[HISTORY: Adopted by the Mayor and Council of the Borough of North Arlington 10-8-2015 by Ord. No. 2164. Amendments noted where applicable.]
The Federal Emergency Management Agency ("FEMA"), Bergen County Office of Emergency Management and other emergency management organizations have recognized the potential value and contribution of local CERT teams to the health, safety and welfare of their respective communities.
The Borough of North Arlington, by this chapter, establishes and creates the North Arlington CERT as a program within and under the direction of the North Arlington Office of Emergency Management.
In forming the CERT, the Mayor and Council seek the furtherance of the following policies, among others:
A. 
During a large-scale disaster, the response of the Borough's police, DPW and volunteer emergency services may be delayed or overwhelmed by the nature and scope of an event. This leaves the citizens of the Borough to provide for their own well-being and safety until first responders arrive. This reality is the cornerstone of the North Arlington CERT.
B. 
The goal of the CERT program is to provide our residents who complete the CERT training with the basic skills that they will need to provide for their personal safety and that of their family/neighbors. It also prepares them to respond to the Borough's immediate needs in the aftermath of a disaster, when emergency services may be delayed or unavailable. By supplementing the Borough's emergency services capabilities, CERT can protect property using the basic techniques in this course.
C. 
CERT is about readiness, people helping people, personal safety and doing the greatest good for the greatest number. The program provides a positive and realistic approach to emergency and disaster situations where citizens will be initially on their own and their actions can make a difference. CERT is a community-based volunteer effort and is a component of the Borough's Office of Emergency Management.
Members of CERT shall be appointed by the Mayor, subject to confirmation by the Council, and shall serve indefinitely until their resignation, ineligibility, removal or inability to serve for any other reason and shall be required to:
A. 
Be a citizen or legal resident of the United States.
B. 
Be a resident of the State of New Jersey for at least six months, reside within a fifty-mile radius of the Borough of North Arlington, and remain a resident of the state during his/her term of service.
C. 
Be eighteen years of age or older for an unrestricted CERT member and sixteen years of age or older for a junior auxiliary CERT member.
D. 
Consent to a criminal record check conducted by the North Arlington Police Department.
E. 
Successfully complete FEMA/NJ State Police-approved CERT training.
F. 
Participate in at least 2/3 of all planned deployments each calendar year, unless excused by the Team Chief prior to deployment.
G. 
Be absent for no more than three consecutive team meetings each calendar year, unless excused by the Team Chief prior to meeting.
H. 
Complete any future required training for CERT volunteers.
North Arlington CERT will be managed by the OEM Coordinator or his designee. It shall be the responsibility of the CERT Team Chief, OEM Coordinator or his designee to maintain membership certification, training and attendance records for all CERT members.
If staffing permits, the North Arlington CERT shall be comprised of the following positions of leadership:
A. 
CERT Team Chief.
B. 
CERT Deputy Team Chief.
C. 
Secretary.
D. 
Treasurer.
E. 
Group Leader(s).
CERT members shall serve without compensation for their services; provided, however, that it shall be lawful if the municipality, in its discretion, chooses to reimburse certain members for certain out-of-pocket expenditures.
The CERT's mission shall be as follows:
A. 
CERT members are trained in basic disaster response skills, team organization and disaster medical operations. Using the training learned in the classroom and during exercises, CERT members assure their own safety first, and are then prepared to assist others in their neighborhood or workplace following an event when first responders are not available or when general assistance is needed in a variety of non-life-threatening operations. CERT members are also prepared to support emergency response agencies by taking a more active role in emergency preparedness projects in their community.
B. 
CERT is a critical program in the effort to engage everyone in the Borough in making the community safer, more prepared and more resilient when incidents occur.
C. 
The CERT program can provide an effective, supplemental response capability. Acting as individuals first (in securing their own safety and that of their immediate family/neighborhood), then later as members of teams, trained CERT volunteers can assist (not replace) first responders in many ways as well as act as effective "eyes and ears" for uniformed emergency responders. They become an important supplemental workforce to serve the community in such nonhazardous functions as shelter support, crowd control and evacuation.
CERT members shall not perform any actions or services beyond their training, qualification and mission. The authorized role of trained CERT members includes, but is not limited to, the following:
A. 
Assisting as a shelter aid.
B. 
Assistance to emergency services teams in areas of recordkeeping, communications and logistical support.
C. 
Performing public assistance checks for senior citizens and disabled residents.
D. 
Assisting first responders or public work employees in nonhazardous duties at disaster scenes or during rescue operations as authorized by, and under the direction of, the OEM Coordinator.
E. 
Assisting with large nonemergency events within the Borough, such as parades, runs and similar events, under the direction of and as authorized by the OEM Coordinator.
F. 
In the event of an emergency, CERT can be activated through the Borough Office of Emergency Management under the order of the OEM Coordinator or any member of the Local Emergency Planning Committee.
G. 
Requests for planned or nonemergency events will be made directly to the CERT Team Chief or Deputy with notification to the OEM Coordinator and Borough Administrator.