(A) In the event that a quorum of the Board of Commissioners cannot be assembled for purposes of the meeting required under § 33.17, the principle executive officer of the county shall have all powers, and may take all actions, of the full Board under divisions (B)(1)(b) through (B)(1)(m) below until the assemblage of a quorum is possible.
(B) (1) At the meeting convened under § 33.17, the Board may exercise any of their normal executive and legislative powers to the extent related to the emergency and necessary to deal therewith. In addition, however, they may also exercise any of the following special and extraordinary powers:
(a) The Board may extend the period of a state of emergency declared by the principle executive officer pursuant to § 33.16 to last more than seven days if necessary;
(b) The Board may terminate the state of emergency, except for a state of emergency proclaimed by the Governor;
(c) The Board may order the activation and implementation of the County Comprehensive Emergency Management Plan that has been adopted pursuant to § 33.12, or such several component parts thereof as may be relevant to the emergency;
(d) The Board may assemble and utilize emergency management forces, including personnel of the Department of Emergency Management, participating emergency service agencies, and any other forces at the disposal of the Board hereunder for emergency management purposes;
(e) The Board may order volunteer forces to the aid of the county, state, or political subdivisions thereof, as soon as practicable. Such volunteer forces will be under the direction of the Department of Emergency Management;
(f) The Board may, to the extent permitted by I.C. 10-14-3-31, and subject to its provisions, command services from, and/or requisition the use of, equipment, facilities, supplies, or other property belonging to other organizations, corporations, or private persons as necessary to control the emergency, and protect and provide for the public safety and welfare. Pursuant to I.C. 10-14-3-31, compensation for property shall be paid only if the property was commandeered, or otherwise used, in coping with a disaster emergency, and its use or destruction was ordered by the Governor or a member of the disaster emergency forces of the state. Any person claiming compensation for the use, damage, loss, or destruction of such property shall make a claim for it. This claim shall be filed and adjudicated as provided in I.C. 32-24;
(g) The Board may order the evacuation of all or part of the population from stricken areas of the county, and prescribe routes, modes of transportation, and destinations for such evacuation;
(h) The Board may make provision for availability and use of temporary emergency housing, which housing need not necessarily comply with any minimum housing standards, building, or zoning regulations, and the like, which would govern the use and locations of premises for housing purposes during normal times;
(i) The Board may suspend, for the duration of the state of emergency (or for a lesser period as they determine), any provisions of, or procedures prescribed by, ordinances of the county if they would be impractical during the emergency, would interfere with the implementation and carrying out of emergency plans, or would be inimical to actions necessary to protect the public safety and welfare; provided, however, that except in accordance with division (B)(1)(j) below, the Board may not suspend any provisions of ordinances or procedures which are mandated by statute;
(j) When the state of emergency has been proclaimed by the Governor, the Board may waive any procedures or requirement of statute, or of county ordinances, reflecting statutory requirements and mandates, in accordance with I.C. 10-14-3;
(k) The Board may assign special emergency duties and functions to any county offices, departments, and agencies irrespective of their usual duties and functions, and any unexpected and unencumbered monies budgeted and appropriated (major object classification), may be utilized and expended for the purpose of carrying out such special emergency duties and functions;
(l) The Board may make and promulgate such emergency regulations as may be deemed necessary to protect life and property, preserve order, conserve critical resources, or implement and carry out the provisions of the county’s or state’s disaster plans, including, but not limited to, the power to order the roads closed, establish curfews, close business, or any action that they deem necessary to save lives and recover from a declared emergency. This power also includes the power to supplement, modify, or suspend any general contingency regulations which may have been incorporated as part of the county’s previously adopted Comprehensive Emergency Management Plan. Any emergency regulations adopted under this division (B)(1)(l) shall not be effective until promulgated, which promulgation shall be by written filing in the offices of the County Clerk, as required by I.C. 10-14-3-22; provided, however, that should such filing be impossible because of the emergency situation, such regulations shall have the full force of law and shall be enforceable by any police officer in accordance with I.C. 10-14-3; and
(m) The Board may request the state or the United States, or their agencies and political subdivisions, to send aid (including financial assistance).
(2) All actions and regulations under this section may be made by executive order, and need not be made or adopted by ordinance or resolution, but shall be consistent with, and subordinate to, any actions, orders, or regulations made by the Governor, or a state agency implementing the State Department of Homeland Security Comprehensive Emergency Management Plan.
(C) (1) It shall be the duty of the Director to make recommendations and advise the Board of Commissioners, or the principle executive officer, on any actions which it would be necessary or desirable to take under division (B) above in the event of an emergency.
(2) In the event that an emergency clearly exists or is imminent within the county, and a state of emergency has not been declared by the Governor, nor is any person having the powers of the principle executive officer present to declare such an emergency pursuant to § 33.16, the Director may temporarily presume the existence of a state of emergency even though not officially declared and may, as his or her own judgment dictates, invoke, implement, and carry out such provisions of the county’s adopted Comprehensive Emergency Management Plan as are necessary to cope with the emergency and protect the public safety and welfare, and shall be construed to have all powers necessary and dispensable to doing so, to the extent not specifically limited by statute or specifically limited herein, until such time as the principle executive officer becomes available.
(3) This section also applies to the Deputy Director to the extent that the Deputy Director is required to assume the duties of the Director, as provided by § 33.07, in the latter’s absence or incapacitation during the emergency. Assistance from the Department of Emergency Management may be rendered without a declaration of an emergency in order to assist local emergency services in time of need.
(Ord. 2016-03, passed 9-6-2016)