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HARTINGTON – Cedar County and Knox County are considering working together for emergency management but details have yet to be determined.
Cedar County has been seeking a part-time employee to help Emergency Manager Kevin Garvin with his duties. At the same time, the current Knox County Emergency Manager Kelsey Jelinek is looking to shake that role and focus solely on zoning.
Both Jelinek and Jim Sokol Jr. of the Knox County Board of Supervisors presented some ideas of how they could work together at the last Cedar County Board of Commissioners meeting.
Initially, Knox County asked if Garvin could help train a new emergency manager for them and in turn, the new employee could also work as Garvin’s assistant in Cedar County.
However, Garvin said that type of arrangement would result in the loss of Knox County’s federal funding. Last year, funding amounted to $42,000.
In another scenario, both counties have their own emergency manager but hire a full-time employee to split as an assistant between the two counties.
Another idea is for Garvin to provide training to Knox County’s new emergency manager yet to be hired. Ideally, training could be provided at the same time Garvin would be training a new Cedar County assistant in his department.
County emergency managers must complete not only state requirements for certifications and trainings but also comply with federal standards. Within the first year, 400 hours of training some online and some in person - are required. But on-the-job type training will also be a must, Garvin said.
It’s difficult to find any job applicants with any kind of knowledge or experience, he said.
“You’re going to have to get someone that’s really fired up, EMT, someone that lives and dies for that stuff and those people are hard to find,” Sokol said.
Cedar County advertised for an assistant emergency manager for two months and received two applicants. Neither of them were interested in part-time work.
Garvin said, according to state and federal agencies, one person could take care of both counties. But that’s not always feasible in rural areas.
“If you do it by FEMA’s textbook, FEMA’s idea is we don’t go out to meet with the locals, we sit in the office and we don’t engage. They don’t understand rural Nebraska, is the way it was explained to me,” Garvin said. “In small towns, when you have someone who wears multiple hats, you don’t have time to come sit in an office during an emergency and coordinate decisions. You need to go to them.”
Per state law, emergency managers are to work with all townships and villages within the county.
At the end of the discussion, Sokol said he would take the discussion back to his own board and keep Cedar County officials informed.
Commissioners expressed concern about an arrangement with Knox County, not wanting to add to Garvin’s already vast duties.
“This whole thing started with us giving Kevin assistance. This doesn’t sound like we’re giving him assistance,” said Cedar County Commissioner Craig Bartels.
“No, it sounds like we’re giving him more,” Commissioner Dave McGregor agreed.
Garvin said it would serve Cedar County’s interests to have a well-trained emergency manager across the county line who can be relied on for mutual aid in the event of a disaster.
An interlocal agreement may include some exchange of funds for Garvin’s time but that hasn’t been addressed yet.
“We’re going to have a lot higher value on Kevin’s time and knowledge,” said Jessica Schmit, Cedar County clerk. “We know how good it is. They just need it.”
