29C.9 - LOCAL EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT COMMISSIONS. - Iowa Statutes

29C.9 LOCAL EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT COMMISSIONS. 1. The county boards of supervisors, city councils, and school district boards of directors in each county shall cooperate with the homeland security and emergency management division of the department of public defense to establish a local emergency management commission to carry out the provisions of this chapter. 2. The commission shall be composed of a member of the board of supervisors or its appointed representative, the sheriff or the sheriff's representative, and the mayor or the mayor's representative from each city within the county. The commission members shall be the operations liaison officers between their jurisdiction and the commission. 3. The name used by the commission shall be (county name) county emergency management commission. The name used by the office of the commission shall be (county name) county emergency management agency. 4. For the purposes of this chapter, the commission or joint commission is a municipality as defined in section 670.1. 5. The commission shall model its bylaws and conduct its business according to the guidelines provided in the state division's administrative rules. 6. The commission shall determine the mission of its agency and program and provide direction for the delivery of the emergency management services of planning, administration, coordination, training, and support for local governments and their departments. The commission shall coordinate its services in the event of a disaster. The commission may also provide joint emergency response communications services through an agreement entered into under chapter 28E. 7. The commission shall delegate to the emergency management coordinator the authority to fulfill the commission duties as described in the division's administrative rules. Each commission shall appoint a county emergency management coordinator who shall meet the qualifications specified in the administrative rules by the administrator of the homeland security and emergency management division. Additional emergency management personnel may be appointed at the discretion of the commission. 8. The commission shall develop, adopt, and submit for approval by local governments within the county, a comprehensive countywide emergency operations plan which meets standards adopted by the division in accordance with chapter 17A. If an approved comprehensive countywide emergency operations plan has not been prepared according to established standards and the administrator of the homeland security and emergency management division finds that satisfactory progress is not being made toward the completion of the plan, or if the administrator finds that a local emergency management commission has failed to appoint a qualified emergency management coordinator as provided in this chapter, the administrator shall notify the governing bodies of the counties and cities affected by the failure and the governing bodies shall not appropriate any moneys to the local emergency management fund until the disaster plan is prepared and approved or a qualified emergency management coordinator is appointed. If the administrator finds that a city or a county has appointed an unqualified emergency management coordinator, the administrator shall notify the governing body of the city or county citing the qualifications which are not met and the governing body shall not approve the payment of the salary or expenses of the unqualified emergency management coordinator. 9. The commission shall encourage local officials to support and participate in exercise programs which test proposed or established jurisdictional emergency plans and capabilities. During emergencies when lives are threatened and extensive damage has occurred to property, the county and all cities involved shall fully cooperate with the emergency management agency to provide assistance in order to coordinate emergency management activities including gathering of damage assessment data required by state and federal authorities for the purposes of emergency declarations and disaster assistance. 10. Two or more commissions may, upon review by the state administrator and with the approval of their respective boards of supervisors and cities, enter into agreements pursuant to chapter 28E for the joint coordination and administration of emergency management services throughout the multicounty area.          Section History: Early Form [C62, § 28A.7; C66, 71, 73, 75, § 29C.7; C77, 79, 81, § 29C.9]          Section History: Recent Form 83 Acts, ch 123, § 40, 209; 92 Acts, ch 1139, § 10; 2003 Acts, ch 179, §157; 2007 Acts, ch 149, §1 Referred to in § 8D.13, 29C.6, 29C.22, 331.381, 331.653