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Emergency management urges formalized checkout for county equipment loaned to festivals
Summary
Kane County emergency management reported mutual-aid deployments to Kankakee County and proposed standard rental/checkout paperwork for equipment (including CARES Act-purchased light towers) after a volunteer accident raised liability concerns; the committee asked staff to draft agreements and return with proposed language.
Kane County Emergency Management told the Judicial and Public Safety Committee on March 12 that staff and volunteers were deployed to assist Kankakee County after a recent EF3 tornado and that the office will draft formal checkout paperwork for loaned equipment following an accident involving a volunteer.
The director said the county has long informally loaned equipment for planned events and festivals and that some of the equipment (notably light towers) had been purchased with CARES Act funds. "It's been a gentleman's agreement... I had a volunteer that had an accident, and that made me look at this closer," the director said, explaining he had temporarily stopped informal lending to develop a rental/check-out form that would spell out responsibility for damages and fuel.
Committee members supported documentation and asked for clarity on personnel loans. The director said personnel deployments are covered by mutual-aid agreements such as MAVIS and IMS and that, going forward, municipalities must execute one of those agreements before receiving equipment so the county's volunteers and staff are protected while assisting local events. He said the office will bring draft paperwork back to the committee and the county board for review.
The committee did not adopt a final policy at the March 12 meeting; members indicated support for a standard agreement and oversight to limit liability and track equipment use.
