Douglas County emergency management outlines EOC role, grants and FIFA 2026 planning

Robert Binecki, director of Douglas County Emergency Management, told commissioners at a Jan. 29 work session that his office focuses on planning, coordination and support for first responders and that it is preparing for large planned events and regional mutual-aid needs.

Binecki said emergency management is largely a coordinating function that supports operations in the field and manages the Emergency Operations Center (EOC) during large incidents. "We are more behind the scenes. We're not a first responder entity," he said. He explained that the county has statutory obligations to have an emergency management agency and a local emergency planning committee.

Why this matters: The office coordinates resource requests, grant applications and large-event planning that can determine whether local response needs exceed county resources and require state or federal assistance.

Staffing and funding: Binecki said the county funds two full-time positions in emergency management (himself and a deputy director). He named planner Josh Taylor as a full-time staff member and said a program specialist position is funded at half time by a grant. He said some positions are funded through the Emergency Management Performance Grant (EMPG) and that grant funding has faced a roughly 10% cut in the most recent cycle.

Duty officers and volunteers: The office maintains two duty officers who alternate weeks and remain on call 24/7. Binecki said the county’s Community Emergency Response Team program includes 54 volunteers who assist with community resilience and outreach.

EOC activation and declarations: Binecki described how the EOC functions during large incidents, listing typical partners (communications, police, fire, hospitals, Red Cross and NGOs). He explained the process for a state-of-emergency declaration: the director may seek verbal approval from the board chair and provide written follow-up within seven days if local resources are exhausted and state or federal support is needed.

Grants and exercises: Binecki outlined grant programs the office uses to fund training and preparedness, including the EMPG, the Hazardous Materials Emergency Preparedness (HMEP) grant, BRIC (building-resilient-infrastructure-and-communities) applications and FEMA public-assistance programs. He said the county is monitoring federal funding opportunities and that recent federal announcements had been rescinded or revised, creating uncertainty.

Hazards and training: Binecki raised lithium-ion battery fires as an emerging risk and said Douglas County is preparing trainings in May funded by a grant. "We're in the process of writing a white paper, because it's so important," he said, citing risks from storage, transportation and consumer devices and the difficulty of extinguishing such fires.

Planned events and mutual aid: Binecki described unified-command planning for FIFA 2026 and other large events and said the county is working with local, regional and state partners on interoperability and resource requests. He explained that Kansas participates in an opt-in mutual-aid system (EMAC-style arrangements) that allows counties to request resources from other jurisdictions during declared emergencies.

Resource management for rural departments: Binecki said emergency management provides incident-action planning and resource-management exercises for rural fire districts, helping them manage multiple simultaneous incidents and request outside help when needed.

Ending: Binecki invited commissioners to engage in recommended emergency-management training and to attend future briefings on Gold Cup and FIFA planning. No formal actions were taken during the session; the presentation was informational.