Brevard County Sheriff Wayne Ivey’s controversial proposal to take over the county's Emergency Management Department has hit some bureaucratic snags — and is not a done deal.
A new feasibility study prepared by county officials raises a number of challenges related to the sheriff’s gambit, including how much control Ivey will have over the department.
Separately, Brevard County Commission Chairman Bryan Lober says he wants to explore the possibility of putting emergency management under Brevard County Fire Rescue, rather than the sheriff.
The issue of who should run emergency management came before the County Commission in May, after Emergency Management Director Kimberly Prosser announced her resignation to take a job in the private sector.
Ivey, though, has had discussions, dating back at least two years, with at least some commissioners related to the possibility of him running emergency management.
For now, the Emergency Management Department remains a separate department under county government. John Scott, who is the department's operations manager, now also is the interim emergency management director. Scott reports to Matthew Wallace, the county's public safety director, who also has Brevard County Fire Rescue as a department that he oversees in the county's chain of command.
Differing visions
Under Ivey's current proposal, the county's emergency management general powers and responsibilities, employees of the Emergency Management Office and most related funds would transfer to the sheriff for day-to-day operations.
More: Brevard Emergency Management Director Prosser resigns
More: Some commissioners sold on proposal for sheriff to take over emergency management
The decision-making authority would shift to the County Commission for emergency situations and Emergency Operations Center activation, such as during hurricane threats. Depending on the emergency, either the sheriff or the County Commission — and sometimes both — would provide direction to staff and community partners.
However, the County Commission direction at its May 28 meeting envisioned a smaller role for the sheriff — at least based on its unanimous vote to have the county staff do a feasibility study related to having the sheriff assume an emergency management role under Section 125 of Florida Statutes.
This scenario provides for the transfer of current functions and personnel of the Emergency Management Office to be managed by the sheriff, while the budget and financial systems remains under the County Commission's control.
"All other Emergency Management employees would remain county employees, with the sheriff serving as their appointing authority," the report said.
Among these functions — and employees — that would remain under the county and not the sheriff are management of Brevard County's public safety radio communications systems and management of the county's enhanced 911 communications system. They account for most of the budget and staff of Emergency Management.
"The sheriff has stated and made it very clear he would decline to direct Emergency Management under this scenario," the county's feasibility study said.
It will be up to the County Commission to decide what its next step will be. Commissioners meet on Tuesday. Although this item is not on the agenda, a commissioner could bring it up during board reports at the end of the meeting.
Sheriff working on study
Ivey and his staff are working on their own feasibility study of the issue, according to Tod Goodyear, the Brevard County Sheriff's Office's public information officer.
Goodyear said, at the direction of the County Commission, "the sheriff is in the process of preparing a feasibility and potential implementation plan concerning Emergency Management, which will be presented to the commissioners for discussion and consideration."
There has been no date announced for when that report will be presented.
Brevard County Manager Frank Abbate submitted the county's feasibility report to county commissioners on June 25.
In an email to commissioners accompanying the study, Abbate said he was submitting the study at that time so commissioners "can give thoughtful consideration to the information provided, and determine the best course of action for Brevard County moving forward. It is our hope that the information provided in this study will be helpful to the sheriff, as he prepares his proposal for potentially directing and managing Emergency Management."
Abbate added that he looks forward to County Commission direction "on the next steps you would like undertaken."
The county's report was compiled by Abbate, Wallace, their staffs and the staff of the County Attorney's Office.
The report indicated that Ivey met with Abbate and Wallace on May 29.
"The sheriff stated his concept was that most Emergency Management staff, after undergoing background checks and screening, would be transferred to the Sheriff’s Office, and he would control the budget and day-to-day operations," the county's report said.
"The sheriff emphasized that, under the model he was proposing, however, the board (County Commission) would take control and remain in control whenever emergencies occurred, with the sheriff reporting to the board," according to the report. "During the discussion, the sheriff made it clear that he would reject directing Emergency Management under a Chapter 125, Florida Statutes, approach where EM staff would remain board employees, and the budget would remain under the board’s financial system and control."
Lober says the county should not rush into a decision about how to revamp its emergency management operations.
"I have no question that Sheriff Ivey is fully capable of overseeing the additional responsibility emergency operations would entail," Lober said. "Yet, there are so many variables to consider, I require additional time before I can possibly commit to supporting any such shift. This is not a decision which should be made impulsively or, in my opinion, at this juncture of a global pandemic."
Lober said county staff "prepared an extremely thorough assessment of both the potential and likely benefits and detriments associated with a transfer of emergency operations/management to the Sheriff’s Office," including identifying some pros and cons that Lober previously had not considered.
Lober also would like to see the county investigate the possibility of putting Emergency Management under the Brevard County Fire Rescue umbrella, as it had been in the past.
"My understanding is that emergency operations was split from BCFR, not due to any particular problems, but, rather, on account of Commission preference at the time of separation," Lober said. "Having a BCFR district chief or assistant chief retasked to running emergency operations is a legitimate possibility."
"Once all relevant information is available, which it presently is not, I will then be able to decide with whom I am most comfortable directing emergency operations," Lober added.
Staff, budget breakdown
Emergency Management has a staff of 19 and a projected 2020-21 budget of $11.68 million.
That includes three employees in administration, five in emergency operations, four in what's known as 800-megahertz radio management and seven in the enhanced 911 systems management.
More than 86% of the $11.68 projected budget falls under 911 systems management ($7.33 million) and radio management ($2.79 million).
The county's 800-megahertz radio management function had been under the Brevard County Sheriff's Office until 2005, when the County Commission unanimously voted to place it under Emergency Management — at the recommendation of the BCSO, which at the time was headed by Sheriff Jack Parker.
The county's recent report cited a July 25, 2005, memo from the BCSO to the County Commission, which read in part: "Brevard County Sheriff’s Office is but one of 44 user agencies on this countywide 800MHz network. The network has become a countywide asset, which should be managed by county staff. The system has grown to serve as a communications network for many non-law enforcement and county functions, and is now beyond the current capabilities of the Sheriff’s Office personnel to manage."
Pros and cons cited
The county's report to commissioners also listed a number of other issues for commissioners to consider, including personnel matters.
"When functions and personnel transfer, many times, loyal and capable employees experience anxiety regarding job security, which can lead to the loss of their experience and expertise," the report said. "In furtherance of this concern, the different hiring standards between organizations could result in some employees not qualifying for retention."
The report said county employees "who do not or cannot transfer would be afforded every opportunity to remain in county employment."
The report recommended that, with the current COVID-19 pandemic and hurricane season underway, the County Commission may want to consider waiting until after the hurricane season "before effectuating any transfer, as deemed appropriate by the board, to reduce operational risks associated with reorganization."
Among the advantages of BCSO managing Emergency Management, the report cited:
- The BCSO's "very favorable track record" under Ivey "of successful increased law enforcement-related duties." These included the transfer of animal services from county government to BCSO; assuming law enforcement duties for the Canaveral Port Authority; and implementing the school officer resource program with Brevard Public Schools for providing security.
- BCSO's "robust public information and social media network that could complement the current Emergency Management notification system. BCSO’s platform reaches thousands of Brevard County residences immediately. It is an advantage to get information out to a large number of Brevard citizens quickly."
According to the report, in 55 of Florida's 67 counties, including Brevard, the emergency management operations function reports to their County Commission.
There are 12 Florida counties that currently have the sheriff appointed as the emergency management director or has the emergency management director reporting to the sheriff. All are smaller than Brevard in population and seven of them are not coastal counties, thus generally have less hurricane risks.
County Commissioner John Tobia said he appreciated the county staff's thoroughness in researching and writing the feasibility study, and is awaiting the sheriff's own study.
Similarly, Commissioner Curt Smith said he is "still gathering the facts" on the issue.
Wallace said he and other county officials "did what the commissioners asked us to do," in compiling the study, and await further direction from the County Commission.
Lober said he remains in communication with both county staff and the sheriff, "and all are aware of that which most concerns me" about Ivey's proposal.
"It is only proper that I allow the sheriff a reasonable opportunity to research and address my concerns," Lober said.
If the sheriff’s proposal "proves the most compelling alternative," Lober said he would seek to require any agreement with BCSO contain "a clawback provision allowing the Board of County Commissioners, if we so desire, to reclaim emergency management in a timely and orderly fashion."
Dave Berman is government editor at FLORIDA TODAY.
Contact Berman at 321-242-3649 or dberman@floridatoday.com. Twitter: @bydaveberman
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