Emergency Management

Lincoln-Lancaster County Emergency Management (LLCEMA) is responsible for facilitating the continuation of government operations in times of disaster or major emergency. It coordinates county, city, private sector and volunteer services to facilitate and enable continuity of operations countywide.

The agency fosters the development and testing of plans for:

• Communication
• Emergency Shelter
• Operations
• Rescue
• Resource Utilization
• Response
• Transportation
• Warning/Mass Notification

It conducts extensive training and public education programs focused on these topics. Emergency Management coordinates these activities and operations with state and federal programs.

Mission

The mission of LLCEMA is to establish and maintain preparedness necessary for a safe, resilient community. Emergency Management achieves its mission goals of protection, mitigation, response and recovery through engagement of key stakeholders and widespread public outreach and education. 

Vision

The vision of LLCEMA is to promote community-wide awareness of and preparedness for hazards which threaten the health, safety and welfare of our county residents to achieve a safe, resilient environment for all. 

Purpose

Lincoln-Lancaster County Emergency Management is a joint city-county agency authorized by city ordinance, county resolution, city-county inter-local agreement and state statutes. The agency’s offices are located in the Emergency Operating Center (EOC).

Functions

Emergency Management’s primary functions include: 

• Acting as liaison between emergency management agencies and City-County executives
• Assisting schools, hospitals, nursing homes, business and industry in developing and implementing ’all hazards’ plans
• Developing and maintaining City-County warning and mass notification systems
• Instructing and assisting the general public in disaster preparedness and response planning
• Planning and conducting preparedness, response and recovery training exercises
• Planning and preparing for continuity of operations during disasters and declared emergencies
• Preparing and maintaining the EOC for use at any time
• Training storm spotters and coordinating severe weather watch operations

Post 9-11

After September 11, 2001, Emergency Management became the main point-of-contact between the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and local units of government. Federal grants are administered through Emergency Management and awarded to those State and Local government agencies in need. 

In addition to monitoring and coordinating Homeland Security grant funds, Emergency Management updates and maintains Lancaster County’s Local Emergency Operations Plan (LEOP). This document is on file in the Emergency Management office. A generic version is available online for review. For security reasons, several annexes and classified material are omitted from the public version.

National Preparedness

The National Preparedness Goal identified mission areas enabling communities to build and sustain capabilities. Using a Whole Community approach, Emergency Management supports or executes these mission areas:

• Prevention: The capabilities necessary to avoid, prevent or stop a threatened or actual act of terrorism. As defined by Presidential Policy Directive-8 (PPD-8), the term "prevention" refers to preventing imminent threats.
• Protection: The capabilities necessary to secure the homeland against acts of terrorism and human-caused or natural disasters.
• Mitigation: The capabilities necessary to reduce loss of life and property by lessening the impact of disasters.
• Response: The capabilities necessary to save lives, protect property and the environment and meet basic human needs after an incident has occurred.
• Recovery: The capabilities necessary to assist communities affected by an incident to recover effectively.