Jones told the commissioners the agreement is all about training, and Haverkos said it is an attempt to usurp his agency’s authority.
“Not only is this looked at as a workaround, around the current nationally endorsed resource-sharing and training system, but also a potential erosion of the emergency management system entrusted to the EMA executive board,” Haverkos said.
Haverkos had earlier complained to the commissioners about the sheriff taking an EMA command vehicle without permission to Indiana to help search the Ohio River for James Hutchinson, the Middletown 6-year-old who was allegedly killed by his mother. He said there were liability issues with the move.
The commissioners called for an end to the long-standing battle between the two emergency response agencies.
“If it’s going to take me buying a man purse and having the keys of every single vehicle and you guys have to come to me to get it, that’s what just may happen,” Commissioner T.C. Rogers said. “I am only considering this particular agreement and nothing else. We’ll just see what comes of it but I’m not opening the door to a whole new era of emergency management.”
The sheriff has been trying to overtake EMA for over a decade, but until recently the commissioners couldn’t consider it because it was prohibited by state law. The takeover is legal now that former State Sen. Bill Coley, R-Liberty Twp., inserted a provision in the 2019 transportation bill that allows the takeover.
County Prosecutor Mike Gmoser advised the commissioners previously he believes the new law is unconstitutional and the takeover topic hasn’t been raised since January 2020. It wasn’t raised this week, but it is clear the animosity still exists.
The Emergency Management Agency is not a first responder to emergencies, as the local police and fire agencies retain that role. The EMA becomes involved when incidents beyond a common emergency occur and other resources are required.
Jones told the commissioners he primarily wanted the agreement, which the commissioners ultimately approved, so he can take advantage of training opportunities with the EMA in Campbell County. Bill Turner, the EMA director there, was Butler County’s EMA director years ago, and Jones tried to overtake the agency while he was at the helm in 2005.
Commissioner Cindy Carpenter asked what the main goal of the mutual aid agreement with Kentucky is.
“It’s training, working together and cooperation. The world’s a messed up place right now and anytime we can train together and work together it’s a great thing, we just can’t do that with the EMA person here,” Jones said. “Hell we go down to the river to try to find a 6-year-old boy and what does the EMA guy do here, he complains that we’ve used their damn truck.”
Jones said they “go everywhere for training” and ticked off several recent and future local trainings, like silo rescue, so he can’t understand why the EMA was opposing the Kentucky agreement.
“All we want is some damn training...,” Jones said. “And we can’t get that here, there’s no cooperation, none, zero... “It comes down to the EMA just feels like we’re (expletive) in their backyard that’s all it is.”
Haverkos told the Journal-News the reason he spoke up about the Kentucky agreement was because the EMA was not part of the process of working up the agreement.
Commissioner Don Dixon asked that a meeting be convened between the commissioners, the sheriff and EMA to sort out the differences. He said the taxpayers pay for the sheriff, EMA, police and fire departments and they need to put them first.
“I would hope that we could sit down and somehow make this work for everybody” Dixon said. “I think we really need to keep in mind who is paying the price here, who is really putting their lives in your hands is the residents and so I think it behooves all of us to work together, like we do throughout Butler County, especially when resources are short.”
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