When Hurricane Katrina slammed into New Orleans, the first casualty was local government. In that case, days went by before the emergency response system reacted to an unfolding disaster. Last year, Puerto Rico had a similar crisis when the island was devastated by back-to-back hurricanes.
ICMA’s Local Government Leadership 201 Course will feature three presentations to provide the basics on emergency management response and crisis leadership. Those three sessions will be delivered by CPSM Director Thomas Wieczorek.
The final session will be held on July 24, 2018. The three sessions are included in the block of programs received by webinars and that result in a certificate of completion. The 201 program builds upon basics that were provided in an earlier 101 class which CPSM also helped present.
“The federal emergency response process can be confusing. Local government often assumes that the federal response will be to ‘take over’ the crisis; nothing could be further from reality. Instead, local government will request and be provided with the necessary resources to protect life and only then property. But the aid goes to the local government that directs the response as well as recovery. All of that takes mitigation and preparation to manage the risks that are inherent in communities from hazards that occur on a daily basis. Fire and police deployment should be undertaken in response to risks from hazards; often times that is not the case,” Wieczorek said.
If you would like to engage in the process, you can sign up on the ICMA.org website under the local government 201 program. There are a number of topics that will be presented in addition to emergency management. Click/tap here to learn more: icma.org/local-government-201-online-certificate-program
Wieczorek noted that the emergency management portion will also be presented at the ICMA’s annual conference in Baltimore in September. “ICMA recognizes the critical role that local government managers play in the response and recovery process. They are actively working with FEMA and local government leaders to educate and build teams to respond when disasters/crisis occurs. It’s not a matter of ‘if’ but ‘when.’
The 2018 ICMA Annual Conference will take place September 23-26, 2018 in Baltimore, Maryland.
The ICMA Annual Conference is the largest annual event in the world for local government managers and staff. Each year, ICMA offers an abundance of educational, information-sharing, and networking tools to help public executives manage their communities in today’s complex environment.
Stay tuned for more information on sessions that CPSM will host during the conference.