1. 1 Emergency Management Legislative Audit Bureau September 2010

2. 2 Overview Emergency management is decentralized. u Wisconsin Emergency Management (WEM) coordinates activities statewide. u OJA distributes most federal funds. u Counties are responsible for emergency management within their borders.

3. 3 Federal Funding The Department of Homeland Security awarded Wisconsin $318.5 million from FY 2004-05 through FY 2008-09, including: –$241.0 million for emergency management –$77.5 million for presidentially declared disasters

4. 4 OJA-Administered Programs u OJA spent $120.8 million over five years. u In FY 2008-09, OJA awarded $12.5 million in Homeland Security Grant Program funds to 122 entities statewide. u Program funds were spent for purposes permitted under broad federal program rules.

5. 5 WEM-Administered Programs u WEM spent $26.2 million over five years. u In FY 2008-09, WEM awarded $1.7 million in Emergency Management Performance Grant Program funds to 70 county and 4 tribal emergency management departments. u Program funds were spent for purposes permitted under broad federal program rules.

6. 6 Federally Administered Programs u The Department of Homeland Security directly awarded local governments $99.8 million over five years. u In FY 2008-09, the Assistance to Firefighters Grant program awarded $14.2 million to 181 fire departments and EMS organizations. u The funds we sampled were used appropriately.

7. 7 Interoperable Communications u Wisconsin does not currently have a statewide communications system for emergency responders. u The system’s basic infrastructure continues to be developed. u Some local governments have concerns with the system, including its functionality and cost.

8. 8 Wisconsin Emergency Response Plan u The plan specifies equipment and personnel standards and an incident command system. u WEM is updating the plan and has not shared all parts of it with county and tribal emergency management departments.

9. 9 Managing Resources u Wisconsin lacks a statewide inventory of emergency management resources statewide. u During our audit, WEM was working to implement an electronic system to track resources.

10. 10 Improving Preparedness We recommended that WEM: u complete and share the Wisconsin Emergency Response Plan; u track emergency management resources statewide; and u improve its process for reviewing responses to emergencies.

11. 11 Emergency Management Legislative Audit Bureau September 2010