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Annapolis OEM highlights staffing shortage as committee approves small Homeland Security grant for IT certification
Summary
The Office of Emergency Management told the Finance Standing Committee it is operating with three staffers instead of seven and is struggling to recruit and retain experienced personnel; the committee approved a $4,099 Homeland Security grant to fund an information-systems security certification for a DIT employee.
Director Kevin Simmons of the City of Annapolis Office of Emergency Management told the Finance Standing Committee on Dec. 11 that OEM is critically understaffed and that the department has been operating with three people while funded for seven positions.
Simmons said hiring has been difficult: several candidates withdrew during the offer process when they saw salary ranges, and other candidates accepted higher-paying positions elsewhere. He reported recent hires — including a former Maryland Department of Emergency Management employee, identified as Pastor Kumar, who began work in his sixth day — but said it could take a year or more to get new hires fully up to speed. Simmons said OEM is pursuing contingency arrangements with Anne Arundel County and Baltimore for surge staffing if an event affects multiple jurisdictions.
The committee voted a favorable recommendation for SA 19-25, a $4,099 Homeland Security grant earmarked to pay for a certification in information-systems security for a DIT employee. Simmons and committee members explained OEM’s role in seeking homeland-security funding across city departments, and confirmed the grant carries no local match. Simmons described the department’s active recruitment and retention challenges and thanked existing deputy and planner staff for doing double duty in the interim.
Committee members expressed concern that pay levels are contributing to turnover and agreed the issue requires attention; members said they and city leadership (including the mayor and city manager) were discussing pay and retention. Simmons said OEM’s current business model is to hire less-experienced employees and train them because the city cannot afford more experienced hires at competitive salaries, acknowledging that newly trained staff often move on to higher-paying regional jobs.
