Switzerland County Emergency Management director George Adams has been informed by the State of Indiana, Department of Homeland Security, and his office has received an outstanding assessment.
In March of 2009, the Indiana Department of Homeland Security began communicating with local EMA offices about a project that was intended to help the state determine the strength of emergency management’s capability, which were critical to providing for the health, safety, and well being of citizens, before, during, and after a disaster.
The latest assessment period ended on June 30th of this year, and the Switzerland County EMA did exceptionally well. The assessment measured such areas locally as professional contribution; planning; regional collaboration; Comms and EOC; and continuous planning.
The local office earned a score of 223 on the assessment, which qualifies for the county to receive a full 50-percent reimbursement of allowable salaries that are currently being paid through local funds.
In addition, because of the outstanding score, the state has given George Adams the opportunity to develop a budget proposal for an additional $3,378.37 that would come to the county to help with county EMA initiatives.
Because of the high assessment score:
– Up to three positions in the county EMA are eligible for half of their salaries to be reimbursed through the Emergency Management Performance Grant.
– The additional grant funds may be used for such areas as: training; special equipment purchases such as monitors, computers, GPS units, etc,; public outreach materials ; and certification fees.