Re-Authorizing the City's Participation in a joint Homeland Security Steering and Planning Committee

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RESOLUTION NO. ~ 72 S - ~ A RESOLUTION OF THE COMMON COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SOUTH BEND, INDIANA, RE-AUTHORIZING THE CITY'S PARTICIPATION IN A JOINT HOMELAND SECURITY STEERING COMMITTEE AND A JOINT HOMELAND SECURITY PLANNING COMMITTEE WHEREAS, the State of Indiana has mandated that there be a coordinated response to terrorism activities which cross jurisdictional boundaries or exceed the response capabilities of a local jurisdiction; and WHEREAS, under the direction of the St. Joseph County Emergency Management Agency, the cities of South Bend and Mishawaka, St. Joseph County and other organizations have prepared a Comprehensive Emergency Management Plan which addresses major emergencies that could impact communities including biological, chemical and nuclear terrorism incidents; and WHEREAS, in 2003 the South Bend Common Council adopted a resolution for such participation and since that date it has been determined that there should be a name change to the committees to better serve the interests of Homeland Security District 2 which contains the counties of Elkhart, Fulton, Kosciusko, Marshall, Pulaski, St. Joseph and Starke; and that the Emergency Support Functions addressed by the United States Department of Health & Human Services would also be better addressed; and WHEREAS, the City of Mishawaka and St. Joseph County have recently adopted similar resolutions. ~ou~, c~~lz~~~e, ~e ~ ~xc~,iir,,ec~~ ~ ~anUrrco~ ~paaireci,~o~~ie ~'~ °~~.~ Section I. The City of South Bend acknowledges that if a terrorism incident occurs anywhere in or near St. Joseph County that it would likely impact South Bend, Mishawaka and St. Joseph County, especially if the incident involved biological, chemical or radioactive agents. Emergency response organizations from all three (3) entities would be involved in the response and residents of all three (3} entities would be affected. A coordinated response effort is therefore deemed to be in the best interests of the community. Section II. The Common Council of the City of South Bend, Indiana, in cooperation with the Mayor, hereby re-authorizes the city's participation in a coordinated response to terrorism activities which may cross jurisdictional boundaries or which may exceed the response capabilities of a local jurisdiction. Section III. The Common Council and the Mayor hereby re-authorize the City of South Bend, Indiana, to continue to operate pursuant to an agreement with the City of Mishawaka and St. Joseph County to work cooperatively on a Joint Homeland Security Steering Committee formerly known as the Joint Anti-Terrorism Steering Committee which will continue to oversee terrorism preparedness activities, coordination and guidance and review and approve, as appropriate, such plans, policies and procedures which would coordinate terrorism preparation and activities. Section IV. The Common Council and the Mayor hereby authorize the City of South Bend, Indiana, to work cooperatively with the City of Mishawaka and St. Joseph County on a Joint Homeland Security Planning Committee formerly known as the Joint Anti-Terrorism Preparedness and Response Committee which shall continually assess the ability of the communities to respond to a terrorism incident and assist the communities in developing policies, plans and procedures to improve response capabilities. This Planning Committee shall address non-medical terrorism preparedness and response issues which are common to South Bend, Mishawaka and St. Joseph County and have representatives for each of the fifteen (15) emergency support functions.