County setting up Emergency Disaster Fund

Oct. 2--After starting the year with record-breaking flooding, Pulaski County is working to building a nest egg to ward off a financial shortfall in the event of a major natural disaster.

The proposal was presented during last week's fiscal court meeting by District 4 Magistrate Mark Ranshaw on behalf of the Pulaski County Fire Commission. It calls for the establishment of an emergency fund for use in the event of a natural disaster.

The commission recently voted to earmark per year from the Fire Fund either $70,000 or two percent of insurance premium tax revenue -- whichever amount is less. The yearly deposits will compound with interest until the Emergency Disaster Fund grows to $1 million, at which time deposits will stop until the fund falls below that cap.

"In case of a natural disaster or something like that, we would have immediately cash on hand to provide for any resources that we need," Ranshaw said, adding the funds would be available up front as the county seeks assistance from state and/or FEMA. "The only time that money can be accessed [would be when] the court declares a state of emergency."

Ranshaw's proposal also called for any funds received for disasters be deposited back into the Emergency Disaster Fund. The motion passed unanimously on a second from District 3 Magistrate Jimmy Wheeldon.

County Treasurer Joan Isaacs asked if the transfer should be made immediately or be budgeted for next year. Ranshaw responded that the intent was to start now with funds currently in the Fire Fund. She asked for a separate motion to approve the transfer, which Ranshaw made. It too passed unanimously with a second from District 5 Magistrate Mike Strunk.

In somewhat related news, Public Safety Director Stacy Halcomb reported that the Fire Commission also voted to set aside $160,000 to establish an emergency operation center (EOC). Deputy Judge-Executive Dan Price asked if there should be a motion to transfer those funds as well but Isaacs responded that the project could be funded as a capital project line item in a quarterly budget transfer.

Judge-Executive Steve Kelley explained that county officials have recently visited EOC sites in Madison and Garrard counties. While the county already has an emergency disaster plan in place, officials are looking for a physical location to designate as the EOC.

"We're going to be exploring the best location, what equipment we're going to need and how to best serve Pulaski County," Judge Kelley said, citing incidents such as the recent gas explosion in Lincoln County and the 2012 West Liberty tornado. "I've got full confidence in our emergency responders to be able to handle it [a disaster] but I just want to make sure that we're as prepared as we can be....We owe it to our citizens to be prepared."

Price added that the EOC project would also be discussed at the next meeting of the 911 Board of Directors.

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