City of Morgan Hill Public Safety Master Plan

The EOP and the guiding structure of California law through its Standardized Emergency Management System (SEMS), delegates to local government the authority and responsibility to manage and coordinate the overall response and recovery activities within its jurisdiction. This includes the restoration of services and the safety of people and properties impacted by the event. County government is responsible for the broader duties of the operational area in supporting local government by providing resources, and providing linkages to regional and state agencies. CAL FIRE is recognized and operates as a key agency and member of the Disaster Council within the city’s EOP. The CAL FIRE EOC, located at the Monterey Street compound, is designated as the city’s alternate EOC. The City is well positioned and appears well trained in it emergency management duties. The City of Morgan Hill has developed a Continuity of Operations Plan (COOP) and a Continuity of Government (COG) plan for the city as a whole. The purpose of continuity of operations planning is to ensure that essential city services are provided in the wake of catastrophic or disruptive events. Continuity of operations planning is the process in which government formally reviews and makes contingency plans in the event that government can no longer operate under normal conditions. COOP looks at the potential inability of a local government to utilize key public buildings, including fire stations or police stations, city hall, or other key structures. The planning process identifies alternative sites that could be utilized if these facilities are no longer functional. COOP also looks at contingencies if current service levels must be curtailed due to wide-scale employee absences. Agencies are asked to formulate plans if their workforce is reduced by various increments (15 percent, 25 percent, 50 percent, etc.). This exercise requires each department to define its plan for which of its services will continue and which other services could be modified or discontinued. There are numerous guides that provide insights or models for COOP. FEMA provides a template that is often utilized to assist local government and federal agencies in this process; it can be found at http://www.fema.gov/pdf/about/org/ncp/coop/continuity_plan_federal_d_a.pdf Hazard mitigation is the effort to reduce loss of life and property by lessening the impact of disasters. Federal, state, and local governments engage in hazard mitigation planning to identify natural hazards that impact them, identify strategies and activities to reduce any losses from those hazards, and establish a coordinated approach to implementing the plan, taking advantage of a wide range of resources. Mitigation plans are key to federal, state, and local governments’ efforts to break the cycle of disaster damage, reconstruction, and repeated damage.

Developing hazard mitigation plans enables federal, state, and local governments to:

■ Increase education and awareness around threats, hazards, and vulnerabilities.

■ Build partnerships for risk reduction involving government, organizations, businesses, and the public. ■ Identify long-term strategies for risk reduction that are agreed upon by stakeholders and the public. ■ Identify cost effective mitigation actions, focusing resources on the greatest risks and vulnerabilities.

■ Align risk reduction with other community objectives.

■ Communicate priorities to potential sources of funding.

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