (not including the current event).
Lofi outlined a 30/60/90‑day leadership transition after the prior emergency manager, Rob, retired April 2, and said Wisconsin Emergency Management has been sending staff to augment the county during the recent responses. He described ongoing efforts including family assistance center planning with Health and Human Services, memoranda of understanding with shelter partners (American Red Cross, Salvation Army), damage assessment training with GIS and municipal officials, and completion of off‑site hazardous‑substance plans required for grants.
Lofi requested one additional FTE to support the OEM’s work, saying the extra position would expand the office’s liaison capacity with municipal emergency managers, support continuity of operations, and help run the emergency operations center during activations. He warned that federal funding shifts — including the cancellation of the Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities program — and proposals to shift more preparedness responsibilities to local governments could increase fiscal pressure on counties.
Supervisors praised Lofi’s work during recent storms; several said they support adding staff. The committee approved a separate, later motion to allow up to $15,000 from strategic priorities to support immediate emergency needs (see Votes at a glance). Lofi also noted planning to request a dedicated FTE in the 2026–27 budget proposal.
Ending: Lofi concluded that 2025 has been “a very busy and historic year” for the OEM and recommended adding staff to improve continuity, resilience and post‑disaster recovery capacity.
