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Council approves countywide damage-assessment MOU to speed post-disaster response
Summary
The Common Council voted to join a Waukesha County mutual-assistance memorandum of understanding for cooperative damage assessments after storms, committing personnel to a county-managed team and training while retaining discretion to recall staff.
The Waukesha Common Council unanimously approved an intergovernmental memorandum of understanding that will allow the city to participate in a countywide cooperative damage-assessment team for large-scale disasters.
Fire Chief Gottlieb summarized the agreement and asked the council to support it. "This MOU establishes that opportunity for us," Gottlieb said, describing the agreement as reciprocal among municipalities and noting it is timely after recent tornadoes in the county. He said the MOU allows municipalities to supply personnel to assess damage in affected communities, coordinate across municipal boundaries and include code and emergency officials and mental-health professionals in assessments.
Under the agreement, municipalities provide personnel to assist with assessments and participate in training; the county will manage the team and reporting. Chief Gottlieb told the council municipalities can decline a deployment if personnel are needed locally and may recall personnel if the city's own emergency needs change during a deployment.
Council members asked about reimbursement and scope. Gottlieb said reimbursement depends on whether the incident meets thresholds for state or federal aid and that some costs may be recoverable when third-party disaster aid is available. "It all depends on the scope of the incident itself and whether or not it meets a certain threshold," Gottlieb said.
Alderperson Piper asked whether the MOU was new or a formalization of past practice; Gottlieb said the concept is common in the industry but the agreement is a new, county-level formalization for Waukesha County. Alderperson Dean Matthews moved to approve the MOU; Alderperson Slaven seconded. The measure passed unanimously.
Officials said benefits include faster, coordinated assessments after storms and access to additional trained personnel, while maintaining municipal control to decline or recall deployed staff. The agreement requires participants to join training and to provide personnel when able; cost recovery provisions apply if the impacted municipality obtains third-party funds.
The MOU will take effect after the city completes the required administrative steps and will be used when the county activates the damage-assessment team.
