CLATSOP COUNTY COMMISSIONERS OKAY EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT MOVE

The Clatsop County Board of Commissioners on Wednesday approved a plan to place the county’s Emergency Management Division under the County Manager’s office.

The move, which will take effect Oct. 1, is aimed at providing improved communications, coordination between agencies and training for county personnel.

The plan was endorsed by the Clatsop County Sheriff’s Office, which currently oversees Emergency Management.

“It’s a good thing for the county, and it’s time for (Emergency Management) to stand on its own, and to make this an even greater entity for the county,” Sheriff Tom Bergin told the commissioners Wednesday.

Under the plan, Human Resources Director Dean Perez will become the county’s appointed Emergency Management Division Director. Current Emergency Services Manager Gene Strong will become deputy director with oversight of the Incident Management Team as well as general staff. Emergency Services Coordinator Tom Manning will remain in charge of coordinating volunteers, including Community Emergency Response Teams (CERTSs) and HAM radio operators. The county’s search and rescue teams, however, will remain under the Sheriff’s Office.

Perez said the change allows the county to build on the work the Sheriff’s Office has done in recent years building up Emergency Management. The switch aligns Emergency Management under a comprehensive management model that incorporates strategic planning, use of advisory committees and comprehensive risk assessment. It also recognizes that while the Sheriff’s Office will remain a key partner in local emergencies, many other county departments, including Public Health and the Road Division, may also have critical and even leading roles to play, depending on the situation.

“I envision improved communications, and an orderly line of authority to the county manager’s office and our board of commissioners will shorten the chain of command,” Perez said.

Perez also brings 24 years of military experience to the job. A lieutenant colonel in the Oregon Army National Guard, he has deployed to real-life emergencies including floods, fires and a riot, and will provide a key link to the Oregon Military Department, one of the county’s most important partners in any emergency response.

Last year the county established a new Emergency Operations Center at Rilea Armed Forces Training Center in Warrenton. The facility, with up-to-date communications links within and outside the county, is designed to serve as Clatsop County’s main communications center for any significant emergency event.

“We will have the ability to marshal a lot more resources in a shorter amount of time with a lot less friction,” Perez said.