OKANOGAN – The Okanogan County Commissioners agreed to participate in a grant from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security for the emergency management department.

The federal grant is for $57,451 and requires no matching funds. It will fund approximately 30 percent of the wages for an Emergency Management Specialist position, in this case for Lori Caswell the EM Specialist II. It will also fund some projects, equipment, training and the yearly subscription to the Everbridge system. The Everbridge system can send timer-sensitive emergency alerts from Emergency Management via text, email and phone to those who have signed up to receive them.

The grant is something Emergency Management applies for annually, along with the Emergency Management Performance Grant (EMPG) from the state, according to Maurice Goodall, the director of Okanogan County Emergency Management.

“These are grants we get each year; the federal grant funding is actually given to each state and we are the sub-recipient of the funds. They set the requirements, and we apply,” he said.

Goodall said part of the Emergency Management Specialist’s wages can also come from the EMPG grant. He said the difference is that this grant requires a match and that they can use his wages, which are paid by Okanogan County Emergency Management, to cover the required match.

“And of course my wages come from the county and the cities,” he said.

Goodall, who has been with Emergency Management since 2015, said he appreciates the Homeland Security grants, but he has watched the amount of money they offer decrease, and the grant requirements, increase each year.

Okanogan County Emergency Management is an organization of the county and the various incorporated cities of Okanogan County. They have regular meetings with one commissioner representing the county and all the mayors, or their representatives, the cities.

“All 13 cities and the county are in the organization and the county represents about 60 percent of the population and the cities about 40 percent. The amount each member pays is based on its population,” said Goodall. “As the county is the largest member in the organization, they are required to offer office space for Emergency Management.”