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Assembly creates Department of Emergency Management, says move is budget-neutral
Summary
The assembly unanimously approved ordinance 20-26-19 to establish a standalone Department of Emergency Management, reallocating existing 2.5 full-time equivalent positions and preserving towns' home-rule authority while aiming to improve grant competitiveness and coordination with MEMA.
The Assembly of Delegates voted unanimously on July 1 to establish a standalone Department of Emergency Management, separating emergency-management functions from the Department of Health and the Environment.
Delegate O’Malley, chair of the standing committee on health and human services, told delegates the committee found the emergency-management work had outgrown its public-health origins and required a direct line to regional administration for faster decisions during regional emergencies such as storms and wildfires. The committee reported the reorganization would be budget neutral by reassigning the existing 2.5 full-time-equivalent positions and would not risk existing grant funding, according to staff presentations.
O’Malley said the new structure would clarify communications with state agencies, including the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency, and position the regional government to compete for targeted state and federal emergency-management grants without adversely affecting current grant funding. Committee members stressed that local towns would continue to exercise statutory home-rule authority for their own emergency operations and that the regional role is supportive.
The assembly adopted ordinance 20-26-19 after a recommendation from the health committee; delegates said the change should improve operational clarity during incidents and help the region access grant funding.
