Committee approves sending retroactive Bay Area UASI MOU to full Board

The committee considered a resolution to retroactively approve a memorandum of understanding (MOU) among Bay Area cities and counties governing the U.S. Department of Homeland Security Urban Area Security Initiative (UASI) grants for the Bay Area urban area.

Molly Gieson Fields, regional grants manager at the Department of Emergency Management, explained the MOU formalizes governance and grant allocation procedures, covers the period 12/01/2021–11/30/2025, and was approved by the UASI oversight body last November. She apologized for an administrative delay in bringing the MOU to the Board for approval and said jurisdictions had been operating in good faith under the agreement.

A remote commenter urged the city to strengthen emergency management leadership and cited performance concerns during COVID. The committee voted 3–0 (Preston, Chan, Mandelmann—all recorded as aye) to send the resolution authorizing the MOU to the full Board with a positive recommendation.