Shelter staff urge review of emergency‑shelter policy; city manager outlines decision process

At the March 11, 2025 Newport News City Council meeting, a Department of Human Services employee described working a 24‑hour shelter activation during a February snow event and urged the city to review compensation and operational policies for shelter staff.

“I strongly … encourage a review of current short shelter operations to include reviewing and creation of policies that ensure timely communication, to ensure safe travel to and from shelters for employees, expanding shelter responsibilities to include a broader range of city employees, … implementing overtime pay for employees when shelter teams are activated,” said Jovan Wheaton, who identified himself as a DHS employee and described the strain of a weeknight shelter activation during heavy snowfall.

City staff explained how shelter activation decisions are made. The city manager told the council the decision to open an emergency shelter is made by incident command staff who operate the city's Emergency Operations Center and who activate responses consistent with the city’s Emergency Operations Plan. “When we are put in a situation where we have to look at the overall life safety of our residents in the community, then we take appropriate steps as identified in the city's Emergency Operations Plan and activate the emergency operations center accordingly,” the manager said.

Wheaton reported that shelter staff worked through the storm and asked the council to consider clearer communication protocols, employee safety measures during severe weather, broader staffing models and overtime pay when shelter teams are activated. In the meeting he said the city employs roughly 3,200 people and that approximately 370 (about 11.5%) make up primary shelter teams; he asked that shelter responsibilities and compensation be reviewed to match the designation of staff as essential during activations.

Council did not take immediate policy action at the March 11 meeting but heard the request and a staff explanation of current practice. The council did not adopt an ordinance or new policy; the matter was recorded in the public comment portion and the manager’s description of process was placed on the record for potential follow‑up.