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Emergency management official warns of federal funding gaps, outlines hazard-mitigation update for Stephenson County
Summary
An Emergency Management Agency official told the Stephenson County board that shrinking federal funds are driving efforts to formalize mutual-aid agreements, finalize credentialing and submit an updated county emergency operations plan to IEMA and FEMA; a hazard-mitigation update is planned and may cost less than the previous $15,000 effort.
An Emergency Management Agency official told the Stephenson County board that a shortfall in federal funding is driving new efforts to formalize mutual-aid agreements with neighboring counties and to complete a county emergency operations plan required by state and federal agencies.
"We discussed our lack of funding coming from federal government and trying to come up with some mutual aid agreements where these counties can work together to share resources," the agency official said, describing a March 9 regional meeting with homeland security partners and local emergency planners.
The official said the county office is advancing credentialing work and preparing an emergency operations plan that will be submitted to the Illinois Emergency Management Agency (IEMA) and FEMA; the plan’s approval is expected about a year from now. The official framed the plan as a large document that requires outreach to every village in the county and sign-off from local boards for any mitigation items those communities want included.
The official also reported recent coordination with the National Weather Service and said the county uses NWS forecasts extensively for event planning and public notification. County staff completed a homeland security exercise and evaluation in the county EOP training room in early April and plan to repeat the training going forward. The official noted one scheduling change: an instructor who had planned to present the G402 NIMS overview for elected officials will not be able to do so until the fall; organizers plan a Saturday session later in the year.
On hazard mitigation, the official referenced the county’s prior update, noting a $15,000 grant supported the last plan and that staff expect the upcoming update to be less expensive. "That takes usually about 6 to 8 months in order for us to get through all of that planning," the official said, signaling work to visit villages and collect any mitigation issues.
Why it matters: a current and approved emergency operations plan — and workable mutual-aid agreements — affect how quickly county agencies can respond to floods, storms and other disasters, and they determine eligibility for certain federal preparedness funding and assistance.
Next steps: the official said staff will continue credentialing work, pursue mutual-aid arrangements where feasible, complete the homeland security exercise follow-ups and begin the multi-month hazard-mitigation update process ahead of the plan’s submission to IEMA and FEMA.
