Preparing for Reduced Federal Assistance

Joe Moudy, Director of OEM, City of Lubbock

Joe Moudy, Director of OEM, City of Lubbock

Joe Moudy is an accomplished emergency management professional with over seven years of experience in the field. He holds a Master’s degree in Public Administration and multiple certifications, including Certified Emergency Manager and Certified Public Manager. With more than 20 years of service at the City of Lubbock—13 of those in law enforcement and the past seven in emergency management—Joe brings a wealth of leadership experience in major crisis responses. He also plays an active role in shaping state and regional policy through his involvement in key emergency management and cybersecurity committees.

Many of us have seen the recent headlines and social media posts regarding reductions in federal funding. How many of our organizations have been directly impacted by a recent reduction in federal grant funding or funding allocations, leading to either force or program reductions?

Federal grant funding and allocations were never meant to be long-term or permanent solutions to operational budgets. Many grant programs have seen reductions over the past two decades, so this should not come as a surprise. However, this does raise some questions that emergency managers across the nation are asking each other and bringing to organizational management.

Preparing for the Next Disaster: Strengthen Partnerships, Address Gaps

Each emergency manager should be building bridges, coalitions, and coordinating across multiple sectors and disciplines to strengthen relationships and partnerships ahead of the next disaster. We need to conduct Threat and Hazard Identification and Risk Assessments (THIRAs) to identify what capability gaps we have and where our vulnerabilities are. This goes beyond coordinating a response to an emergency and requires an honest evaluation outside of “we can handle whatever is thrown at us.”

We should be identifying how other departments, and protocols, impact our operations and develop awareness on how we impact other functions and operations. We should identify how our gaps and vulnerabilities impact other areas of operation within the organization. We should also identify how our strengths can reduce possible weaknesses.

“We need to conduct Threat and Hazard Identification and Risk Assessments (THIRAs) to identify what capability gaps we have and where our vulnerabilities are”

Once those capability gaps, vulnerabilities, and cascading impacts are identified; solutions and plans to reduce those can be identified. Those solutions may take months or years to implement, others may be too costly to implement; however, awareness that vulnerability exists is important. With awareness, continuity or emergency planning, we can lessen impacts to those vulnerabilities.

Facing Reduced Federal Aid: Fund Locally, Partner Strategically

Identify alternative sources of funding for those projects. If these are grant dollars, are there other sources for those projects such as partnerships with private organizations, nonprofit organizations, or non-governmental organizations?

Federal disaster thresholds are potentially increasing which increases local and state responsibility. If your organizations do not have a rainy day or disaster fund set aside consider starting or establishing a disaster fund. In establishing disaster funds, consider adding conditions such as what triggers or conditions must be met in order to access those funds. Most organizations have fiscal reserve amounts that are required by policy, legislation, or charter. If those funds are inaccessible for use during a disaster or emergency, a separate disaster fund may be needed.

Local Mitigation on a Budget: Share Data, Break Silos

Most of our jurisdictional Hazard Mitigation Action Plans identify large and expensive projects that require state or federal funding to accomplish. With the potential for reduced or limited hazard mitigation funds available in the future, we need to identify local projects that can be implemented to mitigate those impacts.

We can leverage existing information systems and technology to mitigate impacts of disasters by easily sharing information and forming information sharing groups. Mitigation can be enhanced by leveraging information from different departments and reducing siloed decision making. Leveraging stakeholder information into your decision-making process allows you to make informed decisions driven by big-picture data instead of an incomplete view. In a recent meeting, it was discussed how simple impacts such as a continual re-routing of commercial traffic onto residential streets due to events can not only negatively impact the resilience of the transportation infrastructure but can also place an unneeded strain on public works budgets and maintenance schedules.