Leesburg staff outline 2025 Emergency Operations Plan updates, plan to present motion for council adoption

Amy Cornell Titcomb, Leesburg’s emergency management security coordinator, told the Town Council at its work session that staff have revised the town’s Emergency Operations Plan (EOP) for 2025 and prepared a motion for council adoption at the next meeting.

The update restructures the town’s incident organization around an Emergency Coordination Hub (ECH) that replaces the prior Emergency Operations Center, adds a business‑liaison function, formalizes department operations center responsibilities, and creates a standalone planning section and a finance and administration section for timekeeping and reimbursement documentation, Titcomb said. She said the plan also expands attention to equity and to residents with access and functional needs in line with Virginia Code Title 44.

Titcomb said the EOP remains a high‑level public document and that more detailed operational material appears in annexes that are not published. She described complementary items that will be part of the town’s preparedness work: an integrated preparedness plan (one to three years of training and exercises), after‑action and improvement‑planning processes, routine testing and fuel contracts for generator operations, and alignment with FEMA lifelines.

Town Manager (unnamed) clarified council involvement in a declaration of emergency: “If I declare the emergency, I believe council has to convene to certify that,” he said, adding that the town manager historically has carried out the declaration and then brought the matter to council for certification.

Council members asked about 2024 ECH activations, liaison arrangements with Loudoun County, training and exercise budgets, and methods of communicating with residents during an incident. Titcomb and staff said the town has used partial ECH activations for routine events (for example, Flower & Garden), meets regularly with Loudoun County emergency management, maintains citizen preparedness guides in English and Spanish, supports Everbridge registration for emergency notifications, and is conducting training and exercises with existing staff and partner agencies.

Council and staff discussed funding uncertainty for federal preparedness grants. Titcomb said some federal programs are under review, and that state and local planning and memoranda of understanding with partner agencies (for example, Loudoun County Medical Reserve Corps) are part of contingency measures.

No formal adoption vote took place at the work session. Titcomb said she had “prepared a motion for you for tomorrow night, should you choose to proceed.” Council members asked whether the item could be placed on the consent agenda the following day; council discussion indicated staff will present the motion for council consideration, but a formal vote was not recorded in the work session transcript.

What’s next: Staff will present the prepared motion at the next council meeting for the council’s consideration; the public EOP text is high level, with operational annexes retained for internal use and partner coordination.