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DALLAS COUNTY OFFICE OF HOMELAND SECURITY & EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT

January 23, 2012 TO: Judge Clay Jenkins FROM: Scott Greeson Interim Director, Homeland Security and Emergency Management SUBJECT: Suspending the Homeland Security Advisory Committee In the realm of emergency management the County HSEM department is fortunate to have numerous means in which to gain insight and possible direction in how we proceed forward towards the future in emergency management. Our office is tasked with working with the various committees that are established not only in Dallas County but also in the 16 County Region and with the State. I will provide an overview of several committees that are in place that provide us with insight and direction. To begin, we have an elected officials forum that provides guidance to all of the Emergency Management programs in the 16 county region in the form of the EPPC or Emergency Preparedness Planning Council of the North Central Texas Council of Governments. This group is comprised of various elected officials from City and County governments. They work in conjunction with other committees to provide guidance and how they would like to see our programs address potential areas of concern. We have the REPAC or Regional Emergency Preparedness Advisory Committee comprised of various disciplines from public works to law enforcement. This group works directly with the EPPC Committee and all of the EM programs in the 16 county region to help provide guidance. There is also the VOAD or Volunteers Active in Disaster that is comprised of the numerous volunteer agencies that assist us during times of disaster. This group works with each other and directly with the emergency management community to find ways to better integrate into the direction provided from the groups above. In addition there is the Disability Integration Committee that helps provide insight to Emergency Management programs to ensure we take in account all of our citizens within our community. The list I have comprised is but a sampling of the committees in place that provide guidance to Emergency Management programs such as ours. It is my opinion that with the numerous committees in place that have long been established and vetted that we have multiple means and ideas in how we as an emergency management program move forward. We would be better served to continue in this direction. This brings me to our Dallas County Homeland Advisory Committee and its role. After meeting with the committee in November to discuss their past role and the direction they see the committee moving towards it became apparent to me that we have multiple challenges. The first is that in the past two years the committee did meet but did not follow the protocol arranged by the by-laws. There has been little structure in regards to the committee and how they are

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supposed to operate. The committee also was confused on what its intent was and what it was that they were being asked to do. Committee members advised that past meetings were no more than presentations with little value to the department or to the committee itself. The committee was unsure of how to proceed. The members themselves advised that they could not remember making any recommendations or providing input to the Court in the 6 years that it has been established. If one reads the background information provided in June 2011 we can see that in places the information regarding the actions of this committee could be mis-leading and offer mis-direction. For example as offered to the Court in June 2011 regarding the background of the role of the committee: New partnerships with FEMA and the State of Texas to increase awareness through emergency preparedness campaigns is one main focus of the Committee as well as outreach to federal agencies and law enforcement entities to increase awareness on transnational crime and terrorism. There are a couple of issues with this statement. First, this department and this committee do not serve in a capacity to utilize information regarding awareness on transnational crime or terrorism in the intent of this description as this is well out of the scope of our practice. We are not an investigative or law enforcement agency that can advise or act on such issues. In conclusion, I offer that we are well served by multiple committees that are in place in our County and in our Region. Currently, new relationships with FEMA are being established through the EPPC and REPAC committees that have been mentioned. We are well represented and have strong ties in place with our State partners. It should be noted that neither Tarrant, Denton or Collin counties have such an advisory committee in place. The primary challenge in keeping the committee is in determining how to make it relevant and effective so that it is not redundant to other committees that are already in place. This process would take considerable time and effort that, in my opinion, would be best served in other areas. One of the senior committee members offered that in his opinion the committee needs to be dissolved. I, as well as other committee members, are in agreement with that opinion. My recommendation, therefore, is that we suspend the HSAC committee until further notice. FINANCIAL IMPACT None anticipated. RECOMMENDATION Dallas County Homeland Security and Emergency Management recommends that the Homeland Security Advisory Committee be suspended until further notice.

Recommended by:

___________________________ Scott Greeson, Interim Director

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509 Main Street, Suite 305, Dallas Texas 75202-3340 (214) 653-7980 * Fax (214) 653-7988 * scott.greeson@dallascounty.org