Emergency Management requests modest budget, expands volunteer program and installs park location signage

Natalie Weiza, Auroras emergency management coordinator, presented the departments proposed 2025 budget on Oct. 18, characterizing it as a "light budget" that prioritizes staff, training and volunteer capacity over equipment purchases.

Weiza said the citys emergency management program has grown since 2019 from a single coordinator to a multi-person office that now includes a training and exercise specialist, a community-based specialist, a technology and communications specialist, and a resiliency specialist. She said the offices volunteer program includes approximately 40 community members who contribute about 4,000 hours per year and that the city hopes to recruit 10 more volunteers.

The office requested funding for a poll-locator sign project it piloted in River's Edge Park, which assigns letter-and-number identifiers to poles so that callers can relay a precise location to 911. Weiza said the 2025 request would expand the signage approach downtown to help responders locate callers during parades, festivals and the Luminora light festival.

Weiza said the office retained State of Illinois emergency management accreditation and is implementing National Qualification System standards. She described plans for a full-scale hazardous-materials exercise with BNSF that will include recovery elements and city departments beyond first responders.

The emergency management office also plans to continue volunteer training, run a volunteer academy for recruitment and support interdepartmental exercises and cyber and communications workshops. Weiza said the office asked only for limited decision-package increases in 2025 and increased a modest volunteer appreciation line to $2,500.