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Sawyer County emergency management says federal hazard-mitigation grant canceled; SCNET and text-to-911 upgrades underway
Summary
Emergency management briefed the Sawyer County Public Safety Committee that a federal hazard-mitigation grant administered with Northwest Regional Planning and three neighboring counties was canceled, potentially jeopardizing funding for a required plan update.
Emergency management briefed the Sawyer County Public Safety Committee that a federal hazard-mitigation grant administered with Northwest Regional Planning and three neighboring counties has been canceled, and the county's hazard mitigation plan must be updated every five years to remain eligible for FEMA funding.
The briefing also covered communications upgrades. The county's SCNET system went live May 15, officials said, and the communications center has new ECATS next‑gen analytics that provide more detailed emergency-call data. Emergency management reported the county is in a testing phase for text‑to‑911 and is working with mobile carriers to bring the capability fully online.
Why it matters: A current hazard mitigation plan is a precondition in many FEMA grant processes. Emergency management said the last plan approval was in 2021 and that the canceled grant covered a four‑county cooperative update; without the grant, the county lacks the expected funding to complete the update. Committee members asked that the item be returned to the committee and then to the county board for further action and documentation review.
The emergency management representative said the ECATS reports show an increase in call-capture detail, giving staff more granular analytics to monitor workload. The communications update also included operational items: training of 36 students during a regional training program and coordination with GenComm on an ongoing radio project.
Emergency management closed with community-event announcements: National Night Out is scheduled for Aug. 5 at the intermediate school, and Cops & Barbers is set for Aug. 9 at The Landing Resort.
The committee did not take a formal vote on hazard-mitigation funding at this meeting; staff said they would forward the award documentation from Northwest Regional Planning and the state for committee review and likely place the topic on a future agenda.
