DOUGLAS COUNTY COMMISSIONERS
WORK SESSION
(In Office and Remote)
Tuesday, December 8, 2020
A G E N D A
---Time*
9:00 a.m.
Presentation of Monitoring Reports:
3.5 – Protection of Assets
3.7 – Emergency Preparedness
*These times are estimates only and may fluctuate depending on length of
each discussion.
POLICY 3.5 PROTECTION OF ASSETS
MONITORING REPORT
TO:
Board of County Commissioners
FROM:
County Manager
RE:
Internal Monitoring Report – Management Limitations
POLICY:
3.5 Protection of Assets
DATE:
October 21, 2020
I hereby present my monitoring report on Management Limitation 3.5 – Protection of Assets. This report is presented in accordance
with the monitoring schedule set forth in the Board’s Policy Manual. I certify that the information contained in this report is true
and correct.
Signed: _________________________, County Manager
Date: ______October 27, 2020 _________
Overview ‐ 3.5 Protection of Assets
Description: Within the scope of his/her authority in the County and given available resources, the County Manager shall not allow the
County’s assets to be unprotected, inadequately maintained or unnecessarily risked.
I report compliance based on the information that follows in this report.
Accordingly, the County Manager shall not:
3.5.1 Fail to have in place a Risk Management program that insures against property losses and against liability losses to
Commissioners, staff and Douglas County to the amount legally obligated to pay, or allow the organization to be uninsured:
3.5.1.1 Against theft and casualty losses,
3.5.1.2 Against liability losses to Board members, staff and the organization itself in an amount equal to or greater than the average
for comparable organizations, and
3.5.1.3 Against employee theft and dishonesty.
Overview 3.5.1
Description: Fail to have in place a Risk Management program that insures against property losses and against liability losses to
Commissioners, staff and Douglas County to the amount legally obligated to pay or allow the organization to be uninsured.
I report compliance with 3.5.1 based on the following:
The County has a risk manager on staff and insurance contracts are in place to protect the County against insurable losses. Primary and
Excess Insurance programs are structured to maximize financial risk transfer to various insurers with prudent deductible levels to minimize
annual premium spend. Emerging risks are identified ongoing and appropriate insurance coverage(s) are purchased as needed. During this
reporting period Risk Management engaged in a competitive process General Liability, Public Officials and Law Enforcement liability
coverage. Additionally, Hail Parametric coverage was placed for the first time to address the financial risk regularly expended over summer
and fall.
I report compliance with 3.5.1.1 and 3.5.1.2 based on the following:
In conjunction with the protection granted by the Colorado Governmental Immunity Statutes, Douglas County maintains coverage that
meets or exceeds the coverage of comparable counties.
I report compliance with 3.5.1.3 based on the following:
The County maintains a crime insurance policy on all employees. Our policy
includes indemnification to elected officials; coverage for elected officials in lieu of a bond and social engineering or fraudulent instruction
coverage with a sub‐limit:
3.5.2 Allow un‐bonded personnel access to material amounts of funds, or fail to provide adequate insurance to protect against employee
dishonesty and theft.
I report compliance with 3.5.2 based on the following:
Per Colorado Revised Statutes, in lieu of a bond for each elected official, a County may purchase crime insurance coverage to protect the
people of the County from any malfeasance while the elected official is in office. The County has crime insurance coverage in the amount of
$2,000,000. The crime policy is endorsed to extend coverage to elected and appointed officials. This policy also provides indemnification to
officials.
3.5.3 Subject facilities and/or equipment to improper wear and tear or insufficient maintenance (except normal deterioration and
financial conditions beyond County Manager control).
I report compliance with 3.5.3.
Facilities, Fleet and Emergency Support Services staff use a maintenance tracking software program that identifies the following:
Preventative maintenance schedule
Work order processing
Equipment historical information
Maintain warranty and equipment specifications
Warranty Services
Additionally, Facilities and Fleet staff are trained and certified in the operations and maintenance of all County building equipment and
vehicles. Certifications for specialized disciplines are maintained in staff personnel records.
3.5.4 Unnecessarily expose County government, the BOCC or staff to claims of liability.
I report compliance with 3.5.4 based on the following:
In addition to the protection provided by the Colorado Governmental Immunity
Statutes and some boundaries established by federal and/or state laws, the County maintains liability insurance coverage that meets the
appropriate liability levels. The specific information for this coverage was covered in 3.5.1.1 and 3.5.1.2 above.
In addition to insurance coverage, the County mitigates risk through a variety of risk control measures that include risk avoidance, loss
prevention and loss reduction. Examples of these include:
Fifty‐six ergonomic work station evaluations/training/adjustments were provided via outside contractor.
Ethics training provided to all employees (Human Resources).
Cyber Security Training was offered to employees
Building evacuations are conducted twice yearly for each County building. (Facilities in conjunction with OEM)
Employee Safety and Security trainings are conducted throughout the year.
Conduct pre‐employment background checks including but not limited to: reference checks, social security number validation and
trace, criminal felony and misdemeanor search, national sex offender registry check and widescreen plus national criminal search.
The County checks driver records annually for jobs that require a driver’s license.
The County meets the federally mandated drug and alcohol testing requirements of employees who hold Commercial Driver’s
Licenses.
County‐wide employee emergency notification system and update COOP. (OEM, HR, Facilities)
Annual Sexual Harassment Training is conducted for all employees and supervisors.
Utilize HireRight for background checks – best in class vendor for electronic background checking of candidates. Provides
comprehensive social security number verification, court convictions/dispositions, and out‐of‐state information.
Conducted I‐9 audit leveraging HireRight relationship
Utilize SkillSurvey to improve the quality of preemployment reference checks.
Provided online training classes and/or in person sessions for Civil Treatment of Employees in various Elected Offices and
Departments.
Continued testing for opioids to the new hire pre‐employment drug testing panel.
Offered Hepatitis A vaccine to inmate population and employees with potential exposure (April 2019)
Review internal process for Mill Levy Certification – New
Competitive process to improve LTD/Life Insurance premiums completed concurrently with request to outsource Leave of Absence
(LOA) administration. Outcome resulted in significantly reduced premiums to allow for zero‐cost LOA administration and greatly
improved compliance with federal and state laws (ex. FMLA).
The County mitigates risk through contractual transfer; and risk financing that includes adequate insurance and reserve levels. The following
is a sampling for this reporting period:
All professional services contracts are reviewed by legal and risk management ensuring contract compliance and transference of risk,
when necessary.
Contracts provide protection for the County by having clauses such as the scope of services, maximum liability, term, conflict of
interest, indemnification, etc. The insurance requirements in contracts are also identified.
Any party that rents a County facility is required to have insurance.
Actively investigates and pursues all subrogation possibilities.
3.5.5 Fail to protect County data, information, and files from loss or significant damage.
I report compliance with 3.5.5 based on the following:
Audit and Assess: After completion of a three‐year initiative to assess and remediate known dangers to intellectual assets and
private information, IT is enhancing and automating the County’s ability to react and respond to cyber risks. Through 2017 and 2018
IT completed the process of automating patching and software deployments, introduced additional layers of cyber threat detection
and discovery, and has introduced third‐party compliance analysis and metrics. This compliance analysis provides a robust
compliance state of the County for Criminal Justice Information System (CJIS) security, Health Insurance Portability and
Accountability Act (HIPAA), and Colorado House Bill 18‐1128 Protections for Personally Identifiable Information (PII). A 2018
assessment of PII within the County resulted in additional security controls for 54 identified locations for private data.
Employee Training: IT initiated a County‐wide information security training program to raise awareness in all parts of the County on
how to better protect the County’s information and intellectual assets. In 2017, IT implemented the KnowBe4 cyber security
training program to increase awareness and keep employees up to date as the threat landscape changes. In 2018, IT introduced
phishing attack simulations to further enhance employees’ capabilities to detect and respond to cyber threats.
Security Built In: IT cyber security personnel are involved in IT operational and architectural activities in a position to influence those
activities as necessary from a cyber security perspective. This influence provides continuous dedication and vision for security within
ongoing IT operations and planning.
Monitoring: in 2020 IT has engaged a managed Cyber Security Operation Center service to monitor the County’s systems 24x7 and
handle all cyber incidents, remediate IT risks, identify vulnerabilities and predict the cyber threat landscape based on set of industry
standard intelligence resources.
Recovery: IT maintains backup copies of software, program code and system data using a combination of onsite and offsite storage
adjusted for the use profile of the individual systems. In 2018, a Disaster Recovery site and program will be implemented to provide
the ability to recover all Tier 1 assets within 24 hours of a major incident.
Policy: The Douglas Employee Handbook, Email Use Policy and Internet Use Policy specify actions, responsibilities, and conditions of
employment that govern the creation, storage, access, use, and security of County Information hardware, software, and data assets
by employees. IT keeps these policies and procedures up to date and communicates key changes when necessary.
Physical Security ‐ the County’s facilities are protected in the following ways:
o
Access to facilities is restricted using an access card system (approval required before access is granted).
o
Buildings are monitored electronically and physically by Facilities Management personnel and a third‐party monitoring
company.
o
Facilities Security Team composed of field technicians responsible for installation and maintenance of all security and access
control systems.
Policy 3.5 Protections of Assets
Internal Monitoring Report
To:
Board of County Commissioners
From:
Lance Ingalls, County Attorney
Re:
Internal Monitoring Report – Executive Limitations
Policy:
Policy 3.5 Protection of Assets – 2018 report
Date:
November 3, 2020
I hereby present my monitoring report on your Executive Limitation Policy 3.5: Protection of Assets presented in accordance with your monitoring
schedule set forth in the Board Policy Manual.
I certify that the information contained in this report is true.
Signed: ___Lance Ingalls_______, County Attorney
Date: October 30, 2020
Interpretations
A 3.5 Within the scope of his/her authority in the County, the County Attorney shall not fail to review and advise
regarding any legal issues that would allow the County’s assets to be unprotected, inadequately maintained or
unnecessarily risked.
I interpret “may not fail to review and advise” the same as in policy 3.2.
I interpret “legal issues that would allow the County’s assets to be unprotected, inadequately maintained or
unnecessarily risked” to mean that the County Attorney will keep the Board and the County Manager apprised of
any on-going or contemplated legal cases or claims.
I interpret “assets” as physical and intellectual property of the County with a value greater than $25,000. Also,
for individual issues with dollar amounts under $25,000 for which the County may be owed or be in a position to
recover a County asset, the County Attorney has the discretion to work with various department heads and EO’s
to take all reasonable steps to secure or recover such County asset.
The Board will be apprised of circumstances
when outside counsel is needed.
I interpret “unprotected, inadequately maintained or unnecessarily risked” to mean that assets would not have
adequate physical, procedural, or policy safeguards in place to reasonably prevent their theft or destruction. The
County will advise as appropriate when there is a known risk to County assets.
A 3.5 Within the scope of his/her authority in the County, the County Attorney shall not fail to review and advise
regarding any legal issues that would allow the County’s assets to be unprotected, inadequately maintained or
unnecessarily risked.
I report compliance.
Contracts:
The County Attorney's office advises the County in a variety of ways, each with an asset protection purpose. The County Attorney’s office has reviewed
more than 1500 Contracts so far this year, with only a handful of those NOT executed through DocuSign.
(1091+ contracts in 2019, 868 + contracts
in 2018, 780 + contracts in 2017, 761 + contracts in 2016, 680 + contracts in 2015, and 569 + in 2014.) Contract review ensures there are no
unnecessary risks to County property and service commitments.
Fraud Overpayment/Recovery-Human Services.
Collection Cases – Human Services—Pursuing collection efforts for individuals that have received overpayments of food assistance benefits procured
through fraud; continuing to coordinate with Human Services, but due constraints associated with CDHS and the courts in light of COVID-19, factors
outside of the county’s control, collection filings for overpayment are currently on hold.
Litigation Filed Against the County
.
E.M.M.: In response to an urgent request for assistance from the Kansas Department of Human Services, County Human Services and Deputies went
to a home where a woman and her children were fleeing from Kansas state authorities. The mother was ordered to leave the home and the children
were left in the custody of their friend, who returned them to Kansas. A prior suit was brought by different siblings against the same Defendants, which
ended with a dismissal of the siblings’ claims. The County filed a motion to dismiss, and the District Court granted the motion. Plaintiffs appealed
the dismissal to the Tenth Circuit. The appeal has been fully briefed and is awaiting a decision.
Pino: A County employee, driving a County owned truck, ran over a sign that had been knocked into the road earlier by a driver who had fallen asleep
at the wheel. The sign became airborne and hit the vehicle directly behind the employee. The driver of the vehicle hit by the sign and her minor son
sued the County employee and the driver who originally knocked the sign down for an unspecified amount of damages on behalf of herself and her
minor son. The County agreed to a nuisance value settlement ($2,500) pending approval by the Probate Court of the portion of that settlement allocated
to the minor son. A hearing in the Probate Court is set for November 2020.
Tillmon: Former inmate, now in state prison, filed a pro se lawsuit alleging racial discrimination, inadequate notice of disciplinary hearings and
inadequate medical care in violations of his Eighth and Fourteenth Amendment Rights. The County filed a motion to dismiss and received a
recommendation from the Magistrate Judge in favor of dismissal. The District Court Judge granted in part and denied in part the County’s motion to
dismiss. Plaintiff has been ordered to file an amended complaint at the beginning of December or risk the case being dismissed.
Ginther: Pro Se plaintiff seeking review of DCSO refusal to issue a concealed carry permit due to past incidents with law enforcement involving a
firearm. Though initial complaint and answer were filed, Mr. Ginther has taken no further action to pursue this case despite a court order to do so or
risk dismissal.
Hollister: Judicial review of DCSO denial of concealed carry permit due to a past incident with law enforcement. The record relied upon by the DCSO
was sealed by the court several years ago but is still specifically viewable to law enforcement. The Court previously ruled that the DCSO did not give
Mr. Hollister sufficient due process notice of the basis of its denial and remanded the matter back to the Sheriff to do so. The DCSO once again denied
the request, this time with more specificity, and Mr. Hollister has once more appealed. The matter is in the process of being briefed at the local district
court after which we will await another Court decision.
Ramsey: The County and the former medical vendor and numerous of its employees have been sued for violations of the Fourteenth Amendment
(failure to provide medical treatment and care) and medical and common law negligence. Plaintiffs seek compensatory, consequential and punitive
damages, attorneys’ fees, pre- and post-judgment interest, costs, and declaratory and injunctive relief. The County has filed a motion to dismiss the
municipal liability claim asserted against it. The motion is fully briefed and awaiting a decision by the Court.
Watkins: The County and three Sheriff’s deputies have been sued in conjunction with the deputies’ arrest of Mr. Watkins on a domestic violence
charge. Mr. Watkins alleges that the deputies violated his Fourth Amendment rights by illegally entering his home and using excessive force to arrest
him. Mr. Watkins has also asserted claims for municipal liability and supervisory liability arising out of the incident. The County filed a motion to
dismiss the complaint, which the Magistrate Judge has recommended granting in part and denying in part. The Plaintiff filed objections to the
Magistrate Judge’s recommendation, which have been fully briefed and are awaiting decision by the District Court Judge.
Carrasco: Jonathan Carrasco has filed a charge of discrimination against the Sheriff’s Office alleging that he has been discriminated against and
retaliated against on the basis of his race and ethnicity. He was recently the subject of an IA investigation after it appeared that he had
misrepresented being in Texas when he was called in to work. That charge was ultimately not sustained, but during the investigation, he admitted
that he had misrepresented having a family emergency to cancel an off-duty job, so he was sustained for a violation of the On- and Off-Duty Conduct
policy. Deputy Carrasco asserts that this and various other incidents over his four years with the Sheriff’s Office are discriminatory. DCSO filed a
response in September and is awaiting further word from the EEOC.
Litigation filed by the County
.
Sweet: Landowner is out of compliance with the County’s zoning code. A civil action has been initiated by the County to bring the property into
compliance. A hearing on the County’s motion for preliminary injunction has been set for November 2020, and the case has been set for trial in March
2021.
Lessar: Landowner is out of compliance with the County’s zoning code. The County filed a civil suit, and the Court entered a Preliminary Injunction
in August 2019. In September 2020, the Court granted a motion by the County to hold the Lessars in contempt for violating the Preliminary Injunction
and order the Lessars to pay a $50,000 fine which will be held in abeyance for 6 months but will become due immediately in the event of another
violation.
Property Valuation. Defense of 402 appeals filed to the Board of Assessment Appeals, to the District Court and for abatements and arbitration
appealing the valuations for 2019 taxes.
Investments. Review of investment policies to ensure legal compliance.
Public Trustee
.
Egbune – Bankruptcy attorney alleges, among many other things about other parties, that the court order foreclosing the property was unlawful
and that the Trustee failed to provide adequate notice and opportunity to cure the default on the debt prior to foreclosure. The Court ultimately denied
Mr. Egbune’s attempts to add the public trustee as a party but ruled the foreclosure sale invalid for failing to provide Mr. Egbune an opportunity to
cure. Since the Trustee is not a party it is unclear if this ruling will have any effect other than to restore, if only temporarily, the property to Mr. Egbune
and potentially require another future foreclosure sale should the lien holder continue to pursue it.
INTERNAL MONITORING REPORT
To:
Board of County Commissioners
From:
Douglas J. DeBord, County Manager
RE:
Internal Monitoring Report – Management Limitations
Policy: CM 3.7: EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS
Date:
November 10, 2020
I hereby present my monitoring report on Management Limitation 3.7 – Emergency Preparedness. I certify that the information
contained in this report is true and correct.
Signed: _________________________, County Manager
Date: ____November 3, 2020____
Glossary of Acronyms
AED Automated External Defibrillator AOP Annual Operating Plan BSSC Building Safety and Security Committee BCC Board of County Commissioners CSFS Colorado State Forest Service CEMP Comprehensive Emergency Management Plan COG Continuity of Government COOP Continuity of Operations Plan DCART Douglas County Animal Response Team DCES Douglas County Emergency Services DCSO Douglas County Sheriff’s Office DFPC Colorado Division of Fire Prevention and Control EDAR Emergency Delegation of Authority Resolution EMCG Emergency Management Coordinating Group EOC Emergency Operations Center EOP Emergency Operations Plan ERT Emergency Response Team ESF Emergency Support Function FEMA Federal Emergency Management Agency FFESS Facilities, Fleet and Emergency Support Services ICP Incident Command Post IGA Intergovernmental Agreement IMT Incident Management Team LEPC Local Emergency Planning Committee NOAA National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration NFPA National Fire Protection Association OEM Office of Emergency Management PDCG Partnership of Douglas County Governments PIO Public Information Officer SARA Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act TTE Tests, Training, Exercises USDA United States Department of Agriculture3
4 3.7 The County Manager shall have an extensive Emergency Preparedness Process in place for improving coordination and strengthening relationships among all emergency management partners – Federal, State and local governments, voluntary disaster relief organizations, and the private sector to meet basic human needs and restore essential government services following a disaster. This enhanced partnership will reduce human suffering and decrease costly damages to property.
I report compliance based on the information below.
2020 Relationship Coordination and Strengthening in support of Emergency Preparedness and Management
Douglas County Emergency Services (DCES): This extensive and diverse group is responsible for working closely with each other as well as with all external emergency preparedness and management partners at the local, state and federal levels; voluntary disaster relief organizations; the private sector; and the first responders. DCES includes members from Douglas County Government and represents multiple departments, divisions, and offices. Office of Emergency Management Emergency Incident Management Citizen Preparedness Training Coordinates Incident Management Team, DCSO Wildland Fire Hand Crew, Emergency Operations Center Team, Public Works Heavy Equipment Team, Helicopter, Animal Response Team, and Emergency Services Unit Incident Response Training and Exercises Oversees writing of Emergency Plans and Resolutions Local Emergency Planning Committee (LEPC) Coordination Citizen Preparedness Guide DCSO Patrol, Detentions, Dispatch, Communications DCSO Wildland Fire Hand Crew Incident Dispatch Team (IDT) Evacuation Reverse 911 Alerts Facilities Douglas County Fairgrounds – sheltering for evacuees and/or their animals (large and small) Storage and mobilization of shelter equipment needs Emergency Operations Center maintenance
5 Fleet Emergency Fleet Services Fuel Support Emergency Support Services OEM Support Coordination Plan and Resolution Writing Support EOC Team Participation Incident Management Team Participation Emergency Management Training Coordination and Funding Payment In Lieu of Taxes (PILT) Distribution Employee Safety Trainings and Facility Security Employee Workplace Safety Guide Automatic External Defibrillator (AEDs) Continuity of Operations Plan (COOP) Employee emergency notification tool Douglas County Board of County Commissioners and County Manager Douglas County IT GIS & C‐COP Emergency Operations Center Team Douglas County Traffic Emergency signage Douglas County Public Works Operations Public Works Heavy Equipment Crew Emergency Operations Center Team Snow Plowing Douglas County Finance Emergency Operations Center Team Incident Management Team Douglas County Public Affairs Emergency alert notification PSA Employee alert notification via DCNET
6 Open Space Iron Horse Open Space – sheltering for large animals Rangers Wildfire Mitigation Projects Training Burns on Open Space parcels
The Emergency Management Coordinating Group (EMCG) was established by the Partnership of Douglas County Governments IGA and encourages participation by all members who collectively coordinate emergency preparedness, response, recovery and mitigation activities. The EMCG was expanded in 2013 to include all emergency management personnel and those with an EM interest county‐wide. Meetings occur quarterly.
The Local Emergency Planning Committee (LEPC) is a planning committee that includes numerous Douglas County, State and Federal agencies with interests in the “administration of a program for the development of emergency response plans and systems and for requiring certain facility reporting and notification regarding the listing or release of specified hazardous substances.” In the 4th quarter of 2017 the Douglas County LEPC and the Arapahoe County LEPC combined to create a joint Arapahoe‐Douglas LEPC.
Douglas County Response Teams
1) Douglas County Incident Management Team: Douglas County maintains a Type 4 Incident Management Team (IMT). The team is in the process of transitioning to a Type 3 qualification and is comprised of a combination of Douglas County employees, agency employees from our partner local governments, and volunteers. The team has a supply trailer and a communication trailer that it manages and re‐supplies following an incident. These trailers are mobile and can deploy wherever necessary. A dedicated budget for training, development and resources/supplies in support of the IMT mission exists to manage the team through the Sheriff’s Office. The IMT was created by the BCC on March 23, 2004 via Resolution R‐004‐036.
In July 2020 the Douglas County IMT was mobilized to support the Chatridge 2 wildfire which burned 500 acres and threatened the Backcountry subdivision of Highlands Ranch. The IMT was called in after the scope and complexity of this fire exceeded South Metro Fire’s capabilities and Douglas County received a Delegation of Authority to command and control the fire.
2) Douglas‐Elbert County Animal Response Team (CART) is a collaborative team made up of volunteers from Douglas and Elbert Counties and coordinated by Emergency Management. This team is comprised of over 125 volunteers and is designed to assist during an emergency that would require mass‐accommodation for large and small animals. This includes sheltering of all types of animals at numerous pre‐identified locations. In 2014, Douglas County entered into an MOU with the Denver Dumb Friends League (DDFL) for sheltering assistance for small animals. In 2015, Douglas County entered into an MOU with the Douglas‐Elbert County Horse Council (DECHC) for large animal sheltering during emergency disasters. A few CART members are also responsible for staffing the DC Emergency Operations Center at the Animal Issues Desk during a disaster requiring emergency animal needs. The Citizen Disaster
7 Preparedness Guide was also updated in 2018 to include a section for Large Animal Emergency Preparedness. The team is further supported through the North Central Region (NCR) Animal Emergency Committee (AEC), comprised of five additional CARTs as well as working closely with other CARTs state‐wide. Continuing education classes are offered periodically throughout the region. In January of 2018, the NCR/UASI Animal Emergency Committee expanded its focus to include all aspects of Emergency Mass Care. The Douglas‐ Elbert Animal Response Team coordinator has been Chair of the NCR Region AEC since 2015 and continues to oversee the Mass Care Committee as Chair until the current term expires in January 2021.
3) Emergency Operations Center (EOC) Team (using Emergency Support Functions positions): 90 individuals have been identified for these positions within the EOC. The EOC Team is comprised of members of the Douglas County IMT who are not deployed to the Incident Command Post as well as additional individuals recognized as subject matter experts in the Emergency Support Function positions. The EOC activated to a Level 2 Activation for the COVID‐19 Response in March of 2020 and lowered to a Level 3 – Monitoring Status and continuing into November – marking the longest historical activation of the Douglas County EOC. From July through October 2020, the EOC Logistics Section met regularly for specialized EOC Logistics training and practice and the development of a Virtual EOC built in Microsoft Teams. On October 21st, 2020, the EOC Team participated with the State EOC Team in an integrated functional exercise designed to strengthen EOC/SEOC communications and to test the new Douglas County Virtual EOC environment. These trainings and exercise provided the EOC Logistics Team training and practice using the EOC Situational Awareness and Resource Ordering system in the newly developed Virtual EOC. The EOC also activated in June to a Level 2 Activation in support of the Chatridge2 Fire. 4) DCSO Wildland Fire Hand Crew ‐ Wildfires are the number one natural hazard in Douglas County. Under Colorado Revised Statute 30‐10‐513 the County Sheriff is responsible for coordination of fire suppression efforts in the case of prairie, forest, or wildland fires or wildfires occurring in the unincorporated area of the County outside the boundaries of a fire protection district, or those that exceed the capabilities of the fire protection district to control or extinguish. To that end, the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office formed a 15‐ person Wildland Fire Handcrew (WFH), supervised by the Office of Emergency Management. The WFH serves as an Initial Attack fire suppression resource to assist other county agencies that do not have the resources necessary or in areas that the Sheriff is the Fire Warden, or when their presence would greatly increase the ability to suppress wildfires that are threatening life or property. Hand crews specialize in remote
wildland fires that engines cannot access. Handcrews utilize chainsaws, handtools and water backpacks to extinguish wildfires. The purpose of the WFH is not to supplement manpower of established fire districts on a regular basis, but to assist agencies as a Force Multiplier during critical needs, and rural districts with limited staffing. Members of the WFH include DCSO Deputies, Dispatchers and Detention Specialists. In 2020 the WFH was called out to the Chatridge 2 to provide immediate handcrew suppression of this dangerous wildfire. The WFH responded during initial attack and was a critical resource in containing fire perimeter in steep drainages and thick brush where fire
8 engines couldn’t reach. The WFH continued to support firefighting operations during extended attack in the following days to ensure the fire remained in contained status. 5) DC PW Heavy Equipment Team – In 2013, this team was identified to support the Wildland Fire Hand Crew during the Black Forest Fire to help cut fire lines, should the have fire encroached into Douglas County. In 2014, 16 Public Works personnel were trained, certified and outfitted for emergency fire response incidents within Douglas County. The Office of Emergency Management and Fleet, Facilities and Emergency Support Services continue to support this team and provide annual training. This team maintains an active roster of 12‐ 15 personnel. The PWOPS Heavy Equipment Team has been called upon for two wildfire activations where their equipment and skill were utilized to safely extinguish fires while reducing exposure to handcrews.
6) DCSO Emergency Services Unit ‐ In 2015, Douglas County funded, through Facilities, Fleet and Emergency Support Services, a Temporary Limited Benefit, 4‐person All Hazard Mitigation Crew to answer the county’s need for hazardous wildfire fuels reduction and all hazard incident response support. The Mitigation Crew utilized trucks, chainsaws, skid steers, chippers, trailers, UTVs and other assorted equipment to perform these tasks. In 2016, the Mitigation Crew was converted to Full Time Employees and transferred to DCSO, under the management of OEM. During winter months, the crew supports Public Works by joining their ranks as Emergency Snow Plow Operators. In the last quarter of 2019, the Mitigation Crew was reclassified and became the DCSO Emergency Services Unit (ESU). The new focus of the ESU is to patrol, prevent and respond to wildfires throughout Douglas County, as well as continue wildfire mitigation efforts. The ESU assists DCSO Patrol in responding to all manner of natural hazards and emergency incidents in addition to wildfires. In 2020, the ESU responded to 24 incidents within Douglas County including forest fires, grass fires and a natural disaster wind event that blew down trees in the community of Louviers. Utilizing their brush truck fire engine, the ESU was first on scene and successfully suppressed numerous wildfires in 2020 ensuring they did not grow and become large, destructive fires like we saw in other parts of Colorado. The ESU was also critical in providing mission coordination and ground‐based support to the contract Douglas County helicopter. The ESU worked with Incident Commanders to ensure the helicopter was used safely, rapidly and effectively. 7) Workplace Safety Trainings: We plan to offer more trainings in 2019; employee engagement with the safety trainings has been all positive and rewarding. Classes offered and completed for 2018: a. Workplace Safety and Security b. CPR/AED c. Verbal Judo d. Stop the Bleed e. Fire Safety f. Active Shooter
9 8) Emergency Response Coordinator (ERC): The ERC role includes representatives from all Douglas County departments and facilities.
This person serves as a point of contact and reference for facilities’ safety and security. In addition, they help to coordinate safety trainings and disseminate important workplace safety information. 3.7.1 Have in place adequate plans to prevent and/or respond to emergencies and/or disasters. 3.7.2 Establish and maintain a Douglas County Emergency Operations Plan. I report compliance. In order to fulfill the Board Policy for 3.7.1, the Douglas County Emergency Support (DCES) staff has developed the Comprehensive Emergency Management Plan (CEMP). Components of the CEMP are in varying degrees of completion and include: 1. Board of County Commissioners Policy Manual, as oversight (revised and adopted 3/16/2010) 2. Partnership of Douglas County Governments Mutual Aid and Mutual Resource Sharing IGA (adopted 8/23/11) 3. Open Fire Ordinance Revision (revised and adopted 12/3/12) 4. Disaster Emergency Finance Policy (revised and adopted October 2018) 5. Emergency Delegation of Authority Resolution (revised and adopted 9/27/16) 6. Emergency Operations Plan (revised and adopted 9/27/16 and currently being upated) 7. Douglas County Emergency Sheltering Operations Plan (finalized 3/13/17) 8. Rapid Needs Assessment Annex and Damage Assessment Annex to the EOP (finalized 2017) 9. Annual (Wildfire) Operating Plan (revised and adopted annually) 10. Continuity of Operations Plan (introduced October 2017 – ongoing updates) 11. Debris Management Plan (Approved December 2018) 12. Resource Mobilization Annex to the EOP (updated 2018) 13. Cooperative Wildfire Protection IGA between Douglas County and the State of Colorado (revised and adopted 2019) 14. Emergency Fire Fund IGA between Douglas County and the State of Colorado (revised and adopted 2019) 15. All Hazards Evacuation, Alert & Warning Annex to the EOP (updated 2019) 16. County Facility Active Threat Annex (currently in progress) 2020 Emergency Preparedness & Management Trainings & Exercises Response Team Trainings (IMT) EOC Team Trainings DCSO Command Staff Training Wildland Fire Hand Crew Field Training (30‐Hour Critical Fire Training Refresher, bi‐weekly recurrent training) Evacuation Drills with community of Perry Park. Joint EOC Exercise between the Douglas County EOC and the State EOC.
10 2020 Emergency Preparedness & Management Activities: 1. Continued active wildfire mitigation projects on County property and incident response 2. PIO coordination with all response partners 3. Collaborative media releases and expansion of Social Media through OEM Twitter and Facebook accounts 4. Front Range Fire Manager Officer meetings 5. State Wildfire Advisory Committee 6. State Wildfire Matters Committee 7. DFPC Stakeholder Strategic Planning Committee 8. North Central Region Board meetings 9. Statewide EOC and IMT Committee 10. Douglas County Fire Chiefs Association 11. Ambulance licenses 12. Local Emergency Planning Committee (LEPC) for hazardous materials 13. Emergency Management Coordinating Group 14. Douglas County Wildland Coordinators Group 15. Colorado Emergency Manager’s Association Conference 16. Expanded and coordinated citizen outreach – PSAs, preparedness trainings 17. Communication capability expansion for Emergency Radio Towers – improvement for VHF, 800mghz, ARES 18. Combined Douglas and Arapahoe County LEPCs 19. Involvement with the Wildland Fire legislation 20. Wildland Fire Hand Crew development 21. Emergency Services Unit development 22. Public Works Heavy Equipment Team development 23. State Aircraft Program participation 24. Continued EOC Team targeted recruiting and development of EOC Management Operations Structure 25. Continuation of Type 3 Certification for IMT 2020 Emergency Preparedness & Management Initiatives o Support Public Works snow operations with the ESU o Continue to coordinate and collaborate in and among all DC Emergency Service Staff o Expand partnerships with helicopter providers o Emergency Plan revisions as needed for EOP, AOP, COOP o Ongoing training and development for IMT, EOC Team, DECART, DCSO Wildland Fire Hand Crew, Public Works Heavy Equipment Team o Emergency Preparedness Training for DC employees and citizens o Continued participation for EMCG, LEPC, and other county‐wide emergency management‐focused groups o Continue to promote the CodeRED notification sign‐up by citizens. Participation rates have been rising steadily since 2011.
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