Article 14 - Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Services - Charter

Section 1401. Department established; Commissioner of Homeland Security and Emergency Services. There shall be a Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Services, the head of which shall be the Commissioner of Homeland Security and Emergency Services. He or she shall be appointed by the County Executive subject to confirmation by the County Legislature to serve at the pleasure of the County Executive.

Amended by Local Law No. 1-2017.

Section 1402. Powers and duties. The Commissioner of Homeland Security and Emergency Services shall:

1. Have all the powers and perform all the duties conferred or imposed upon county directors of emergency medical services by the laws of the State of New York.
2. Plan, develop and coordinate, to the extent authorized by law or agreement, the implementation of protocols and procedures for, and the provision of, emergency medical services within the County of Erie, including, but not limited to: training and certification of persons as emergency medical technicians at one or more levels of service; communications services, including medical telemetry and control, between hospitals and ambulances by medical emergency radio system; ambulance dispatching, inspection and certification.
3. Have all the powers and shall perform all of the duties conferred or imposed upon county fire coordinators by the laws of the State of New York.
4. Have all the powers and execute the duties of the County Executive in his or her capacity as the County's local director of civil defense under the New York State Defense Emergency Act, being chapter eighty four of the laws of nineteen hundred and fifty one, as amended.
5. Develop, make public and regularly amend a county disaster preparedness plan, in accordance with Article two B of the Executive Law, for the coordination of emergency services in the event of natural or other disaster or emergency.
6. Coordinate the provision of homeland security, disaster, and emergency assistance by local disaster preparedness and civil defense forces in the event of a declaration by the County Executive of a state of emergency or disaster within the county or in the case such assistance is requested by the chief executive of any city, town or village within the county.
7. Originate, coordinate, and promote programs with respect to fire safety, emergency medical services, homeland security and disaster preparedness within the County of Erie.
8. Perform such further duties as may be prescribed or directed by the County Executive or the County Legislature.
9. Plan for emergency communications and maintain a tactical interoperable communication plan to meet federal guidelines.

Amended by Local Law No. 1-2017.

Section 1403. Advisory boards. The County Executive shall appoint the following three advisory boards, which shall advise on matters relating to emergency medical services, fire safety, and civil defense/disaster preparedness, respectively, either at the request of the Commissioner or upon their own initiative:

1. Emergency Medical Services Advisory Board.
2. Fire Advisory Board.
3. Civil Defense/Disaster Preparedness Advisory Board.

Added by Local Law No. 1 1986.

Article 14 was formerly numbered Article XI-C.