HomeMy WebLinkAboutFY 2024 (KEMA Kauai Emergency Management Agency) Budget Narrative
KAUA‘I EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT
AGENCY
FY 2024 BUDGET AND OPERATIONS SYNOPSIS
Elton Ushio
Administrator
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Department: EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT
Fund: GENERAL FUND
1. FY 2023 to FY 2024 BUDGET COMPARSION
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2. MAJOR CHANGES AND/OR VARIANCES IN OPERATIONS BUDGET
The primary changes in KEMA’s budget are due to (1) enhancing our staffing via the addition of a Staff
Officer position and conversion of a grant-funded position to general fund civil service status, and, (2)
contractual increases of multi-term contracts and leases. We have partially offset these by not
requesting any new equipment items, and where needed, leveraging applicable grant funding.
3. OPERATIONAL CHALLENGES
KEMA continued operations relating to the COVID-19 through FY23. These required support from
various KEMA’s staff, and agency involvement in remaining projects will continue through FY24.
Although KEMA and our All-Hazards Incident Management Team successfully rose to every
activation, event or challenge in FY23, the multi-year cessation of in-person FEMA and NIMS/ICS
training, along with the natural course of employee retirements, turnover, etc. led to a gradual
reduction in available trained team members. As such, KEMA is utilizing Homeland Security Grant
Program funding to support team organizing, building and enhancement via central coordination,
training and exercises. We are also proposing to add a reserve corps capability, allowing for
immediate activation of supplemental staffing.
4. TOP 3 OPERATIONAL HIGHLIGHTS FROM FY 2023
COVID-19 Pandemic Response
KEMA’s COVID-19 response started in early 2020 and ran through FY23, with a gradual winding
down of various operational elements. Our fixed and mobile testing services ended at the end of
February 2023, followed by additional rounds of home test kit community distributions. Project
management will continue through FY24 and beyond. KEMA’s staff and our All-Hazards Incident
Management Team (AHIMT) played an active, central role in our collective response.
Severe Weather Events
Various severe weather events impacted our county during FY23, most notably multiple Flash Flood
Warnings, a historic High Surf Warning/South Swell event and others. Thankfully, we experienced
a mild Central Pacific hurricane season, but we remain ever vigilant for the 2024 season, with the
potential transition to Enso Neutral and then El Nino.
Telecom
KEMA addressed ongoing system improvements and maintenance items along with conducting
interagency exercises, thereby helping to ensure effective communications among all users of the
800 MHz radio system. Additional progress was made in the areas of encryption and integration
of the FirstNet public safety broadband system and associated technologies.