There shall be a Department of Emergency Response under the
direction of a Director, who shall be appointed by the County Administrator,
following consultation with the Fire, Disaster, and Emergency Medical
Services (EMS) Advisory Board, subject to confirmation by the Tompkins
County Legislature.
The Director shall be appointed on the basis of professional
experience and other qualifications appropriate to the responsibilities
of the office. The Director of the Department of Emergency Response
shall be directly responsible to the County Administrator for the
implementation of policies established by the Tompkins County Legislature.
The Director of the Department of Emergency Response shall have
the power to appoint such deputies, dispatchers, and employees as
may be necessary to perform the duties of the Office of Director of
the Department of Emergency Response and as shall be authorized by
the Tompkins County Legislature. All such deputies, dispatchers, and
employees of the Department shall be directly responsible to the Director
of the Department of Emergency Response.
Except as otherwise provided in this Charter, the Director of
the Department of Emergency Response shall have all the powers and
perform all the duties now or hereafter conferred or imposed by law
upon a County Fire, Disaster, and Emergency Medical Services (EMS)
Coordinator, together with such other and related duties as may be
required by the Tompkins County Legislature.
The powers and duties of the Director of the Department of Emergency
Response shall be to:
(a)Â
Administer the County programs for fire training and mutual aid in
cases of fire and other emergencies in which the services of firefighters
and EMS personnel would be used;
(b)Â
Act as a liaison officer between the Tompkins County Legislature,
County Fire, Disaster, and Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Advisory
Board, and the fire-fighting forces in the County and the officers
and governing boards or bodies thereof;
(c)Â
Perform the functions of a County Civil Defense Director under the
provisions of the State Executive Law, acting as the County's liaison
officer between the Chief Executive Officer and all other elected
public officers to the State Office of Emergency Management (OEM)
and Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA);
(d)Â
Perform the functions of an Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Coordinator,
pursuant to County law;
(e)Â
Manage the planning, acquisition, installation, maintenance, and
oversight of all communications and personnel at the County Emergency
Communications Center and in fire, EMS, public safety vehicles and
in the vehicles of all public entities authorized to use the County's
Communications Systems;
(f)Â
Develop and maintain a Comprehensive Emergency Management Plan for
Tompkins County;
(g)Â
Serve as a resource person to the public and various local organizations,
explaining County operations of emergency public safety, fire safety,
EMS, and related fields of knowledge;
(h)Â
Assist fire departments in training programs; assist all other public
agencies in emergency management training;
(i)Â
Assist in provision of oversight and coordination between New York
State Department of Health, EMS Bureau, Regional EMS Council, Regional
Emergency Medical Advisory Committee (REMAC), and personnel throughout
the County who are providers of EMS at all levels.
There shall be a County Fire, Disaster, and Emergency Medical
Services (EMS) Advisory Board, consisting of not fewer than five and
not more than 21 members, appointed by the Tompkins County Legislature
for staggered three-year terms.
The powers and duties of the County Fire, Disaster, and EMS
Advisory Board shall be to serve as an advisory body to the Tompkins
County Legislature and to the Director of the Department of Emergency
Response, performing the functions of the Fire, Disaster, and Emergency
Medical Services (EMS) Coordinator.
The County Fire, Disaster, and EMS Advisory Board shall advise
the Director of the Department of Emergency Response and the County
Tompkins County Legislature regarding the County's participation in
programs for fire training and mutual aid in cases of fire and other
emergencies in which the services of firefighters would be used; shall
cooperate with the New York State Office of Fire Prevention and Control,
effectuating the purposes for which the office was established in
relation to such programs for fire training and mutual aid; and shall
advise and recommend upon a coordinated, appropriate County-wide emergency
communications system.
The County Fire, Disaster, and EMS Advisory Board shall have
the authority to draft bylaws for approval by the Tompkins County
Legislature, elect officers from its membership, and establish committees.
Updated copies of bylaws must be kept on file in the office of the
Clerk of the Tompkins County Legislature.