Hi NCEPA Representatives and Stakeholders,
We will have our regular meeting from 10 to 12 noon on zoom. The zoom link, ID# and passcode can be found on the attached agenda. It is also as follows:
Zoom link NCEPA Zoom
Using the Zoom App: Join Meeting and enter ID: 854 9706 7549 Passcode 069699
By Telephone: Dial 1-669-900-6833, enter 854 9706 7549, and Press #
You may also call in using the following phone numbers:
833-548-0282, 888-475-4499, 877-853-5257, 833-548-0276
(I think the additional numbers are still good)
On Wednesday morning I was at an EMD meeting with Dr. Danial Swain, one of the authors of the megaflood study we discussed at our October 22, 2022 meeting. At the meeting gave us updated information and some good explanations regarding the dynamics of what has been happening in California and what is in store for the future. Dr. Swain was good enough to pass on his informative slide show for us to use. The question was raised as to whether a megflood will be the “next big one”. Come to the meeting to see if we can answer that question.
I hope to see many of you on Saturday morning. Please, if you must be out and about the next few days be careful. All the predictions are for some really nasty weather.
Ljs
Commissioner Leonard Shaffer
Board of Neighborhood Commissioners
The Neighborhood Council Emergency Preparedness Alliance (NCEPA) meets the 4th Saturday of every month from 10:00 am to 12:00 pm. The meeting locations are rotated throughout the City of Los Angeles. The NCEPA representatives hear from city department managers, and their representatives, regarding the city’s plans for coping with a variety of local and major emergencies. Members of various volunteer emergency groups have presented their roles in emergency preparedness. The one thing they all have stressed is the need for individual neighborhoods to prepare to be self-reliant for at least 7 days after a major disaster. The purpose of the NCEPA is to gather information and educate neighborhood councils about their responsibility to organize the communities they represent. Various tools are available to guide neighborhood council members and stakeholders about how to organize and prepare their neighborhoods. For more information, and to sign-up to receive agendas before meetings, please email: NCEPA@EmpowerLA.org.
At the November meeting we had a good discussion regarding the problem of the insufficient emergency preparedness funding. EMD GM Carol Parks joined us and discussed what EMD had been doing and what it hoped to do if its’ budget requests were adopted. We talked about Controller Galperon’s report that pointed out the areas where EMD needed improvement. The report did relate that EMD, along with other departments, was suffering from a loss of staff. Some of its recommendations would necessarily support the filling of previously budgeted positions and an increase in new employees. Here is the link to the Controller’s report 22-1258_rpt_Crtll_10-20-22.pdf (lacity.org). I am attaching three documents, they include EMD’s Executive Summary, an excerpt from the Controller’s Report and Liz Amsdens’ bullet points from a meeting she and others had with EMD regarding their budget needs. Controller Ron Galperon’s Emergency Management Dept report (22-1258_rpt_Crtll_10-20-22.pdf (lacity.org) is currently before the city council’s Public Safety Committee. The NCEPA is recommending NCs submit a CIS regarding CF 22-1258. The recommended language is as follows:
“The city’s Resiliency Plan tasks Neighborhood Councils with producing emergency preparedness plans for their communities. So far, the city has offered little or no help, financial or otherwise, for these projects. The Neighborhood Council Emergency Preparedness Alliance believes that help with these projects could be forthcoming if the city’s Emergency Management Dept. were properly funded and staffed.
The xxx neighborhood council views with concern the historic underfunding of the Emergency Management Dept and calls on the city of Los Angeles to fund EMD adequately. The Peer City Emergency Preparedness Programs Budget Comparison (FY2021-22) on page 7 of the Controller’s Report shows the funding disparity between Los Angeles and other comparable jurisdictions.”.
Thanks to all how put this on their NC agendas and file the CIS. Please feel free to expand on this language,
ljs
Commissioner Leonard Shaffer
Board of Neighborhood Commissioners
Galperin Report Recommendations