Scott, Kane County emergency management, told the Judicial & Public Safety Committee on Dec. 11 that the county's Emergency Operations Plan is roughly 80% complete and that a new mass notification system is live but not yet announced publicly.

Scott flagged a procurement gap in the county's emergency purchasing ordinance: the current rules permit a director to authorize purchases under $10,000 and permit the chair to authorize above $30,000, but language is unclear for emergency purchases between $10,000 and $30,000. "From under 10,000, any director can authorize a purchase. Over 30,000 emergency purchase can be authorized by the madam chair by signing in that the form. But from 10 to 30, there's no clear, emergency purchase authority," he said, and reported he is working with the state's attorney to propose language at a future meeting.

Scott also drew the committee's attention to a widely reported, leaked draft from the FEMA review council that suggests federal emergency-aid thresholds may increase; he said the current Kane County public assistance threshold cited in the discussion is about $2,300,000 in uninsured damages and that a proposal being discussed nationally could significantly raise that level. "It means that we maybe need to consider a disaster fund," he said, urging committee members to put the issue on their radar given potential federal changes.

Committee members asked staff to draft an emergency purchasing amendment that clarifies authority for mid-range emergency spending and to explore options for a local disaster fund should federal thresholds rise.

What happens next: Emergency management will work with the state's attorney on ordinance language to cover emergency purchases between $10,000 and $30,000 and will return a proposal to the committee; staff will also analyze fiscal options for a county disaster fund.