Buffalo, N.Y. (WBEN) - The Buffalo Common Council Tuesday approved the hiring of both an emergency coordinator or Homeland Security coordinator, as favored by the council, and a fleet manager, as recommended by Mayor Byron Brown and his administration.
"We have emergency situations unfolding in the City of Buffalo, they typically happen very quickly," said Councilman Chris Scanlon. "You need someone to be at the helm and someone coordinating everything. Coordinating elected officials, essential departments, essential employees, things like that, to be able to make sure that we can respond in a moment's notice to these situations."
"In addition to that," said Scanlon, "This person has to be able to create and establish these response plans, prepare for them, create mitigation and response plans, as well as establish and execute training for everyone who'd be essential in these situations. And then, on the back end of these things, recoup some of the funding that is expended during these situations by the City of Buffalo."
Councilman Mitch Nowakowski described Tuesday's work as a marathon session for the council, as it wasn't originally planned to have both positions. However, after discussions with the administration, they found a compromise and comparable position, almost identical to the duties discussed for an emergency coordinator that they could fund.
"We worked really hard to build a compromise with the administration. They had their priority on a fleet manager and the Common Council remained strong in their resolve for the emergency management coordinator," said Councilman Nowakowski. "We really worked hard to find comparable titles to get this done right before the council meeting."
Councilman Nowakowski also mentions that while the Homeland Security Coordinator position has already been a previous funded position under a different fiscal title, the council will have say in how this position is rolled out.
The fleet manager position will be in charge of orchestrating all city-owned vehicles like police cars, fire trucks and DPW plows and vehicles.
Compensation for the Homeland Security coordinator will range based on experience, between $107,000 to $130,000. "It was critical for Council member Chris Scanlon and myself to make sure that that position was in conjunction and comparable to the fleet manager," said Nowakowski.
After further discussion between the council and administration, Councilman Nowakowski expects applicants for these positions can start applying within the next couple of months.
"We need to put a timetable in place so that it's not something that we kick down the road. It's just a position. 30 to 90 days, I would think that we could get someone that it is on board so we can get this get this ball rolling," Councilman Rasheed Wyatt said.
"I think that this is something that is just so very important in the City of Buffalo," said Councilman Joseph Golombek. "Who would have thought we had to have an earthquake yesterday? And thank God, it was not anything momentous. But one never knows, you know, what is going to happen.
"It's a matter of us being able to tell the people, the City of Buffalo that we're prepared. We will be prepared, should another emergency come to this city and that we can respond in an appropriate and appropriate manner," said Councilman Scanlon.