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: July 30, 2026
Approved Date:
RECOMMENDATION
Accept the annual report on the City Manager’s Office of Emergency Management (OEM) Work Plan priorities for Fiscal Year 2026-2027.
BACKGROUND
The City of San José experienced a combination of six incidents and events this past fiscal year that required some level of activation of the Emergency Management Organization (EMO). These activations ranged from an assembly of Incident Management Teams (IMTs) to support the monitoring of smaller incidents, to a larger staffing model and activation of the Emergency Operations Center during the 2026 NFL Super Bowl and FIFA World Cup events. In addition to actively responding to the incidents and events, OEM continued its mission to provide leadership of the City of San José’s emergency management responsibilities through planning and coordination of programs, functions, and supporting activities to prepare for, respond to, and recover from all emergencies and disasters.
This report will review the Key Results associated with each of the four Program Objectives achieved from July 1, 2025, to June 30, 2026. The memorandum will also outline the OEM Work Plan for July 1, 2026, to June 30, 2027. 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.
COMMITTEE AGENDA: 08/20/26
ITEM: (d)4
July 30,2026
PUBLIC SAFETY, FINANCE, AND STRATEGIC SUPPORT COMMITTEE August 20, 2026
Subject: City Manager’s Office of Emergency Management Work Plan Priorities Annual Report
ANALYSIS
EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT WORK PLAN KEY ACCOMPLISHMENTS
(July 1, 2025, through June 30, 2026)
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. • Continued monthly internal stakeholder working group meetings with members from the San José Police Department (SJPD); San José Fire Department (SJFD); Department of Transportation (DOT); the City Manager’s Office of Economic Development and Cultural Affairs (OEDCA); Parks, Recreation, and Neighborhood Services (PRNS) Department; the City Manager’s Office of Racial and Social Equity; and the City Manager’s Office of Communications to plan for and coordinate any response efforts, including the implementation of the deescalation plan developed for potential Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operations during Super Bowl LX. (July 2025)
• Engaged with Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) and other Federal response partners to coordinate plans for hosting the Joint Intelligence Center (JIC) at the City of San José’s Emergency Operations Center (EOC). (July 2025) • Attended monthly (and later, bi-weekly) meetings with the Operational Area to continue discussions and plans for enhanced coordination of potential response operations during Superbowl LX and the 2026 FIFA World Cup. (July 2025) • Assembled Incident Management Teams (IMTs) which is comprised of members from the Office of Communications, SJPD, Housing Department, PRNS, DOT, and Public Works for monitoring and response to the following incidents:
o Russia Earthquake/Tsunami (July 2025)
o Columbus Park Relocation Operations (August 2025)
o David Avenue Apartment Fire (September 2025)
o Inclement Weather (February 2026)
• Activated the Emergency Operations Center (EOC) for an enhanced readiness posture to respond to potential incidents during the two large sporting events in the region, which included:
o Superbowl LX (January 2026)
o 2026 FIFA World Cup (June 2026)
• Completed the Threat and Hazard Identification and Risk Assessment (THIRA) and Stakeholder Preparedness Report, which supports the assessment of the organization’s capacity to respond to, and recover from, threats and hazards of most significant concern to the City of San José. (August 2025) • Conducted a virtual Extreme Heat Tabletop Exercise (TTX) designed to enhance coordination, improve response capabilities, and strengthen partnerships across agencies and community-based organizations. (September 2025)
PUBLIC SAFETY, FINANCE, AND STRATEGIC SUPPORT COMMITTEE August 20, 2026
Subject: City Manager’s Office of Emergency Management Work Plan Priorities Annual Report
• Conducted a Large Special Events TTX with Senior and Executive Staff designed in preparation for Superbowl LX and 2026 FIFA World Cup events. (October 2025)
• Completed two additional Sports and Special Events training courses, with topics including Enhanced Sport and Special Event Incident Management and Evacuation Planning Strategies and Solutions as the City coordinated its readiness efforts with the City of Santa Clara and Santa Clara County for Superbowl LX and 2026 FIFA World Cup events. (November 2025) • Participated in the regional Golden Eagle 2026 EOC exercise, which was conducted in coordination with jurisdictions across the region, including the regional Joint Information Center. The exercise provided an opportunity to apply lessons learned from Super Bowl LX and continue strengthening preparedness efforts ahead of the 2026 FIFA World Cup. (May 2026)
• Completed the Evacuation Response Plan, which establishes the operational framework used to coordinate evacuation decision-making, public communication, and movement of people away from hazardous areas during emergencies that threaten life safety in the City of San José. (June 2026) • Completed the Emergency Management Organization (EMO) Guide, which outlines the processes and procedures of an EMO activation and describes the roles and responsibilities of the various positions within the organization. (June 2026)
• Awarded Storm Ready recognition by the National Weather Service acknowledging the City’s commitment to take new, proactive approaches to preparing for and responding to local hazardous weather. (June 2026) Objective 2 - Residents, businesses, and employees are ready to take action and able to answer a “call to action.”
• Collaborated with the City Manager’s Office of Communications to promote the National Preparedness Month social media campaign. (September 2025) • Graduated 208 new Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) members with participants from every City district with trainings conducted in English and Vietnamese. (June 2026)
• Completed 29 Personal Emergency Preparedness presentations and participated in 22 community outreach events, reaching nearly 3,000 community members. (June 2026)
Objective 3 - The public trusts the City to provide vital information. • Coordinated with PRNS and the Housing Department for outreach and information sharing on Overnight Warming Locations (OWLs) and free VTA ridership to the unhoused during the Inclement Weather event. (February 2026) • OEM staff submitted a proposal and was selected to present a Disaster District Office (DDO) workshop as part of the 2026 California Emergency Services Association Conference in Long Beach, CA. (May 2026)
PUBLIC SAFETY, FINANCE, AND STRATEGIC SUPPORT COMMITTEE August 20, 2026
Subject: City Manager’s Office of Emergency Management Work Plan Priorities Annual Report
Objective 4 - Our response is optimized through technology. • Technology put in place last fiscal year provided the ability and flexibility to support on-site and remote EOC personnel with troubleshooting and connectivity issues. (June 2026)
• Partnered with the San José State University (SJSU) School of Information Systems and Technology to host six Management Information Systems (MIS) students to develop a CERT database platform. (September 2025) • Utilized the City of San José’s AI Upskilling program where staff are trained on how they can use generative AI to streamline their work and learn about how to create a personalized AI assistant to increase work efficiency. (May 2026) • Applied the City’s new Learning Management System to streamline the reporting process and reach an 84% completion rate of all eligible City staff who are compliant with Disaster Service Worker (DSW) training. (June 2026)
EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT WORK PLAN KEY PRIORITIES
(July 1, 2026 through June 30, 2027)
The Citywide Emergency Management Work Plan Priorities for July 2026 to June 2027 will be measured by the following Key Results.
Objective 1 - City has a plan to tackle any emergency.
• Support the development of additional emergency management plans, including Volunteer Management, Donations Management, Resource Management, and Hazard Identification and Risk Assessment to ensure the City of San José remains prepared to respond to any disaster or emergency. • Establish joint sessions with internal and external partners, including Valley Water, to prepare for the potentially stronger El Niño weather events. • Continue to develop trainings and exercises of the base Emergency Operations Plan and all six support annexes.
• Review and update the feasibility and functionality of the Continuity of Operations Plans (COOP).
• Revisit the investment and availability of funding, time, and resources necessary to create a Continuity of Government (COG) Plan.
• Apply lessons learned from the large sporting events to advance the Multi Year Training and Exercise Program (MYTEP) to continue building EOC position competency.
• Begin early conversations regarding trainings, activities, and lessons learned from the 2026 FIFA World Cup events in preparation for the 2028 Summer Olympics, in which PayPal Park will host early-round men’s and women’s soccer matches.
Objective 2 - Residents, businesses, and employees are ready to take action and able to answer a “call to action”.
• Build additional partnerships with schools, businesses, and community organizations to expand Personal Emergency Preparedness presentations and
PUBLIC SAFETY, FINANCE, AND STRATEGIC SUPPORT COMMITTEE August 20, 2026
Subject: City Manager’s Office of Emergency Management Work Plan Priorities Annual Report
the CERT program throughout areas within the City that have experienced limited engagement.
• Continue to encourage more residents to utilize the online format of the CERT training as a flexible training option with a goal to increase the overall number of CERT graduates in the City.
• With the City’s new Learning Management System in place, return to a 90% completion rate for City staff DSW training requirements.
Objective 3 - The public trusts the City to provide vital information. • Explore partnership opportunities with inter-departmental programs to continue to reach more residents through communications, outreach, and education events and build relationships within other vulnerable populations and areas in San José.
• Strengthen social media presence and other communication channels to deliver accurate and timely public information in multiple languages and with a focus on racial and social equity and access and functional needs. • 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 of their buildings and facilities.
Objective 4 - Our response is optimized through technology. • Ensure the Emergency Operations Center remains optimally operational and functional for activation as the City prepares for potentially stronger El Niño weather events.
• Utilize Ladris Evac, an artificial intelligence (AI) powered platform that models phased movements, road closures, and evacuation zones for evacuation response planning.
• Continue to explore how the implementation of newer platforms, including the use of AI and digital and online-based platforms, might improve the efficiency and effectiveness of additional emergency management processes and procedures.
• Building on the results of last year’s assessment conducted by the Emergency Management Accreditation Program (EMAP), begin the application process for accreditation with a continued effort to have the City of San José become the first and only EMAP accredited city in the state.
OEM STAFFING
In Fiscal Year 2025-2026, OEM had a total of 11.0 positions (all filled through June 30, 2026), of which 1.6 positions were temporarily funded by the Urban Area Security Initiative (UASI) Grant. In Fiscal Year 2026-2027, OEM currently has a total of 11.0 fulltime positions, including 1.0 position funded by the UASI Grant through June 30, 2027.
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 August 20, 2026
Subject: City Manager’s Office of Emergency Management Work Plan Priorities Annual Report
CONCLUSION
This past fiscal year was centered around preparing for and responding to any incidents connected to the Superbowl and FIFA World Cup. The City Manager’s Office of Emergency Management mobilized the Emergency Management Organization through all phases of emergency response, which resulted in successful operations and monitoring of the events. Moving forward, the Office of Emergency Management will maintain a readiness stance to ensure the City of San José stays ready for any potential natural or human-caused disaster or emergency.
COORDINATION
This memo has been coordinated with the City Attorney's Office and City Manager’s Budget Office.
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.