Cochise County warns emergency management program at risk as FEMA grant faces cuts and federal review

At an April 8 Cochise County Board of Supervisors work session, Dan Deshaun, director of emergency management, told supervisors the county’s emergency management program faces a shrinking grant environment and a federal review that could reduce or change its core funding.

Deshaun said the Emergency Management Performance Grant (EMPG), which the county uses to fund staff and recurring operations on a roughly 50% federal–50% county match, has been cut by about 10% each year for three years. “We’ve received 10% cuts in this grant 3 years in a row,” Deshaun said, and he warned that if the trend continues the match could shrink to about 45% in the upcoming budget year. He added the program is currently under manual review by FEMA and the Department of Homeland Security for nexus issues the agencies are examining, which is delaying certainty about future awards.

Why it matters: Cochise County’s emergency management general fund budget is small and carries two full‑time employees; most recurring program dollars are tied to the EMPG match. Deshaun said changes at the federal level — including a possible shift of EMPG from sustaining staff toward funding one‑time capability projects — could mean the county must either reallocate local general fund dollars to preserve staffing or accept a smaller in‑county emergency management capacity.

Deshaun gave a slide…