What county officials need to know about emergency management preparedness
AAC Law Clerk provides county officials with information needed to prepare for and get through the next disaster that strikes their county.
By Blake Gary
AAC Law Clerk
In the last decade, from Jan. 1, 2008 through July 31, 2017, Arkansas has had 21 major disaster declarations. From these 21 disasters, Arkansas has received a combined total of $55,542,952.67 for individual assistance and $440,770,920.39 for public assistance. Disasters come in all shapes and sizes, they do not have political ties, and they can affect any county at any time. Over the last decade, Arkansas has witnessed extensive flooding, devastating tornadoes, ice storms, and an oil spill, and we are patiently waiting on the ever-looming threat of the tectonic plates shifting at the New Madrid fault. County elected officials have a responsibility to help their county weather the storm. Fortunately, many have come before you and many lessons have been learned along the way. As the executive officer of county government, it is primarily the duty of the county judge to deal with disasters; however, disasters can impact the day-to-day functions of any county official. This article is dedicated to providing county officials with information needed to prepare for and get through the next disaster that strikes their county. Being unprepared is not an option.
All County Officials
Continuity of Operations Plan
The single most important plan all county officials should be familiar with is their Continuity of Operations plan (COOP), also known as a disaster recovery plan. During a disaster, the county government cannot afford to shut down and cease working; therefore, knowing the COOP is vital to getting county government up and running again quickly and efficiently after a disaster or emergency. A COOP is the effort within individual counties to ensure they can continue to perform their mission essential functions during a wide range of emergencies. It is the initiative that ensures governments, departments, businesses, and agencies are able to continue their essential daily functions. This is not an initial response type plan, but rather a detailed, long-term plan that requires planning for any event — natural, man-made, technological threats, and national security emergency — causing a county to relocate its operations to an alternate or secondary site to assure continuance of its essential functions. A valuable plan addresses orders of succession, delegations of authority, continuity facilities, continuity communications, essential records management, human resources, testing, training, exercising, devolution, and reconstitution. The Arkansas Continuity of Operations Program provides a methodology, hardware, software, training, and user assistance for the development, maintenance, and testing of disaster recovery plans for Arkansas agencies, boards, commissions, school districts, counties, and cities. These plans are intended to ensure that essential services will continue to be provided after any disruptive event. Information regarding training and planning from the Arkansas Continuity of Operations Program can be found at http://www.dis.arkansas.gov/security/Pages/ContinuityofOperationsProgram.aspx.
One of the most important aspects of a COOP is having a backup facility to which government can relocate and recover data if the primary facility is damaged or destroyed. There are three types of backup sites: cold sites, warm sites, and hot sites. Cold sites are typically empty operational spaces with basic facilities like air conditioning, power, and communication lines. A hot site is a duplicate of the primary facility, with full computer systems and backups of data, and it can often be brought up to full production immediately. Warm sites fall in between hot and cold sites. These are not bare-bones facilities, but recovery may be delayed data is retrieved from the remote backup site. These backup sites can be rented, obtained through mutual aid agreements, or might already be owned by the county, but they should be 15 or more miles away from the primary site to lessen the chance of a disaster affecting the primary and backup facilities. Regardless of what type of backup site the county uses, it is crucial to always keep an updated backup of all records and data. Records and data should be backed up every day and officials should be able to recover them from a remote location to ensure the county government will continue to run smoothly through disastrous times.
Disaster recovery plans are so important that Ark. Code Ann. § 10-4-424 authorizes the Arkansas Legislative Audit to conduct audits of all or any part of the information systems or operations of any entity of the state or political subdivision of the state. Information systems audits evaluate an entity’s information processing systems, including the entity’s disaster recovery plan. Ark. Code Ann. § 10-4-424 also requires all contracts between counties and vendors for information systems or other computer services to contain a provision permitting Arkansas Legislative Audit access and authority to audit computer applications supplied by vendors. For more information on how to keep a Continuity of Operations plan up to par with the Arkansas Legislative Audit, see the Arkansas Legislative Audit Information Systems Best Practices at http://www.arklegaudit.gov/!userfiles/editor/docs/Resources/IS%20Best%20Practices.pdf.
National Incident Management System
Another way to be prepared for a disaster is to be familiar with the National Incident Management System (NIMS) and the Incident Command System (ICS). NIMS is a comprehensive, national approach to incident management that is applicable to all jurisdictional levels across functional disciplines and is intended to: (1) be applicable across a full spectrum of potential incidents, hazards, and impacts, regardless of size, location or complexity; (2) improve coordination and cooperation between public and private entities in a variety of incident management activities; and (3) provide a common standard for overall incident management.
County officials may receive a crash course on NIMS after being elected, but it is up to those officials to stay on top of their training. Since county officials are elected, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) does not mandate a training standard for them to adhere to, but FEMA and the Arkansas Department of Emergency Management (ADEM) strongly recommend the following training agenda depending on the level of incident management:
Anyone with a Response or Emergency of Operations Plan
IS-700 – an Introduction to NIMS (3 hour course)
IS-100 – an Introduction to the Incident Command System (3 hour course)
2. First Line Supervisors
All of the above plus
IS-200 – NIMS for Single Resources (3 hour course)
3. Middle Management/Emergency Operation Center
Staff
All of the above plus
ICS-300 – Intermediate ICS
IS-702 – Public Information Systems (3 hour course)
IS-703 – Resource Management (3.5 hour course)
IS-800 – an Introduction to the National Response Framework (3 hour course)
4. Command and General Staff (Jurisdiction/Department
Heads)
All of the above plus
ICS-400 – Advanced ICS
All of the courses listed above, with the exception of ICS-300 and ICS-400, can be found on FEMA’s website at https://training.fema.gov/nims/. ICS-300 and ICS-400 are available from ADEM as classroom activities only. It may be difficult to carve out time, especially during the first few months in office. However, officials can get a head start on their learning by use of Ark. Code Ann. § 14-14-1207, which authorizes reimbursement of expenses for discretionary functions and services, including training expenses for a county official-elect if authorized by the quorum court.
County Judges
Authority
A county judge’s first step in being prepared is to understand his or her legal authority and the extent of that authority. County judges must have a clear understanding of their roles and responsibilities for successful emergency management and incident response. One path to understanding is becoming familiar with the laws governing disasters. There may be ordinances that are specific to the city or the county, but there are also state laws that must be followed. Each county judge should be familiar with the Arkansas Emergency Services Act of 1973 codified as Ark. Code Ann. §§ 12-75-101 – 12-75-133. The Arkansas Emergency Services Act of 1973 is vital to understanding the process of declaring a local disaster emergency, the requirement for local emergency management, the process of requesting mutual aid between jurisdictions, and much more.
A judge’s responsibilities and duties will vary depending on whether the disaster is declared at the state level or federal level so it is vital to understand the judge’s role in both. However, judges are not alone in this endeavor; their local emergency manager is there to help guide them down the right path. The local emergency managers and the area coordinators are great assets during any emergency and they can assist newly elected or seasoned county judges through the entire disaster process.
Exercising
Maybe the most crucial step in being prepared is to exercise as often as possible. ADEM offers various different training exercises, including natural disasters, disease outbreaks, social disruption, and technological disasters. By Sept. 21, 2017, ADEM will have conducted 82 exercises within a one-year period (from Oct. 5, 2016 to Sept. 21, 2017) throughout the state of Arkansas. Former Faulkner County Judge Allen Dodson knows first-hand how beneficial these exercises are. Dodson was appointed to the position in January 2013. Just over a year after being appointed, an EF4 tornado tore through Faulkner County, flattening a subdivision, crippling a community and causing multiple deaths. However, the county was prepared for this disaster. Just a couple of months prior to the tornado, the county participated in a tornado exercise very similar to the scenario that occurred in late April 2014. The schedule of upcoming training exercises through Sept. 21, 2017, is available on ADEM’s website at http://www.adem.arkansas.gov/Websites/ardem/images/EXSchedule.pdf. There are three more exercises occurring before the end of September involving flooding, earthquake, and activation of the State’s Emergency Operations Center (SEOC). Just like any good basketball, football, or baseball team that practices and exercises endlessly to become the best team they can be, so the judge and county can practice, exercise, and be prepared to overcome any disaster.
Documenting
As crucial as preparedness is, it is only half the battle and will not prevent disasters from occurring. First and foremost, the most important thing to do once a disaster strikes is to document, document, and document. Documentation is the process of establishing and maintaining accurate records of events and expenditures related to the county’s disaster recovery work. The information required for documentation describes the “who, what, when, where, why and how much” for each item of disaster recovery work. A picture is worth a thousand words — or dollars in this case — so it is vital to take pictures and record everything. All documentation pertaining to a project should be filed together with the corresponding project worksheet. Be as specific as possible when describing damage. For example, if two buildings have water damage describe the damage as, “Floodwater inundated two buildings that serve x number of people, to a depth of x number of feet, damaging drywall, tile flooring, and books in all x number of rooms.” Detail is the critical factor when documenting damage. So much so, Judge Jimmie Hart of Conway County recommends purchasing cameras that show the time the picture was taken and show the exact GPS coordinates the picture was taken at. You can even go as far as putting emergency kits in the glove compartments of vehicles likely to be called out to do emergency repairs. These kits could include disposable cameras and forms where staff can list who was at what location, how much time was spent there, and what equipment was used.
The documentation process does not end with damages. The uniform rules require counties to maintain records sufficient to detail the history of procurement. Every signed contract needs documentation of: (1) the rationale for selecting the contract type used and for contractor selection; (2) the basis for the contract price; (3) acquisition planning information and other pre-solicitation documents; (4) list of sources solicited; (5) copies of published notices of proposed contract action; (6) independent cost estimate; (7) notice of award; and (8) notice to unsuccessful bidders or offerors and record of any debriefing (44 C.F.R § 13.36). These records become the basis for verifying the final project costs and should be retained for at least three years from the date the state closes the grant. Accurate documentation will help recover all eligible costs, have the information necessary to develop project worksheets, have the information available for the state and FEMA to validate the accuracy of smaller projects, and be ready for any state or federal audits or other program financial reviews.
Procurement
Once the initial documentation of the damage has been completed, it will be time to start the restoration process and there may arise a time when it is necessary to contract work out to third parties to hasten the relief effort. Always remember when federal money is involved, judges not only have to comply with local procurement guidelines, but they must comply with the federal guidelines in 44 C.F.R § 13.36 and 2 C.F.R. §§ 200.318 to 326. One potential disaster to look out for when contracting is “storm chasers.” Storm chasers are contractors who chase storms to try to get contracts from counties affected by disasters. Always research the contractor before entering a contract. Look for contractors who: (1) have the ability to perform successfully under the terms and conditions of a proposed requirement; (2) have a satisfactory record of integrity and business ethics (contractors that are debarred or suspended must be rejected and cannot receive contract awards); (3) complied with the public policies of the federal government and state and local government, and; (4) have the financial and technical resources to perform the work under the contract.
County Sheriffs
Civil Unrest
During the two-year opposition period of the Dakota Access Pipeline, Sioux County, N.D., saw its population nearly double. People poured into the county by the thousands and set up camp to protest the pipeline. Whether these movements stay as peaceful protests or escalate into riots, counties usually do not have the staff or resources to deal with a sudden influx of people. The Arkansas Sheriff’s Association (ASA) Task Force was created to render emergency assistance and provide additional personnel to sheriffs with regard to, but not limited to, the security of homeland, disaster relief, civil defense, and law enforcement assistance with crowd and riot control. The primary mission of the ASA Task Force is to act as an ever-ready reactionary force prepared to respond to emergencies and calls for assistance anywhere in the state of Arkansas. Looking back at North Dakota, if the same situation were to occur in Arkansas and the county’s sheriff department did not have the resources to combat it, then the sheriff could activate the task force and request assistance from surrounding jurisdictions. Ark. Code Ann. § 16-81-106 authorizes certified law enforcement officers to have police power and to make arrest in other jurisdictions at the request of or with the permission of the municipal or county law enforcement agency that has jurisdiction.
The task force is to be used for smaller incidents as opposed to federally declared disasters. For larger incidents, such as federally declared disasters, sheriffs will coordinate with their local emergency manager and ADEM to get needed resources. ADEM can help sheriffs acquire needed resources whether they come from neighboring jurisdictions, the Arkansas State Police, or the Arkansas National Guard. The definition of “emergency management” under Ark. Code. Ann. § 12-75-103 includes law and order, rescue, and evacuation as functions essential to disaster or emergency preparedness, mitigation, response, recovery, and prevention by state and local governments. Ark. Code Ann. § 12-75-130 allows county sheriffs to authorize and request retired law enforcement officers, including game wardens, to perform law enforcement functions during emergency situations.
Disasters do not care whether an official is the county judge or county clerk, republican or democrat, or if it’s the first day on the job or the last, they can and will occur without notice. Every county benefits when their elected leaders are prepared to handle any disaster. Whether it is fine tuning the Continuity of Operations plan, acquiring updated knowledge of NIMS, or learning the federal guidelines for procurement, the more prepared and ready county officials are to deal with a disaster, the quicker they can overcome it.
