(A) Short title. This section shall be known and may be cited and referred to as “Emergency Management Ordinance for the County of Rowan”.
(B) Intent and purpose.
(1) It is the intent and purpose of this section to establish an office that will ensure the complete and efficient utilization of all of the county’s resources to combat disaster resulting from enemy actions or other disasters, as defined herein.
(2) The County Office of Emergency Management will be the coordinating agency for all activity in connection with emergency management, it will be the instrument through which the County Board of Commissioners may exercise the authority and discharge the responsibilities vested in them during disaster emergencies.
(3) This section will not relieve any county department of the moral responsibilities or authority given to it in the County Charter or by local ordinances, nor will it adversely affect the work of any volunteer agency organized for relief in disaster emergencies.
(C) Definitions. For the purpose of this section, the following definitions apply unless the context clearly indicates or requires a different meaning.
ATTACK. Direct or indirect assault against the county, its government, its environs or of the nation, by the forces of a hostile nation or the agents thereof, including assault by bombing, conventional or nuclear, chemical or biological warfare, terrorism or sabotage.
COORDINATOR. The Coordinator of the County Emergency Management Agency, appointed as prescribed in this section.
DISASTER. Actual or threatened enemy attack, sabotage, extraordinary fire, flood, storm, epidemic, accident, chemical spill or other impending or actual calamity endangering or threatening to endanger health, life or property of constituted government.
EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT. The basic government functions of maintaining the public peace, health and safety during an emergency. This term shall include plans and preparations for protection and relief, recovery and rehabilitation from effects of an attack by the forces of an enemy nation or the agents thereof or a disaster, as defined herein. It shall not, however, include any activity that is the primary responsibility of the military forces of the United States.
EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT FORCES. The employees, equipment and facilities of all county departments, boards, councils, institutions and commissions; and, in addition, it shall include all volunteer personnel, equipment and facilities contributed by, or obtained from, volunteer persons or agencies.
EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT VOLUNTEER. Any person duly registered, identified and appointed by the Coordinator of the County Emergency Management Agency and assigned to participate in the emergency management activity.
REGULATIONS. Plans, programs and other emergency procedures deemed essential to emergency management.
VOLUNTEER. Contributing a service, equipment or facilities to the Emergency Management Agency without remuneration.
(D) Organization and appointments.
(1) The organization shall consist of the following:
(a) An agency of Emergency Management within the executive department of the county government under the direction of the County Board of Commissioners. The agency head of the County Emergency Management Agency shall be known as the Coordinator and the assistants and other employees as are deemed necessary for the proper functioning of the agency will be appointed;
(b) The employees and resources of all county departments, boards, institutions and councils shall participate in the emergency management activities. Duties assigned to county departments shall be the same as or similar to the normal duties of the department, where possible; and
(c) Volunteer personnel and agencies offering service to, and accepted by the county.
(2) The County Board of Commissioners shall appoint a Coordinator of the County Emergency Management Agency who shall be a person well versed and trained in planning operations involving the activities of many different agencies which will operate to protect the public health, safety and welfare in the event of danger from enemy action or disaster, as defined in this section.
(3) The Coordinator shall designate and appoint Deputy Coordinators to assume the emergency duties of the Coordinator in the event of his or her absence or inability to act.
(E) Day-to-day duties and responsibilities of the Coordinator.
(1) The Coordinator shall be responsible to the County Board of Commissioners in regard to all phases of emergency management activity. The Coordinator shall be responsible for the planning, coordination and operation of the emergency management activities in the county. The Coordinator shall maintain liaison with the state and federal authorities and the authorities of nearby political subdivisions so as to ensure the most effective operation of the emergency management plans.
(2) The Coordinator’s duties shall include, but not be limited to, the following:
(a) Coordinating the recruitment of volunteer personnel and agencies to augment the personnel and facilities of the county for emergency management purposes;
(b) Development and coordination of plans for the immediate use of all facilities, equipment, manpower and other resources of the county for the purpose of minimizing or preventing damage to persons and property; and protecting and restoring to usefulness governmental services and public utilities necessary for the public health, safety and welfare;
(c) Negotiating and concluding agreements with owners or persons in control of building or other property for the use of the building or other property for the emergency management purposes and designating suitable buildings as public shelters;
(d) Through public information at programs, educating the populace as to actions necessary and required for the protection of their persons and property in case of enemy attack or disaster, as defined herein, either impending or present;
(e) Conducting public practice alerts to insure the efficient operation of the emergency management forces and to familiarize residents with emergency management regulations, procedures and operations; and
(f) Coordinating the activity of all other public and private agencies engaged in any emergency management activities.
(F) Emergency management plans.
(1) Comprehensive emergency management plans shall be adopted and maintained by resolution of the County Board of Commissioners. In the preparations of these plans as it pertains to county organization, it is intended that the services, equipment and facilities and personnel of all existing departments and agencies shall be utilized to the fullest extent. When approved, it shall be the duty of all departments and agencies to perform the functions assigned by these plans and to maintain their portions of the plans in a current state of readiness at all times. These plans shall have the effect of law whenever a disaster, as defined in this chapter, has been proclaimed.
(2) The Coordinator shall prescribe in the emergency plans those positions within the disaster organization, in addition to his or her own, for which lines of succession are necessary. In each instance, the responsible person will designate and keep on file with the Coordinator a current list of three persons as successors to his or her position. The list will be in order of succession and will nearly as possible designate persons best capable of carrying out all assigned duties and functions.
(3) Each service chief and department head assigned responsibility in the plans shall be responsible for carrying out all duties and functions assigned therein. Duties will include the organization and training of assigned employees and, where needed, volunteers. Each chief shall formulate the standing operating procedure to implement the plans for his or her service.
(4) Amendments to these plans shall be submitted to the Coordinator. If approved, the Coordinator will then submit the amendments to the County Board of Commissioners with his or her recommendation for its approval. The amendments shall take effect 30 days from the date of approval.
(5) When a required competency or skill for a disaster function is not available within government, the Coordinator is authorized to seek assistance from persons outside of government. The assignment of duties, when of a supervisory nature, shall also include the granting of authority for the persons so assigned to carry out the duties prior to, during and after the occurrence of a disaster. The services from persons outside of government may be accepted by local government on a volunteer basis. The citizens shall be enrolled as emergency management volunteers.
(G) No municipal or private liability.
(1) This section is an exercise by the county of its governmental functions for the protection of the public peace, health and safety, and neither the county nor agents and representatives of same, or any individual, receiver, firm, partnership, corporation, association or trustee, or any of the agents thereof in good faith carrying out, complying with or attempting to comply with any order, rule or regulation promulgated pursuant to the provisions of this section, shall be liable for any damage sustained to persons or property as the result of the activity.
(2) Any person owning or controlling real estate or other premises who, voluntarily and without compensation, grants the county the right to inspect, designate and use the whole or any part or parts of the real estate or premises for the purpose of sheltering persons during an actual, impending or practice disaster situation shall not be civilly liable for the death of, or injury to, any persons on or about the real estate or premises under the license, privilege or other permission; or for loss of, or damage to, the property of the person.
(H) Violations. It shall be a misdemeanor for any person to violate any of the provisions of this section or plans issued pursuant to the authority contained herein, or to willfully obstruct, hinder or delay any member of the emergency management organization, as herein defined, in the enforcement of the provisions of this section or any plan issued thereunder.
(Ord. passed 1-7-1991) Penalty, see § 10.99