City Managers and Elected Officials Play a Key Role in Disaster Response

NOTE:  We are very much aware of the fact that many mayors, city managers and city safety directors are not prepared to handle disasters, more often than not depending on their police and fire chiefs to “handle things.”  As you’ll see in the article below, mayors, city managers and safety directors have distinct duties that they’re best-suited to handle – but they need training.  To that end, we are working on the creation of such a training program to take place in Northeastern Ohio.  This training will be co-sponsored by Hennes Communications, the Cuyahoga County Office of Emergency Management and Cleveland State University.  Details coming soon.

From GovTech.com:

City and county managers play vital roles in emergency management and so too should elected officials. But the effectiveness of these officials in their roles is variable and depends highly on where they are in the country.

In a report published by the International City/County Management Association, Ron Carlee examines — through interviews and his extensive experience — the roles that local managers and elected officials play before, during and after a disaster, and shares best practices.

In the report, Leadership and Professional Local Government Managers: Before, During, and After a Crisis, provides a deep review of the role of the city/county manager, and why their coordination with one another, as well as officials is vital when responding to a disaster.

For the rest, click here.