Committee backs referring plan to create independent emergency management department

On Wednesday, June 24, the Assembly of Delegates Standing Committee on Health and Human Services reviewed a proposal to create an independent emergency management department by carving the function out of the Department of Health and Environment and voted to refer the ordinance to the full Assembly with a favorable recommendation.

The committee heard from Andy Platt, identified in the meeting as the county’s emergency management director, who said the change is aimed at aligning the county’s administrative structure with state and federal emergency management organizations and clarifying the chain of command during incidents. "The major driver of that is to align our administrative structure with that of both the state and the federal emergency management administrations," Platt said, describing a desire to broaden regional response capabilities beyond public-health-only incidents.

Assistant County Administrator Vera Herik told the committee the reorganization is intended to be budget-neutral and said the county will maintain established relationships with towns. "The relationships and the expectations... of the towns and the towns of us are already well established and in place," she said, adding the county would act as a support and facilitator rather than superseding local statutory authority.

Committee members pressed officials on several operational details. Platt and Herik said the new department would initially rely on about "two and a half" full-time equivalents transferred from the health department, with the emergency management office serving principally as a facilitator that can pull staff from other county departments during large responses. The department would also form an internal emergency management working group to coordinate preparedness, mitigation and recovery across county programs.

A member asked whether existing grants would transfer cleanly to the new department. Administrator Michael responded that staff had reviewed currently held grants and did not expect adverse effects from the transfer; he added that a distinct emergency management department could improve the county’s competitiveness for EM-specific state and federal grants. "The short answer is no," Michael said when asked whether the grants transfer would create problems.

During discussion, officials emphasized that towns retain primary authority over local emergency actions such as opening shelters; the county would provide support and resource coordination when local capacity is exceeded. Platt gave the example of coordinating scarce resources across towns, noting the county’s facilitation role during regional incidents.

After the discussion the committee moved to refer and endorse the ordinance and recommend it favorably to the full Assembly; Vice Chair Tai seconded the motion. The clerk called the roll and recorded a unanimous vote in favor (4–0). The committee directed staff to prepare a memorandum for the full Assembly and noted a public hearing is expected next week.

The committee adjourned after the vote. The referral means the ordinance will proceed to the full Assembly for further review and public hearing.