County Commission | The Magazine June 2017 | Page 39

A voice from Alabama’s 67 counties Jonathan Gaddy, MA, CLEM EMA Director, Calhoun County President, Alabama Association of Emergency Managers (AAEM) Q What are some of the key issues facing emergency managers and local officials in Alabama? A It has been six years since April 27, 2011, and twice that long since the last hurricane in Alabama. We have many new elected officials and department heads in our counties and cities as well as new leadership in a lot of our private sector partners. We absolutely must have strong trust and partnership between emergency managers and the decision-makers and leaders in our communities. Emergency management cannot be successful if it is an afterthought or if it is buried within a bureaucracy. Getting a community ready takes years. Emergencies and disasters will occur regardless of how prepared we are for them. Overcoming them also involves a lot more than just the police, fire, EMS, and 9-1-1 agencies' response – it takes the whole community. That is why it is crucial for officials at all levels – local, state, and federal – to work closely with their county emergency managers. The time to get ready is right now. to move toward a position where all public servants are public servants all the time. We need to train all personnel in a few basics traditionally done by volunteers, because it is getting harder to keep trained, dependable volunteers. Q What actions need to be taken to ensure Alabama is prepared for the next disaster? A We need to make sure that state and local government are on the same page. The majority of infrastructure impacted by a disaster is local, so we need to make smart investments in mitigation, insurance and planning. For their part, the state has generously helped us pay the cost share on FEMA- declared disasters, but we must fund the state disaster recovery program because FEMA assistance is going to be harder to get. And we have to get away from the old- school mindset that sees EMA as folks who sit around writing plans. Plans don't save lives; people do. Along the same lines, we need COUNTY COMMISSION | 39