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Emergency management highlights comms tower, drone use and event support; requests more grant‑finance staff hours
Summary
EMA described successful deployments of a mobile communications tower, Starlink links and drones at large public events and search operations, and asked commissioners to increase a newly created finance specialist position from 24 to 29 hours per week (potentially to 32) to handle growing grant and reporting burdens.
Penobscot County’s emergency management staff reported recent operational deployments using ARPA‑funded assets — including a mobile communications tower, Starlink satellite internet and drones — that supported a large canoe race, a university‑area annual event and exercise activity with local fire and search‑and‑rescue volunteers.
EMA staff said the mobile tower helped bridge radio coverage and interoperability gaps during the race and allowed the agency to test logging of radio traffic and coordination procedures “off the grid.” At the university‑area event, staff said drone video streamed over Starlink provided situational awareness that exceeded fixed camera feeds and helped triage field incidents.
EMA asked the commission to approve an increase in hours for a recently created finance specialist position (originally 24 hours/week). EMA leadership said the work of grant narratives, work plans, subrecipient monitoring, quarterly reporting and payroll is exceeding the hours budgeted; they requested an immediate step to 29 hours per week (approximate additional cost $7,500 this fiscal year) with an eventual target of 32 hours and attendant benefits if sustained. The director said FEMA/NEMA oversight and post‑disaster reimbursement scrutiny have increased demands for more detailed financial tracking and grant administration.
Commissioners expressed cautious support for the concept but asked staff to document specific instances where the extra hours are required and to coordinate with the county grant director and finance staff first; several commissioners said they would prefer to consider any permanent increase as part of the regular budget cycle and asked for examples of workload that could not be absorbed under current arrangements. The EMA director agreed to provide examples and to work with the grant director and finance to seek efficiencies before any permanent staffing change is finalized.
EMA also noted progress implementing asset‑tracking software with the county dispatch center to better log equipment deployments and volunteer hours — records that will help in grant reporting and FEMA reimbursement requests.
