Cumberland County commissioners restore chair emergency authority, add ratification language
Loading...
Summary
After debate over checks and balances and staff authority, the Cumberland County Board of Commissioners unanimously adopted amendments to section 5-9 of the county's Emergency Management Ordinance to return emergency-declaration authority to the chair and require prompt board ratification.
The Cumberland County Board of Commissioners unanimously adopted amendments to section 5-9 of the county's Emergency Management Ordinance that restore authority for the board chair to declare a state of emergency when the board cannot be convened quickly.
County Attorney Rick Moorefield told the board the changes were drafted to "return the authority to the chair to declare a state of emergency" in situations where a meeting cannot be held quickly, and explained why the item had returned to the board for a second reading.
Commissioner Adams said he supported returning authority to the chair but pressed for safeguards. "I do agree with the fact that emergencies come up in the chair's office," Adams said, "but I do think that there ought to be some checks and balances after the chair does that because it's a broad thing that you do with curfews and everything else." Adams asked that proclamations be ratified by the board at the next regular meeting and that the ordinance include a mechanism allowing a majority of commissioners to call a meeting if the chair does not act.
Vice Chairman Jones asked whether the county manager should be explicitly included in the language because the manager supervises staff and would often implement emergency directives. County Manager Greer pointed to section D of the draft, which identifies that "in the absence of the chair, the vice chair, within a reasonable amount of time, the county manager can exercise the powers and authorities" granted to the chair. Greer said staff would coordinate with emergency services and the county attorney to ensure any declaration would not jeopardize federal or state funds.
Commissioner Tyson said he favored moving the ordinance through promptly and asked the attorney to draft additional language to address ratification and other concerns for return to the board if the board preferred not to slow enactment. "If it's the attorney's opinion we do have to go back to a first reading, we go ahead and approve this as presented, and then direct the attorney to go ahead and make the modifications and we can represent it," Tyson said.
After the discussion, Tyson moved to adopt the resolution approving the section 5-9 amendments as presented, with the changes to sections F and C to be incorporated as identified by the county attorney. The clerk announced the vote was "Unanimously approved." The board did not record dissenting votes.
What happens next: the attorney will incorporate the agreed drafting directions (adding commissioner inclusion and ratification language where indicated) into the final document and return it to the board as required by ordinance procedure. The board emphasized the need for any emergency proclamation to be presented to members promptly and ratified "as soon as a board meeting can be called and held," language the attorney said he would add to the end of the relevant section.
Sources: presentation and debate during the Feb. 2026 Cumberland County Board of Commissioners meeting and the county attorney's summary of the ordinance amendment.
