Agenda 09-04-2025; 8-h - Amendments to the Emergency Management Ordinance - First Consideration

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1 ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS ACTION AGENDA ITEM ABSTRACT Meeting Date: September 4, 2025 Action Agenda Item No. 8-h SUBJECT: Amendments to the Emergency Management Ordinance — First Consideration DEPARTMENT: Emergency Services ATTACHMENT(S): INFORMATION CONTACT: Chapter 14 — Redlined Amendments Kirby Saunders, 919-245-6100 John Roberts, 919-245-2318 PURPOSE: To approve on first consideration amendments to Chapter 14, Emergency Management Ordinance, of the Orange County Code of Ordinances. (First consideration is due to the fact that this Ordinance includes a criminal penalty for violations and thereby the amendment must be considered at two (2) meetings prior to final approval.) BACKGROUND: During the recent events surrounding Tropical Storm Chantal, deficiencies were noted in the Emergency Management Ordinance (the Ordinance) that need correction. During review of the Ordinance, other aspects were noted as needing amendment for either clarification or updating. Most of the clarifications include eliminating the use of the word "proclamation" and replacing it with "declaration" to reflect statutory language and actual use, changing outdated staff titles, and ensuring the document actually reflects statutory citations. Referenced North Carolina General Statutes (NCGS): NCGS 14 — both strike through sections were repealed. NCGS 166A—Authorizes local governments to declare emergencies within their jurisdictions and references declarations rather than proclamations. NCGS 166A-19.31(d) — Provides restrictions take effect immediately upon publication of the declaration and how publication is accomplished. NCGS 166A-19.22(c)— Provides declarations expire when terminated by the official who declared them. NCGS 166A-19.31(h) — Provides that any person who violates the terms of a declaration is guilty of a class 2 misdemeanor. The main new provisions are found in sections 14-40, 14-41, and 14-43. Section 14-40 eliminates the five-day automatic expiration. This will ensure Emergency Services staff can focus on responding to an emergency and not whether a declaration needs to be renewed. Section 14-41 creates a 30-minute time limit whereby if the Chair cannot be reached to sign a declaration, staff may move to the next person in the line of succession. Due to connectivity issues during Chantal, it took approximately 11 hours to obtain signatures on the declaration. Section 14-43 specifies that the towns may verbally request being added to the County's declaration as long as the verbal request is appropriately documented and followed up with a written request.