Officials talk emergency mgmt. needs

Published 5:00 am Tuesday, March 17, 2009

Lincoln County Civil Defense Director Clifford Galey was part ofa five-member delegation of Mississippi Civil Defense and EmergencyManagement Association officials who recently traveled toWashington to emphasize the importance of emergency managementissues in the state.

Galey, who currently serves as the vice president of MCDEMA,said he spent most of last week in Washington, D.C., discussingfunding and other urgent subjects.

“We try not to take too much to them, or there might be so muchthey don’t remember what we came for,” Galey said.

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The group was able to sit down with all the members ofMississippi’s congressional delegation except Sen. Roger Wicker,putting before them – among other things – such issues as continuedand possibly increased funding for local emergency managementoffices. He said Sen. Thad Cochran has been very helpful andinterested in the needs of statewide emergency managementlately.

“Sometimes it’s like pulling eye teeth to get people to listento us, but they were all very attentive and very receptive,” hesaid. “They took time out of their schedule to listen to ourneeds.”

Another issue that Galey and the other Mississippi EMArepresentatives put before lawmakers was their concern over FEMAbeing under Homeland Security instead of being a Cabinet positionlike it was before 9/11.

“It works so much better in an emergency situation when we cando a local proclamation, and the governor does one for the state,and then the FEMA director can go straight to the president,” saidGaley, adding that as it stands now there are several steps in theHomeland Security part of the process before communications go fromthe FEMA director to the president.

“If it were put back as a part of the Cabinet, he would reportstraight to the president,” he said.

Galey added that he couldn’t really say if that gap were part ofthe perceived problem with response efforts during HurricaneKatrina.

“There’s a good possibility,” he said.

The hand-in-hand relationship between the National WeatherService and emergency management was also a topic of discussion,Galey said.

“We voiced our concerns about discussions to cut funding for theNational Weather Service in local offices,” he said. “They’re agreat partner with EMA, and they provide weather information to us,which is invaluable. We really don’t need them to cut thatfunding.”

Galey said that is a fight that has gone on for a while forstate emergency officials.

“We fought that battle last year, and really we’re hoping we canjust keep the support at the current level,” he said.

The emergency management delegation tries to make the trip eachyear when possible, Galey said. He said the best way to keep thepoliticians’ attention is to keep the issues in front of theirfaces.

“Our association is of the impression that if we keep thesethings in front of them it keeps it on their mind,” he said. “Theyneed to see how important funding is even just on a local levelwhen you’re facing something like Hurricane Katrina or Gustav.”

And it’s not just major incident management that MEMA provides,Galey said. Communities profit through things like communityawareness and emergency planning that are spurred by Civil Defenseand Emergency Management Agency entities.

“That can help, even in the minor things,” Galey said. “Justhaving a plan in place can save lives.”