10/6/2025
TO: PUBLIC SAFETY, FINANCE
AND STRATEGIC SUPPORT
COMMITTEE
FROM: Raymond Riordan
SUBJECT: City Manager’s Office of
Emergency Management
Work Plan Priorities Annual
Report
DATE: September 26, 2025
Approved Date:
RECOMMENDATION
Accept the annual report on the City Manager’s Office of Emergency Management Work Plan priorities for Fiscal Year 2025-2026.
BACKGROUND
The City of San José experienced eight incidents or events this past fiscal year that required an activation of the Emergency Management Organization. Each incident or event, while still serious, fortunately did not require a full activation. Instead, a smaller Incident Management Team (IMT) was assembled to address each situation. The City Manager’s Office of Emergency Management (OEM) also made significant progress in other areas of emergency response, including preparedness and mitigation, and continues to engage othfifer partners in preparation for the major sports and special events of 2026: Super Bowl LX, National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Men’s Basketball Tournament, and the International Federation of Association Football (FIFA) World Cup.
This report will review the Key Results associated with each of the four Program Objectives achieved from July 1, 2024 to June 30, 2025. The memorandum will also outline the OEM Work Plan for July 1, 2025 to June 30, 2026. The four Program Objectives are as follows:
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”;
3. The public trusts the City to provide vital information; and
4. Our response is optimized through technology.
PSFSS COMMITTEE AGENDA: 10/16/25
ITEM: (d)4
PUBLIC SAFETY, FINANCE AND STRATEGIC SUPPORT COMMITTEE
September 26, 2025
Subject: City Manager’s Office of Emergency Management Work Plan Priorities Annual Report
ANALYSIS
EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT WORK PLAN KEY ACCOMPLISHMENTS
(July 1, 2024, through June 30, 2025)
This section outlines significant achievements that occurred in the past year in coordination and collaboration with other City departments. They are categorized by OEM’s Program Objectives.
Objective 1 - The City has a plan to tackle any emergency. Assembled Incident Management Teams (IMTs) which included members from the City Manager’s Office of Communications, San José Police Department (SJPD), Housing Department, Department of Parks, Recreation and Neighborhood Services (PRNS), Department of Transportation, and Department of Public Works, requiring various levels of response to eight incidents and events, which included:
o Extreme Heat (July 2024, September 2024)
o Public Safety Power Shutoff (PSPS) (November 2024)
o National Election Safety (November 2024)
o Extreme Cold (February 2025)
o Atmospheric River (February 2025, March 2025)
o Wildland Fire (June 2025)
Participated in six, two-day Sports and Special Events training courses, with topics including Risk Management, Evacuation, Public Information and Emergency Notification, and Crowd Management as the City coordinates its readiness efforts with the City of Santa Clara and Santa Clara County for the Super Bowl and FIFA World Cup events. (September 2024)
Conducted a Continuity of Operations Plan (COOP) Tabletop Exercise (TTX) with Senior and Executive Staff, designed to orient them to the COOP and improve their understanding of the relationship between restoring essential services after a disruption and emergency response operations that can occur simultaneously. (October 2024)
Initiated and led a monthly internal stakeholder working group with members from the Police Department, Fire Department, Department of Transportation, Office of Economic Development and Cultural Affairs, Department of Parks, Recreation and Neighborhood Services, and the City Manager’s Office of Communications to plan for and coordinate any response efforts for Super Bowl 2026. (May 2025)
Objective 2 - Residents, businesses, and employees are ready to take action and able to answer a “call to action.”
Conducted a four-day Essentials of Emergency Management Course for 21 Emergency Operations Center (EOC) personnel, providing foundational training in EOC management, including a one-day immersive functional exercise. (September 2024)
PUBLIC SAFETY, FINANCE AND STRATEGIC SUPPORT COMMITTEE
September 26, 2025
Subject: City Manager’s Office of Emergency Management Work Plan Priorities Annual Report
Conducted the first round of classes (EOC 101) designed to orient employees to the newly constructed EOC after being assigned to the Emergency Management Organization. (October 2024)
Conducted a functional exercise to evaluate the City’s response capabilities to a simulated 7.0 magnitude earthquake. The event was highly attended, providing a valuable opportunity for 21 City departments or offices and four external partner agencies to collaborate and coordinate in a realistic emergency setting. (February 2025)
Hosted a Bay Area Urban Areas Security Initiative (UASI) tabletop exercise that focused on community preparedness and community-based organizations’ relationships with local government and the roles that they play before, during, and after an emergency. (February 2025)
Graduated 339 new Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) members with participants from every City Council district, with trainings conducted in English and Vietnamese. (June 2025)
Completed 17 Personal Emergency Preparedness presentations and community outreach events, reaching 1,085 community members. (June 2025) Objective 3 - The public trusts the City to provide vital information. Coordinated with the Housing Department for outreach to the unhoused and the San José Police Department to conduct evacuation announcements along waterways utilizing Long Range Acoustic Devices (LRAD) during the Atmospheric River event. (March 2025)
Conducted an Emergency Management Study Session with City Council and senior leaders, designed to inform the Mayor and Councilmembers of their role during large-scale emergencies and disasters. (April 2025) Completed an update to the Disaster District Office (DDO) Operational Guide and held introductory meetings with four new councilmembers. (June 2025) Objective 4 - Our response is optimized through technology. Explored the use of artificial intelligence (AI)-driven tools through the use of Ladris software during the EOC functional exercise to help inform and guide emergency response operations, particularly when planning for evacuations. (February 2025)
Maintained functionality of the Primary EOC while migrating services to the new EOC with citywide projects of phone system migration and operating system (OS) upgrade in parallel. Implemented new information technology equipment, upgraded to the latest operating system, and upgraded phones at the EOC for 91 positions. (February 2025)
Utilized the City’s AI Program to assemble the first-ever Emergency Management Authorities compendium outlining the extensive list of statutory and regulatory directions and guidance from federal, state, and county governments impacting the City’s Emergency Management Program. (March 2025)
Partnered with the San José State University (SJSU) School of Information Systems and Technology to host six Management Information Systems (MIS)
PUBLIC SAFETY, FINANCE AND STRATEGIC SUPPORT COMMITTEE
September 26, 2025
Subject: City Manager’s Office of Emergency Management Work Plan Priorities Annual Report
students and created a prototype electronic check-in/out platform for the Emergency Operations Center. (May 2025)
Continued to utilize the stand-alone OEM Learning Management System to maintain a 91% completion rate of all eligible City staff who are compliant with Disaster Service Worker (DSW) training. (June 2025)
EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT WORK PLAN KEY PRIORITIES
(July 1, 2025 through June 30, 2026)
The Citywide Emergency Management Work Plan Priorities for July 2025 to June 2026 will be measured by the following Key Results.
Objective 1 - City has a plan to tackle any emergency.
Develop an Evacuation Response Plan to supplement the existing Evacuation Support Annex. The plan would identify who implements the emergency and which software to use to identify areas of concern, establish clear roles and responsibilities during a potential evacuation, define procedures, determine how to issue alerts, and ensure compliance with regulatory and safety standards. Continue to develop trainings and exercises of the base Emergency Operations Plan and the six support annexes.
Review Continuity of Operations Plans (COOP).
Create a Continuity of Government (COG) Plan that will guide senior and executive leadership, including the Mayor and City Council, on how to ensure that administrative roles and responsibilities continue to be carried out during emergencies and disasters.
Advance the Multi-Year Training and Exercise Program (MYTEP) to continue building EOC position competency.
Implement Sport and Special Event refresher trainings and activities in preparation for the 2026 major events.
Implement plans created for the Super Bowl and World Cup matches.
Objective 2 - Residents, businesses, and employees are ready to take action and able to answer a “call to action”.
Ensure a 90% completion rate is maintained for City staff Disaster Service Worker (DSW) training requirements.
Continue partnerships with schools, businesses, and community organizations to expand the Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) program throughout different areas within the City, especially in areas connected to the wildland urban interface and underserved populations.
Encourage more residents to utilize the online format of the Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) training as a flexible training option with a goal to increase the overall number of Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) graduates in the City.
PUBLIC SAFETY, FINANCE AND STRATEGIC SUPPORT COMMITTEE
September 26, 2025
Subject: City Manager’s Office of Emergency Management Work Plan Priorities Annual Report
Objective 3 - The public trusts the City to provide vital information. Explore partnership opportunities with schools and community-based organizations to continue to reach over 1,000 residents a year through communications, outreach, and education events and build relationships within other vulnerable populations and areas in San José.
Strengthen social media presence and other communications channels to deliver accurate and timely public information in multiple languages and with a focus on access and functional needs, both as part of preparedness efforts and in the case of an emergency.
Continue to coordinate the implementation of a mandatory soft-story ordinance, plan, and grant pilot project, including options for property owners to finance the retrofits necessary to ensure seismic resilience for buildings with vulnerable ground floors.
Objective 4 - Our response is optimized through technology. Ensure the Emergency Operations Center is operational and functional for the Super Bowl, NCAA Tournament, and FIFA World Cup events in 2026. Continue to explore how the implementation of newer platforms, including the use of artificial intelligence and digital and online-based platforms, might improve the efficiency and effectiveness of processes and procedures that prepare for, respond to, and recover from disasters and emergencies. Examine and analyze the feasibility and suitability of applying for Emergency Management Accreditation Program (EMAP) accreditation, which would make the City of San José the first and only EMAP-accredited city in California.
OEM STAFFING
In Fiscal Year 2024-2025, OEM included 12 full-time positions. These positions were comprised of ten permanent positions funded by the General Fund (of which all were filled through June 30, 2025) and two limit-dated positions funded by the Urban Area Security Initiative Grant. One limit-dated position was funded through December 31, 2024, and the other was funded through June 30, 2025 (of which both were filled).
In Fiscal Year 2025-2026, OEM includes 11 full-time positions. These positions include the 9.4 permanent positions funded by the General Fund and 1.6 positions funded by the Urban Areas Security Initiative grant. Unfortunately, the other limit-dated position from last fiscal year could not be continued for budgetary reasons into Fiscal Year 2025- 2026, and the existing grant positions are funded through December 31, 2025 and June 30, 2026.
The City continues to assess the feasibility of converting the grant-funded positions into ongoing roles funded by the General Fund, to maintain the institutional knowledge of the current staff members in the position, and to enhance long-term staffing stability.
PUBLIC SAFETY, FINANCE AND STRATEGIC SUPPORT COMMITTEE
September 26, 2025
Subject: City Manager’s Office of Emergency Management Work Plan Priorities Annual Report
CONCLUSION
The City Manager’s Office of Emergency Management continued its coordination of the Emergency Management Organization through all phases of emergency response.
While there were no significant threats or hazards this fiscal year compared to the previous year, the Office of Emergency Management maintained a readiness stance to ensure the City of San José is ready to respond to any hazard, incident, or emergency.
COORDINATION
This memo has been coordinated with the City Attorney’s Office and City Manager’s Budget Office.
/s/
Raymond Riordan
Director, City Manager’s Office of
Emergency Management
For questions, please contact Alvin Galang, Assistant to the City Manager, City Manager’s Office of Emergency Management, at [email protected] or (408) 839-4358.