Two public-safety panels merged, says R.I. EMA

CRANSTON – The R.I. Emergency Management Advisory Council and the Domestic Preparedness Subcommittee have merged, the R.I. Emergency Management Agency announced today.
EMAC’s purpose was to review emergency management issues and programs, then advise the governor, while DPS was created to manage the various working groups established after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.
The two panels shared many members, the agency noted in today’s RIEMA News. “Both were meeting monthly and reviewing the same information,” and because many public-safety programs deal with both natural and manmade hazards, “there was redundancy in reporting and programs.”
Therefore, Lt. Gov. Elizabeth Roberts and R.I. EMA director Maj. Gen. Robert T. Bray “felt it would be easier on our partner agencies to have only one meeting,” the announcement said.
The new, combined panel will hold regular quarterly meetings, plus special meetings as needed. At each meeting, the DPS will report first and EMAC will follow. “This will allow the EMAC members to hear reports directly from the working groups and allow the DPS members to know the activities of the EMAC,” the R.I. EMA said.
Each meeting will conclude with a short educational session.
For additional information about the R.I. Emergency Management Advisory Council and the R.I. Domestic Preparedness Subcommittee, call Paul Tencher, the lieutenant governor’s chief of staff, at 222-2371, or e-mail Tom.Kilday@us.army.mil.