Minutes-02-07-2023-Business Meeting

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26 VOTE: UNANIMOUS c. Amendment to the Code of Ordinances — Emergency Proclamations The Board received on first reading proposed ordinance amendments to Chapter 14 (Emergency Management and Emergency Services) of the Code of Ordinances. BACKGROUND: During the COVID-19 pandemic, the Chair of the Board of Commissioners issued an emergency proclamation in order to give greater authority to address the pandemic to the County Manager and County departments. Pursuant to Section 14-39 of the Code of Ordinances, the emergency proclamation was amended multiple times to address the ongoing pandemic. Ultimately the emergency proclamation was continued through those amendments for more than two years. During this time members of the Board of Commissioners expressed concern with the length of the emergency proclamation and the lack of input from the full Board of Commissioners. The attached draft amendment attempts to address this concern, while keeping in place substantial authority for the Chair, by limiting the time period the Chair may independently extend emergency proclamations to thirty (30) days and to clarify that amendments to an emergency proclamation include extensions of the duration. The draft provides that the Board of Commissioners may vote to extend proclamations beyond this time period if the Board is presented with sufficient information and data to do so. It has been the Board of Commissioners' policy that it is necessary for the Chair, or Vice Chair if the Chair is unavailable, to have substantial authority to declare and amend emergency proclamations for events during which the Board of Commissioners may be unable to meet or assemble. The subject chapter of the Code of Ordinances provides for misdemeanor penalties for violations. For that reason the ordinance is subject to a first and second reading prior to adoption. John Roberts reviewed the background information for this item. Vice Chair McKee said he was one of the members pushing for this change and said he is pleased with this proposal. Chair Bedford said she has the opposite view. She said to her, the real source of the problem was that they didn't have a clear determination for when the declaration would be lifted. She said she thinks 30 days is arbitrary. She said they can't predict what types of emergencies there will be in the future and what the timeline should be. She said once they found out they have the power as the Board to direct the Chair to end the Emergency Declaration, that option is sufficient. She said she is concerned that it could become a political issue if it becomes an agenda item each month. She said she thinks the Board shouldn't adopt this at all. Commissioner Richards said her concern was operational. She asked how operations will be affected when there is uncertainty about if the declaration will extend or not. She said the language emphasizes that the Board already has the ability to impact how long it will last. Commissioner Greene said she agrees with Chair Bedford, and had no issues with how it has been done in the past. She said that the Board already has the ability to end the declaration and that she does not see this as necessary. Commissioner Hamilton said she thought there wasn't enough information shared by the Chair about the extension of the State of Emergency. She said she was made aware of the provision that allows the Board to direct the Chair to amend or end. She said that she thinks that is not enough. She said she likes the amendment because it creates an expectation that the Chair will bring the Board information to understand why the decision is being made. She said the rules don't currently have that. She said the Board is held responsible collectively and having a process for the Chair to explain what is going on would be helpful.