Quote:
Originally posted by Rodeo
The Mayor of Anytown is on vacation. He’s a drunk anyway, and a crook. Has been misusing federal preparedness planning dollars for years, employing family members, his mistress, and a guy that can deliver 5,000 votes every election.
So what do I expect of DHS/FEMA in this situation? To wait for the Mayor’s call? To search for the Mayor’s plan, and if they find it, to follow the Mayor’s plan? To wait in Washington until specific requests come in for specific items?
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The mayor of Anytown and the governor of that state, if they are fullfilling their obligations to their constituants, will have the infrastructure in place to function in their absence. The phone call would not necessarily come from the mayor, but it would come from the next in command listed on their emergencey plan. Yes, by law, they wait for the request.
Does FEMA search for a plan? As in rifle through some ones's desk? Are you kidding? The local officials are already enacting their plan before any federal agency gets there. As the federal help arriving on the scene, you simply do what the local officials tell you to do. You fill needs they have identified, because they are far more familiar with their situation than you are.
I'm sorry Rodeo, but it looks like you have way over-blown expectations for our federal agencies, and very low expectations for local governments. It boils down to a matter of staffing and proximity; the feds simply cannot and do not staff these agencies in every locality and therefore cannot have the local knowledge and expertise required in every town.