The commissioners recently gave County Administrator Judi Boyko permission to hire a consultant.
Boyko told the Journal-News she expects the consulting fee will be around $50,000 and this person will “inventory the best practices of the 62 Ohio counties currently practicing a county commission-centric EMA structure, this consultant would also engage and interview stakeholders across every realm in the county emergency management program structure and also recommend a governance structure in the best interests of Butler County.”
The commissioners passed a resolution in December putting the EMA board on notice so they can study whether there is a better way of handling emergency management. First responders flooded their meeting chambers then protesting the move and the commissioners assured them they would not unilaterally change things.
Boyko told the Journal-News under the circumstances bringing in a third party seemed the wisest course of action.
“In light of the board’s interest to evaluate the county’s current emergency management program and the passion regarding the matter, engaging a third party, neutral resource to conduct a public engagement process is ideal,” Boyko said.
The Emergency Management Agency is not a first responder to emergencies, as the local police and fire agencies retain that role. The EMA becomes involved when incidents beyond a common emergency occur and marshalling a host of resources is required.
EMA Director Jim Bolen told the Journal-News he still thinks the possible takeover is ill-advised but he agrees with the commissioners hiring a consultant to study it.
“In my opinion bringing an outside perspective is never a bad thing,” Bolen said. “I truly believe we run one of the best programs in the state of Ohio for emergency management and we’re always looking for ways that we can improve. It’s my hope that whatever consultant they choose will take an honest look at what the impact would be of dissolving an incredibly functional program, that has won an award and always met the challenges that Butler County faces.”
The commissioners brought up the issue because commissioners Don Dixon and T.C. Rogers said they are ultimately responsible for the agency — and have more financial resources —and it is worth examining whether the system that’s been in place for 30-plus years is still viable. The fact the agency this year raised per capita fees — that haven’t changed since 2010 — they charge communities was also a contributing factor.
The Journal-News obtained communications — all oppose the move — the county has received regarding the proposed takeover. The most recent are from the Monroe City Council and a Hamilton resident. The Butler County Fire Chiefs Association, a text from Fairfield Mayor Mitch Rhodus to Rogers, an email from a Liberty Twp. resident, emails from Oxford Twp. Trustee Norma Pennock and Ross Trustee Russ McGurrin and a letter from the Ross Twp. trustees have also been sent to the commissioners.
“Our community needs a responsive, streamlined, and neutral body to manage complex emergency scenarios, not one potentially influenced by political or regional agendas that may not reflect the best interests of all citizens,” the letter from Monroe officials reads. “It is important to note that BCEMA already operates under the guidance of an oversight committee, which includes representation from the County Commissioners. This existing structure ensures that the Commissioners have an active role without compromising the agency’s independence and expertise, limiting political pressures that may arise in times of crisis.”
Politics has surfaced numerous times in this discourse as a reason why a switch shouldn’t be made. Dixon called that a “red herring.” He said he doesn’t understand why any organization that claims to be the “best of the best” would object to the scrutiny this study will entail.
“When you don’t have a real reason to oppose something, just looking at how something has been organized for the past 50 some years, when you don’t have a real reason against it then you just have to just make something up, try to find a sound bite,” Dixon said. “That’s an easy one to hit, just say it’s political, everybody wants to say it’s political.”
A leadership change at the EMA isn’t a new concept, the sheriff has been trying to overtake the agency for over a decade. The latest effort was in 2019 after former state Sen. Bill Coley, R-Liberty Twp., inserted a provision in the 2019 transportation bill that allowed the previously illegal takeover by the sheriff.
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