A Collaborative Effort
The Director of Emergency Management is an appointive position under the administrative and operational control of the Sheriff.
The Goodhue County Emergency Management organization is a coordinating agency created by both Federal and State Laws and by County Board resolution for the purpose of saving lives and protecting property during natural, man made, and/or nuclear incidents.
Emergency Management is responsible for planning, coordinating, administration, and training in the areas of hazard mitigation, preparedness, response, and recovery. These responsibilities include: the compiling of an all hazard risk and vulnerability analysis; the installment, supervision, and dissemination of warning systems; a knowledge of local, state, and federal resources; and liaison with public and private organizations, the media, and all levels of local, state, and federal government.
A large amount of time is spent meeting with the various emergency response organizations at all levels of government. Time is also spent in the private sector to pre-establish procedures which will be used in a combined response to a disaster. These disasters include natural hazards such as flooding, technological hazards such as a hazardous materials incident, man made problems like riots, and national security problems. To test the response capabilities of the organizations within the county, an annual exercise is coordinated by Emergency Management.
The Emergency Management director serves as Rural Identification / addressing (fire number) Secretary, County Fuel Coordinator, 911 System Coordinator, the County Addressing Coordinator, and the Resource Coordinator for the Sheriff’s Department.
Skills required are endless, not the least of which is being familiar with all sorts of disasters and their effects, all phases of disaster response and the functions of government in response to same.
Serving The Public
Services to the public include, but are not limited to, notifying people of suspected, pending, or actual disaster, hazards, etc., and educating the public to cope with such emergencies. Also, the office is responsible for establishing house addresses in coordination with the County Building Inspector.