Wednesday, September 3, 2008

Flood Question - Authority of the Mayor in a Disaster

I received a several questions that folks have about the flood. I will start to address them here. Give me a call, or let me know if you have any questions that aren't answered.

Several inquiries referred to the mayor's authority and role in a disaster.

First, the City of Columbus Emergency Operation organization chart indicates that all Emergency Operations Center personnel report to the Mayor. The Mayor is responsible for the safety of the citizens of the city in which they serve.

In addition FEMA's Incident Command System defines authority of the chief elected official (Mayor) and responsibilities as:

“In most jurisdictions, the responsibility for the protection of the citizens rests with the chief elected official. Elected officials have the authority to make decisions, commit resources, obligate funds and command the resources necessary to protect the population, stop the spread of damage and protect the environment….. Delegation of authority is issued by the chief elected official, chief executive officer, or agency administrator in writing or verbally. It does NOT relieve the granting authority of the ultimate responsibility for the incident.” ICS200

FEMA makes it very clear that the Chief Elected Official has a very key role in a disaster, and for folks who watched the Mayor of New Orleans call for National Guard troops and evacuate his city as Hurricane Gustov approached, you can appreciate that elected officials take this very seriously. I too took my responsibilities for the safety of the citizens of Columbus very seriously during the floods in June 2008.

Nancy Osterhaus - Mayor