The Colorado Division of Emergency Management (DEM) has created and printed the resource tool An Elected Official’s Policy Guide for Disasters and Emergencies. The intent of this pocket guide is to ensure that elected and key officials can easily access the information needed to protect their citizens. This tool will guide you through the decision making processes that you will encounter as you deal with an emergency or disaster in your community. The booklet is organized under tabs that outline specific responsibilities of the Policy Group and will help guide you through the incident. These tabs include information on: Decisions, Initial Actions, Incident Command/Emergency Operations Center (EOC) Integration, Liaison, Resource Management, Agreements, Declarations, Recovery and Finance.

Here are some things to consider when preparing for an emergency:

1. Special Districts are governmental bodies that may have responsibilities to their citizens in disasters and emergencies, and must go through the county for declarations.
2. District officials should get to know the emergency managers in their area and develop agreements for resource sharing, acquisition, and the disaster declaration process. This may also be an avenue to get involved in EOC operations, which typically provide a lot of support.
3. District officials should introduce themselves to their Field Representatives from the DEM and the Division of Local Government (DLG) to ensure adequate support during an emergency. If you need a list of DEM Field Managers visit DEM’s COEmergency website for contact and resource information.

A printed and bound copy of An Elected Official’s Policy Guide for Disasters and Emergencies is available at no cost from your local emergency manager, or it can be downloaded and printed from the DEM website (www.dola.colorado.gov–Emergency Management) under Resources and Publications.