San Joaquin County supes declare storm emergency
After two weeks of severe winter storms, the San Joaquin County Board of Supervisors proclaimed a local emergency in a special meeting held Friday morning.
According to Office of Emergency Services Director Michael Cockrell, the proclamation allows the county to make special orders, immunity for actions taken and quicker access to vital resources and financial aid. The proclamation also allows the county to make purchases on behalf of other jurisdictions and allows the board chair to request state assistance.
“By our board ratifying the chair’s proclamation and carrying it on for the next 30 days, that allows all those special (levee) districts to take drastic measures to try to protect those levees. It allows the fire agencies and law enforcement to take whatever action they can to safeguard the public,” Cockrell said.
District 4 Supervisor Chuck Winn said that declaring an emergency gives the county and local agencies flexibility when purchasing needed materials following the storms, adding that it also limits liability and starts the clock running on reimbursements from the state.
“It just allows the existing agencies, including the Office of Emergency Services, to do their jobs with a little more legal flexibility with regards to distribution of resources.”
Cockrell said the Office of Emergency Services has been on conference calls with all the county’s jurisdictions to determine what to request from the state.
In order to request state assistance the county will have to make sure all its costs are accounted for, Cockrell said, adding that local agencies and municipalities haven’t yet had time to determine all their costs related to the storms.
There is a 60-day window from the time the emergency request gets to the state for the county to have its costs assessed and submitted to the state. The state then has 60 days to conduct an inspection to make sure estimates are correct.
“We don’t want to trip that financial window until we’re absolutely ready to have our costs gathered up,” Cockrell said. “We have seven cities and there are 120 special districts, such as school districts and levee districts, and we want to make sure all of them have a chance to try to assess their costs. When they try to give their numbers to us, we will have a realistic dollar figure to present to the state.”
Cockrell said there are two reasons why the county goes to the state during an local emergency. One is for resources, such as supplies, personnel and equipment, or for financial assistance. Cockrell said right now the county is focusing on additional resources.
During a local emergency, the Office of Emergency Services is responsible for keeping all the jurisdictions informed on the process and helping them get the resources they need and assisting them with recovery.
“If they have a resource need like sand bags or sleeping cots for shelters during an emergency, one of the things we are eligible to do is buy resources on behalf of those jurisdictions, issue it to them and bill them later,” Cockrell said, explaining that is not allowed nonemergency situations.
Cockrell said that one of biggest costs incurred during emergencies is overtime, noting that emergency crews have been working 12 to 18 hours a day to ensure public safety during and after the recent storms. Supplies needed to combat flooding, downed trees and other dangers are also adding extra costs, Cockrell said.
“They’ll sign off to pay it back later but we are incurring cost until then,” he said.
Levee agencies have been hit hardest during the recent storms, with some incurring costs anywhere from $15,000 to $300,000, Cockrell said, adding that when a levee breaks the costs can soar into the millions.