Description
Recommend approval to renew the agreement with the State of Georgia for Statewide Mutual Aid and Assistance.
Pre-existing agreements for mutual aid assistance in emergencies help to ensure the timely provision of assistance from other jurisdictions and reimbursement of costs incurred by those parties who render such assistance. This agreement also provides the framework to support mutual assistance in managing an emergency or disaster occurring within any political subdivision that is a Participating Party, whether arising from natural disaster, technological hazard, human caused disaster, civil emergency, community disorders, insurgency, enemy attack, acts of terrorism, or other significant events.
The State of Georgia is vulnerable to a wide range of natural and man-made disasters and emergencies. The Georgia Emergency Management Act, as amended (The Act) gives the local governments of the State the authority to make agreements for mutual aid assistance in emergencies. Pre-existing agreements for mutual aid assistance in emergencies help to ensure the timely provision of mutual aid assistance and the reimbursement of costs incurred by those parties who render such assistance.
This mutual aid agreement is entered pursuant to authorities contained in Articles I through III, Chapter 3, Title 38, Official Code of Georgia Annotated.
The impacts of signing the agreement are continued participation in the State emergency management system, improved resource management and sustained fiscal responsibility. Not signing the agreement would make it more difficult to obtain needed resources during times of emergency.
The City of Savannah has participated in this agreement for 12 years and has allowed us to send and receive mutual aid assistance during disasters, particularly the recent hurricanes.
This agreement helps us accomplish our goals by providing the mechanism to order and receive mutual aid assistance from jurisdictions in Georgia. Having these resources will assist in providing life safety services, stabilizing the incident and protecting property and the environment. This not only applies to public safety, but infrastructure, economic, damage assessment and recovery resources.
The bigger story is that Savannah has been building its Emergency Preparedness program over the last several years and this in turn, improves service provision to the public by allowing the City to obtain personnel and equipment in a timely manner to help us response and recover from disasters.
There is no cost to enter the agreement and the City does not have to send resources if requested. However, if the City utilizes this agreement to order resources during an emergency, the City will have to pay for those assets. The unintended consequences are that the City is not guaranteed to be reimbursed by FEMA for these resources depending on the situation.
One alternative would be to enter into individual agreements with specific jurisdictions. Another alternative would be contracting for particular services or equipment.
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