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  Agenda Item   24.    
City Council Meeting
Meeting Date: 09/15/2020  
FROM: Bill Gallardo
Subject:
Orange County Operational Area Agreement
RECOMMENDATION
Approve the 2020 Orange County Operational Area Agreement of the County of Orange
BACKGROUND/DISCUSSION
The Orange County (OC) Operational Area (OA) Agreement formally creates and organizes the OC OA as required by the Standardized Emergency Management System (SEMS), Title 19 California Code of Regulations Section 2409, et seq.  The OC OA was created and the OC OA Agreement approved by the OC Board of Supervisors (Board) on November 17, 1995.  The OC OA Agreement, which was developed through a collaborative process with all affected organizations and jurisdictions, has guided how OC jurisdictions coordinate emergency planning and response activities.  Prior to the current agreement, the Board approved a previous agreement relating to emergency operations and planning in the County on July 14, 1981. 
 
The OA is overseen by an Executive Board with representatives from each emergency response discipline.  The OA Executive Board meets on a quarterly basis, and is responsible for the development, establishment and implementation of the policies of the OA.  In 2017, the OA Executive Board identified the need to update the OA Agreement to better reflect current best practices and update outdated information.  To accomplish this task, the Sheriff-Coroner Department (Sheriff), Emergency Management Division, which serves as staff to the OA Executive Board, formed a collaborative, multi-jurisdictional OA Agreement Revision Working Group to complete a comprehensive review and revision of the document.  The revised OC OA Agreement produced by this process is now ready for final approval by the Board to be formally adopted by the County of Orange.  Once adopted by the Board, the OC OA Agreement will be presented to the multiple jurisdictions that are part of the OA for adoption by the respective governing bodies.  The new OC OA Agreement will become effective six months after the document is approved by the County of Orange and one other OA jurisdiction.
 
The new OC OA Agreement draft developed by the OC OA Agreement Revision Working Group has structural and content changes from the original 1995 document. Agreement sections are reorganized to make the document easier to understand and reference, and the document is reformatted to more closely align with the Emergency Management Division’s plan document style guide.  A complete crosswalk of structural changes is available on request from the Emergency Management Division.
 
The major content changes are outlined below:
 
New OA Executive Board Members
Five new OA Executive Board seats are added to the body to more diversely represent the jurisdictions of the OA.  The new seats are designated for:
 
  • The County Executive Officer
  • The OC Social Services Agency Director
  • The OA Water/Wastewater Mutual Aid Coordinator
  • A representative selected jointly from the OC Community College Districts
  • The OC Transportation Authority Chief Executive Officer
 
OC Emergency Management Organization (OCEMO) Update
Since the 1995 OC OA Agreement was approved, OCEMO has transitioned to a simpler model than was outlined in the original document.  Several changes are made in the new OC OA Agreement draft to reflect the current operational practices of OCEMO and ensure alignment with the new OCEMO bylaws approved in 2018.  Another change is the removal of the OCEMO Representative Board, which has not been in use for a decade or more.  The new draft also provides clarity on the nature of the administrative support provided to OCEMO by the County of Orange.
 
OA Coordinator Staffing
The 1995 OC OA Agreement specifically outlined which agencies are responsible for staffing the Operational Area Coordinator (OAC) position.  At the time of approval, this staffing arrangement aligned with the staffing of the Director of Emergency Services (DES) position and was meant to outline additional responsibilities for the DES during an OA-wide incident.  Since approval, the County Ordinance that defines staffing for the DES role was updated by Board Resolution #01-212 on July 17, 2001 created a conflict with the original OAC staffing arrangement.  To rectify this conflict and to prevent similar issues in the future, the language in the updated draft is streamlined to reference the County Ordinance and Resolution rather than separately defining OAC staffing.
 
OA Finance
The New OC OA Agreement includes a significant reworking of language related to OA finances: grant funding and administration.  Relevant language once contained in Addendum Two (See Addendums section below) is now incorporated in the main body of the OC OA Agreement.  Language referencing specific grant programs is replaced with broader language that reflects the shifting nature of grant funding and the challenges of grant administration.  The new language also addresses lessons learned related to the financial aspects of mutual aid and disaster recovery.
 
Addendums
The 1995 OC OA Agreement has three addendums that addressed various issues brought forth during the development of the original document.  Addendum One clarifies roles and responsibilities for the OA, the OA Executive Board and the OAC.  Addendum Two includes documents related to the administration of the Emergency Management Assistance Program grant that no longer exists.  Relevant portions of these two addendums are incorporated into the main body of the new OC OA Agreement draft as appropriate.  Addendum Three is the OA Mutual Aid Plan.  This critical document will become an attachment to the Unified County of Orange and OC OA Emergency Operations Plan.  This will put the Mutual Aid Plan on a more defined schedule of review and revision. 
 
Naming and Terminology Changes
Several name changes are introduced in the New OC OA Agreement draft to clarify the differences between the various bodies and positions created by the document.
 
FISCAL IMPACT/SUMMARY
There is no fiscal impact.
RESPECTFULLY SUBMITTED:
William Gallardo, City Manager
Prepared by: Lisa Keyworth, Emergency Preparedness Analyst

 
Attachments
Agreement
Signature Page

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