TO: PUBLIC SAFETY, FINANCE, AND FROM: Raymond Riordan
STRATEGIC SUPPORT COMMITTEE
SUBJECT: OFFICE OF EMERGENCY DATE: August 5, 2022
MANAGEMENT WORK PLAN
PRIORITIES ANNUAL REPORT
Approved Date
RECOMMENDATION
Accept the annual report on the City Manager’s Office of Emergency Management (OEM) Work Plan priorities for 2022-2023.
BACKGROUND
In May and June of 2021, the City was ready to transition away from a fully activated Emergency Operations Center (EOC) for the COVID-19 Emergency Response. However, due to the local emergence of the Delta variant in July 2021, the City increased the activation level of the EOC.
1 From August 2021 to February 2022, the EOC focused on the local response to the Delta and Omicron variants. On February 25, 2022 EOC operations were reduced to monitor conditions and continue to provide vaccination support. A summary of the great work produced during the last year in response to COVID-19 was presented to the Public Safety, Finance, and Strategic Support Committee on May 19, 2022.2
While the COVID-19 response and recovery necessitated a great deal of City staff time and effort, OEM managed to make progress on parts of its Work Plan for September 2021 to August 2022. The Work Plan centers around the following four Objectives:
1. The City has a plan to tackle any emergency;
2. Residents, businesses, and employees are ready to take action and able to answer a “call to action”;
1 Information Memorandum: COVID-19 Delta Variant Status Update:
https://www.sanjoseca.gov/Home/Components/News/News/3193/5167 2 “City of San José Disaster Resiliency Annual Report” for Public Safety, Finance, and Strategic Support Committee on May 19, 2022: https://sanjose.legistar.com/View.ashx?M=F&ID=10890256&GUID=7E3E971D-F78C-4312- AA6C-9937242D0F4D
PSFSS AGENDA: 8/18/2022
ITEM: (d)2
8/9/2022
PUBLIC SAFETY, FINANCE, AND STRATEGIC SUPPORT COMMITTEE August 5, 2022
Subject: Office of Emergency Management Work Plan Priorities Annual Report
3. The public trusts the City to provide vital information; and
4. Our response is optimized through technology.
This report will review the Key Results associated with each of the four Objectives. First, as part of the Background Section, it reviews the Key Results achieved from September 2021 to August 2022, including the development of an OEM Strategic Plan for 2022-2025. Second, in the Analysis Section, this memo lays out the OEM Work Plan for September 2022 to August 2023.
EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT WORK PLAN ACCOMPLISHMENTS
(September 2021 –August 2022)
This section outlines the achievements over the past year, broken down by Objectives and Key Results.
Objective 1 - City has a plan to tackle any emergency.
• Finalized Event Action Plans for earthquake, wildfire, flooding, and severe weather.
These plans serve as an operational job aid for Emergency Operations Center (EOC) personnel. (September 2021)
• Initiated a project to develop an After Action Report (AAR) for the COVID-19 response from November 2020 to February 2022. The AAR will tentatively be ready to be presented to City Council in Summer 2023. (January 2022) • Finalized the Operational Area Safety and Damage Assessment Plan in collaboration with Santa Clara County and neighboring jurisdictions. (February 2022) • Resumed work on the Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) Operational Plan with the goal to complete the plan by the end of August 2022. (February 2022) • Initiated a project to develop a Continuity of Government and Continuity of Operations Plan (COOP). These plans will assist leadership in prioritizing critical services in the event that a large-scale emergency or major disaster cause disruptions in the services the City provides. These plans, in conjunction with the City’s Emergency Operations Plan, will help determine a sustainable division of work for City staff should the impacts of any event stress available resources related to both services and responding to the event. (April 2022)
• Initiated a project to update the Emergency Operations Plan (EOP) and EOP Support Annexes, and to complete a review and assessment of the effectiveness and performance of using the Agile Project Management process during the incident action planning in support of COVID-19 response actions. (May 2022)
• Approved the City Roadmap for Fiscal Year 2022-2023 that outlines the eight enterprise priorities, and corresponding programs and projects, strategies, and policies. The enterprise priorities include one specifically for Resilient and Sustainable Infrastructure and Emergency Preparedness. (May 2022)
• Identified priority census tracts within the City that had lower vaccination rates compared to other areas, with a disproportionate number located in East San José neighborhoods.
With this information, the Vaccination Task Force collaborated with Santa Clara County
PUBLIC SAFETY, FINANCE, AND STRATEGIC SUPPORT COMMITTEE August 5, 2022
Subject: Office of Emergency Management Work Plan Priorities Annual Report
Public Health and other partner providers including Safeway, Asian Americans for Community Involvement (AACI), and Bay Area Community Health to plan and organize vaccination events at community centers, libraries, and parks located within or close to the areas with lower vaccination rates. From May 2021 to May 2022, the Vaccination Task Force, through provider partnerships, supported the delivery of over 43,000 vaccinations in the City of San José.3(May 2022)
• Completed a supplemental Office of Emergency Management Gap Analysis in April 2022 to update the OEM Strategic Plan that was initiated in January 2020 and postponed by the response to COVID-19. The Strategic Plan outlines the citywide emergency management goals and objectives for the next three years. A copy of the Strategic Plan can be found in Attachment 1. (August 2022)
Objective 2 - Residents, businesses, and employees are ready to take action and able to answer a “call to action.”
• Opened Eviction Help Centers at City Hall and the Franklin-McKinley School District office to connect tenants and landlords with rent relief funds, legal services, and other resources. (August 2021)
• Focused local response to the Delta and Omicron variants from August 2021 to February 2022. Effective February 25, 2022, the EOC operations were reduced. All ongoing recovery operations were shifted back to the appropriate departments as part of the City Enterprise Priority COVID-19 Pandemic: Community and Economic Recovery led by Deputy City Managers, Rosalynn Hughey and Rob Lloyd.4(February 2022) • Community members formed a 501c3 to partner with the City and helped grow the CERT program. (February 2022)
• Opened Overnight Warming Locations (OWLs) at Evergreen Branch Library and Leininger Community Center, both operated by HomeFirst. These nightly shelters provided case management and basic needs assistance for unhoused residents. They were in operation from late December 2021 – April 30, 2022 and 142 individuals were served. (April 2022)
• Opened three cooling centers on June 10, 2022 in response to a National Weather Service heat advisory. Public messaging and outreach were completed by the Office of Communications (City Manager’s Office and Parks, Recreation & Neighborhood Services) and the Housing Department’s contracted street outreach teams. There were additional coordination efforts between the City and the County’s Office of Supportive Housing to ensure outreach was completed to those living unsheltered. Two cooling centers were also opened on June 21, 2022 in response to another National Weather Service heat advisory. Parks, Recreation & Neighborhood Services monitors weather conditions year round and activates cooling or warming centers if conditions require them. (June 2022)
3 “City of San José Disaster Resiliency Annual Report” for Public Safety, Finance, and Strategic Support Committee on May 19, 2022: https://sanjose.legistar.com/View.ashx?M=F&ID=10890256&GUID=7E3E971D-F78C-4312- AA6C-9937242D0F4D
4 Effective February 25, 2022 the City of San José is Reducing Emergency Operations Center Activities:
https://www.sanjoseca.gov/home/showpublisheddocument/82561
PUBLIC SAFETY, FINANCE, AND STRATEGIC SUPPORT COMMITTEE August 5, 2022
Subject: Office of Emergency Management Work Plan Priorities Annual Report
• Updated the EOC staffing list with staff from across all City departments. The current list includes the names of 292 staff spread out over two (2) teams and seventy-three (73) positions. (June 2022)
• Completed revision of the OEM New Employee Welcome presentation to include further clarity on City staff’s role as disaster service workers. Delivered the updated OEM presentation at the June 2022 New Employee Welcome. (June 2022) • Provided eight CERT basic course trainings and two refresher trainings. The trainings were focused on a specific district each month, though all San Jose residents were invited and welcome to attend each training. Districts 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8 received the trainings, and a Spanish training is currently being advertised. (July 2022) • Increased CERT membership by 195 members, with 427 members in total. CERT members participated in eight community events by raising awareness about the CERT program and providing community preparedness information. (July 2022) Objective 3 - The public trusts the City to provide vital information. • The Emergency Public Information Office (EPIO) Recovery Team used the Wireless Emergency Alert system to send out 11 targeted text messages to residents within specific census tracts to notify them of vaccination sites and vaccination events in their area. Focus areas included Alviso, Buena Vista, and the areas surrounding the Roosevelt, Mayfair, Evergreen, and Great Oaks Community Centers. (July 2021 to October 2021) • Notified residents with critical information related to the following events:
o Major Gas Leak on August 25-26, 2021
o Minor Gas Leak on September 13, 2021
o Flood Warning on October 23, 2021
o 11 Vaccination Events during Fiscal Year 2021-2022
• Approved by Federal Emergency Management Agency to develop a Soft Story Seismic Retrofit Program. Phase One will include the development of a retrofit policy and ordinance, community outreach, engineering evaluation report, sample retrofit/design plans, plan check, Environmental and Historic Preservation Review, retrofit design grant application, and selection of projects and submittal to FEMA. The grant provides $1,443,040.50 for these services, while the City’s share is $481,013.50 for a total of $1,924,054.00. Phase II will start immediately after the completion of Phase I and includes the implementation of the retrofits. (September 20, 2021) • Issued a shelter in place notification to nearby residents impacted by the Home Depot fire. This notification went out in English and Spanish to 4460 contacts. These included residents that opted in for notifications, those through reverse 911 contacts, and mobile telephone users in the targeted area via Wireless Emergency Alerts. (April 9, 2022) • Provided residents and businesses with over 200 Flash Reports. Information included vital City resources, along with COVID-19 federal, state, and county updates. The weekly Flash Report transitioned into a new monthly report called the City Manager’s 30-Day Round Up. (June 1, 2022)
• The EPIO Recovery Team had three direct mail pieces. They delivered 151,000 postcards in four languages with COVID-19 vaccination and rental assistance information to priority census tracts identified as the most affected by the pandemic. They also delivered
PUBLIC SAFETY, FINANCE, AND STRATEGIC SUPPORT COMMITTEE August 5, 2022
Subject: Office of Emergency Management Work Plan Priorities Annual Report
151,000 postcards in four languages with COVID-19 vaccination, testing, and prevention messaging; and worked with the San José Public Library to provide information about SJ Access - digital access resources to residents, to priority census tracts identified as the most affected by the pandemic. The third mailer provided 151,000 residents identified by census tracts as the most affected by the pandemic with vital information about vaccine eligibility for babies and children ages six months to four years old, five years and older first booster eligibility, and COVID-19 vaccine safe for pregnant people.
Objective 4 - Our response is optimized through technology. • Completed 62% of construction for the new OEM offices and 62% of construction for the new EOC. Overall, the Fire Department Training and EOC Relocation Project is at 64% completed. (June 30, 2022)
• Purchased $80,000 worth of CERT supplies to help prepare San Jose neighborhoods. • Received $2,185,000 for the purchase of a Mobile Operations Satellite Emergency System (M.O.S.E.S.) to assist with emergency communications. Approval to negotiate contract with vendor returns to City Council in August 2022. • Received $46,214 in Emergency Management Performance Grant funding for the purchase of Geospatial Information Systems computers and six laptop racks and peripherals for the EOC.
• The City Capital Budget set aside $2.3 million to cover the cost of critical technology infrastructure for the new EOC. This includes the EOC Communications Tower, Audio/Video technology for Buildings 1 and 2, and the fixed infrastructure piece of all technology installations (i.e., conduit, cabling, connections for all technology devices).
ANALYSIS
In Fiscal Year 2021-2022, OEM included 13 full-time positions. These positions are comprised of eight permanent positions funded by the General Fund (of which six have been filled), four limit-dated positions funded by the Urban Area Security Initiative grant (of which three have been filled), and one filled position funded by a combination of American Rescue and other funds.
In Fiscal Year 2022-2023, OEM has retained its 13-full time positions. These positions are comprised of nine permanent positions funded by the General Fund (of which seven have been filled), three limit-dated positions funded by the Urban Area Security Initiative Grant (of which all three have been filled), and one filled position funded by a combination of American Rescue and other funds.
During this fiscal year budget process, one limited dated position is now permanently funded through the General Fund. As the budget process unfolds, the City will continue to evaluate the ability to permanently fund recurring one-time funded positions to increase the stability of staffing in OEM.
PUBLIC SAFETY, FINANCE, AND STRATEGIC SUPPORT COMMITTEE August 5, 2022
Subject: Office of Emergency Management Work Plan Priorities Annual Report
Tremendous work was accomplished by the collective efforts of all City Departments working together in the Emergency Operations Center as part of the COVID-19 response and recovery efforts. A great deal of non-COVID work has also been accomplished, including responses to other disasters (e.g., heat-related incidents) and development of additional City emergency plans.
EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT WORK PLAN PRIORITIES
(September 2022 –August 2023)
The Citywide Emergency Management Work Plan Priorities for September 2022 to August 2023 will be measured by the following Key Results.
Objective 1 - City has a plan to tackle any emergency.
• Reconvene the City’s Emergency Management Work Group (EMWG) that was postponed during response to COVID-19. The EMWG, established in July 2017, was initiated to provide an interdepartmental platform to discuss policies, programs and plans related to citywide emergency management and response.
• Finalize and approve twelve updated planning documents: Emergency Operations Plan, PostDisaster Housing Plan, Crisis Communications Support Annex and Plan, Evacuation Support Annex, Mass Care and Shelter Annex, Shelter Management Plan, Debris Management Annex and Plan, Recovery Support Annex and Plan, and Damage Assessment Support Annex. • Ensure that the twelve updated plans address the cultural and equity values of the City, and that people with disabilities and/or access and functional needs are included in the planning process.
• Complete the second phase of the After Action Report for the COVID-19 response and recovery work covering the period from November 2020 to February 2022. Integrate the recommendations into the priority lists for improving future response. • Complete the first draft of the Continuity of Government and Continuity of Operations Plan (COOP), and initiate training and exercises.
• Evaluate and update policies and ordinances related to emergency procurement, emergency activations and curfews.
• Reconvene the Emergency Services Council as needed for plan approval, ordinance updates, and managing the Disaster Service Worker Volunteer Program. • The City’s Vaccination Task Force will continue to monitor the case rates, deaths, hospitalizations, etc. and be ready to scale up or down as needed, particularly if or when spikes or surges happen. The Task Force will be ready to support the County when needed and if requested. The Task Force will also continue to meet with the County’s Communications team to ensure that relevant, accurate, and timely information is disseminated, specifically to the City’s marginalized communities.
Objective 2 - Residents, businesses, and employees are ready to take action and able to answer a “call to action”.
• In coordination with the Office of Racial Equity; Parks, Recreation & Neighborhood Services; and Library outreach teams, the Community Emergency Response Team (CERT)
PUBLIC SAFETY, FINANCE, AND STRATEGIC SUPPORT COMMITTEE August 5, 2022
Subject: Office of Emergency Management Work Plan Priorities Annual Report
program will deliver ten courses to underserved and marginalized communities. It will provide courses in multiple languages including Vietnamese and Spanish. • Develop and implement Multi-Year Training and Exercise Plan and program with the objective to improve the capability of the EOC staff toward state credentialing. • By the end of the fiscal year, in coordination with the Housing and Planning, Building & Code Enforcement Departments, provide a soft story ordinance, plan, and grant pilot project, including options for property owners to finance the retrofits. • Complete the development of a Multi-Year Training and Exercise Plan to enhance the ability of EOC personnel to respond and recover from the next disaster. Initiate the planned training for EOC personnel upon completion of the plan.
• Distribute a Request for Proposal for a Master Services Agreement for additional support during emergencies to augment City personnel response.
• Initiate planning for an emergency management and technology conference in a future year.
Objective 3 - The public trusts the City to provide vital information. • Respond as needed to emergencies and conditions that present the need for coordination among multiple departments.
• Deliver accurate and timely public information in multiple languages both as part of preparedness efforts and in the case of an emergency.
• Support City efforts related to access and functional needs. • Continue fostering relationships with community based organizations like the American Red Cross and Collaborating Agencies’ Disaster Relief Effort (CADRE). There is currently a Memorandum of Understanding in place with the American Red Cross that allows them to use the City’s community centers during an emergency.
• Re-engage Santa Clara County Office of Emergency Management on issues in common when responding to major catastrophic events, through the use of workshops and seminars.
Objective 4 - Our response is optimized through technology. • Complete construction of the new OEM offices and EOC with the funds generated by Measure T. Tentative OEM staff move-in date is Summer 2023. • Install and test technology-based systems in the new EOC. • Complete the purchase and installation of new technology equipment to replace legacy equipment that has aged-out and meet the requirements for life-cycle replacement. Estimated cost is $197,836.79.
• Complete the purchase and installation of key technology equipment. The estimated cost is $2.3 million, with ongoing costs the first year estimated at $67,216 and thereafter $392,816 annual costs.
CONCLUSION
The effectiveness of the plans, response, recovery, and resilience has heightened the ability of all departments to work together, coordinate, and communicate. The success of the City’s response
PUBLIC SAFETY, FINANCE, AND STRATEGIC SUPPORT COMMITTEE August 5, 2022
Subject: Office of Emergency Management Work Plan Priorities Annual Report
and ability to recover quickly requires close collaboration among the departments and the City’s ability to listen to residents and businesses. Our focus has been on these two very critical tasks.
While the response and recovery to COVID-19 has been long and has required an inordinate amount of resources and people power, the City has begun to shift more of its focus toward preparedness for other potential disasters. During September 2022 to August 2023, the City will continue to prioritize the four Objectives described in this memo. Resiliency requires focus, communication, persistence, and teamwork.
EVALUATION AND FOLLOW-UP
The Office of Emergency Management will return to the Public Safety, Finance and Support Committee in August 2023 to update the Committee on emergency management progress.
COORDINATION
This memo has been coordinated with the City Attorney's Office; City Manager’s Budget Office; City Manager’s Office of Communications; Housing Department; Planning, Building & Code Enforcement Department; Parks, Recreation & Neighborhood Services; and the EOC’s Vaccination Task Force.
RAYMOND RIORDAN
Director,
City Manager’s Office of Emergency Management
For questions, please contact Raymond Riordan, Director of the City Manager’s Office of Emergency Management, at (408) 794-7050.
Attachments:
1. City of San José Emergency Management Strategic Plan 2022-2025