[Ord. #95-01, § 1; Ord. #2018-03]
The declared purposes of this section are to provide for the
preparation and carrying out of plans for the protection of persons
and property within the City in the event of any emergency; the direction
and form of the city's emergency organization; and the coordination
of the emergency functions of this City with all other public agencies,
corporations, organizations, and affected private persons.
[Ord. #95-01, § 1; Ord. #2018-03]
As used in this section, the following terms shall mean:
a. EMERGENCY – Shall mean the actual or threatened existence of
conditions of disaster or of extreme peril to the safety of persons
and property within this City caused by such conditions as air pollution,
toxic release, fire, flood, storm, epidemic, riot, earthquake, or
other conditions, including conditions resulting from war or imminent
threat of war, but other than conditions resulting from a labor controversy,
or other acts of civil unrest which are likely to be beyond the control
of the services, personnel, equipment, and facilities of this City,
requiring the combined forces of other political subdivisions to resolve.
b. DIRECTOR OF EMERGENCY SERVICES – Shall mean the City Manager,
and if unavailable or unable to respond, the Director will be either
the Police or Fire Chief. The Director of Emergency Services reports
directly to the City Council, and is over the Director of the Emergency
Operations Center.
c. ASSISTANT DIRECTOR OF EMERGENCY SERVICES – At the discretion
of the Director, an Assistant Director of Emergency Services may be
appointed. The employee may be from the Police, Fire or Administration
Departments, or other city employee as determined suitable by the
Director.
d. EMERGENCY OPERATIONS CENTER – Shall mean the primary facility
for directing and responding to situations of an emergency nature
as described above or similar in nature, including communications
and the allocations of personnel and equipment needed to respond to
the situation.
e. DIRECTOR OF EMERGENCY OPERATIONS CENTER – May also be called
the Incident Commander, this individual is responsible for the City's
coordinated operational efforts to respond to the emergency situation.
The Director of the EOC is in charge of the functional response divisions
and reports to the Director of Emergency Services.
[Ord. #95-01, § 1; Ord. #2018-03]
The City shall adhere to established guidelines for disaster
preparedness and emergency operations such as an Emergency Operations
Plan as adopted by the City Council. The Emergency Operations Plan
is intended to assign responsibility and outline procedures for responding
to disasters and serve as the basis for effective response to any
hazard that may threaten the City.
It shall be the responsibility of the Director of Emergency
Services to direct community outreach efforts to foster disaster preparedness
and resiliency within the City.
[Ord. #95-01, § 1; Ord. #2018-03]
The City Manager shall be the Director of Emergency Services,
and has the discretion, in periods of declared disasters, to create
and staff the position of Assistant Director of Emergency Services.
The Director of Emergency Services may also, at the discretion of
the City Council, staff the position of Assistant Director in non-emergency
periods to continue to assist the City in emergency preparedness,
as well as the recovery and reconstruction efforts following an emergency.
[Ord. #95-01, § 1; Ord. #2018-03]
a. The Director is hereby empowered to:
1. Request that the City Council proclaim the existence or threatened
existence of a local emergency if the City Council is in session,
or to issue such proclamation if the City Council is not in session.
Whenever a local emergency is proclaimed by the Director, the City
Council shall take action to ratify the proclamation within seven
(7) days thereafter or the proclamation shall have no further force
or effect.
2. Request that the Governor proclaim a state of emergency when, in
the opinion of the Director, the locally available resources are inadequate
to cope with the emergency situation.
3. Supervise and direct the City emergency organization and efforts
to respond to the emergency situation, as provided for in this section
and the City's Emergency Operations Plan.
4. Supervise and direct the cooperation between the coordination of
services, resources and staff of the City's emergency organization;
and resolve questions of authority and responsibility that may arise
between them.
5. Represent the City in all dealings with public or private agencies
on matters pertaining to the City's preparedness planning, response,
and recovery from an emergency.
6. In the event of a proclamation of a local emergency as provided in
this ordinance, the proclamation of a state of emergency by the Governor
or the Director of the State Office of Emergency Services, or the
existence of a state of war emergency, the Director is hereby empowered
to:
(a)
Appoint the Director of Emergency Operations Center, based on
available personnel and the nature of the declared emergency;
(b)
Make and issue rules and regulations on matters related to the
protection of life and property as affected by the emergency, or other
actions that would assist in the City's response to the situation.
These actions must be approved by the City Council at the earliest
practicable time, but no later than thirty (30) days, or the actions
will be considered invalid;
(c)
Procure vital supplies, equipment and other materials and property
deemed necessary for the protection of life and property; to bind
the City for the fair value of such materials, and if required, commandeer
those materials for public use;
(d)
Require the emergency services of any City officer or employee
and, in the event of a proclamation of a state of emergency in Alameda
County, or the existence of a state of war emergency, to command the
aid of as many citizens of this community as deemed necessary in directing
the City response efforts; such persons shall be entitled to all privileges,
benefits, and immunities as are provided by State law for registered
disaster service workers;
(e)
Requisition any necessary personnel, equipment or resources
from any City department or agency as deemed necessary and appropriate
for the direction of the City's response efforts; and
(f)
Direct and implement actions as requested by the City Council,
whose superseding authority remains in effect.
b. The Director of Emergency Services shall designate the order of succession
to that office, to take effect in the event the Director is unavailable
to perform the duties of that office in the event of an emergency.
The order of succession shall be approved by the City Council.
c. The Assistant Director shall, if the position is staffed in periods
where there is no emergency proclamation in effect, under the supervision
of the Director and with the assistance of emergency personnel, develop
emergency plans and manage the emergency programs of this City; and
shall have such other powers and duties as may be assigned by the
Director.
[Ord. #95-01, § 1; Ord. #2018-03]
All officers and employees of this City, together with those
volunteer forces enrolled to aid them during an emergency, and all
groups, organizations, and persons who may by agreement or operation
of law, including persons impressed into service under the provisions
of this section, charged with duties incident to the protection of
life and property in this City during such emergency, shall constitute
the emergency organization of the City of Albany.