Commissioners
Mary Jo Kilroy, President
Dewey R. Stokes
Paula Brooks

May 20, 2005

Dear Local Official:

Homeland Security Presidential Directive (HSPD)-5 directed the Secretary of Homeland Security to develop and administer the National Incident Management System (NIMS). In addition, the Directive states, "Beginning in Fiscal Year 2005, Federal departments and agencies shall make adoption of the NIMS a requirement, to the extent permitted by law, for providing Federal preparedness assistance through grants, contracts, or other activities."

Implementation of and compliance with the NIMS is critical to ensuring full and robust preparedness across our nation. At the state, territorial, tribal, and local levels, jurisdictions should support NIMS implementation by formally recognizing NIMS and adopting NIMS principles and policies and by completing the NIMS Awareness Course: "National Incident Management System, An Introduction" IS700. As defined in the Homeland Security Act of 2002, Section 2(10) the term "local government" means (A) county, municipality, city, town, township, local public authority, school district, special district, council of governments.or agency or instrumentality of a local government.and a rural community, unincorporated town or village, or other public entity." 6 U.S.C. 101(10)

Formally Recognizing and Adopting NIMS:
Attached, is a legislative template for the adoption of the NIMS by your jurisdiction. We have provided copies of the City of Columbus and Franklin County's recently passed legislation as a guide. Once passed, a copy of your local legislation must be sent to the Office of Homeland Security and Justice Programs 373 South High Street, 25th Floor Columbus, Ohio 43215 to be on-file in the case of federal audit.

NIMS Awareness Course IS700 Certification:
This independent study course developed by the Emergency Management Institute (EMI) explains the purpose, principles, key components and benefits of NIMS. The course is available on-line and will take between forty-five minutes to three hours to complete. In addition we have established four local training sites to deliver classroom/instructor style training for those who are unable to complete the course online. Enclosed you will find locations and contact information for the local training sites. The target audience for the NIMS training course includes emergency preparedness, prevention, and response personnel, emergency managers and public/elected officials within the following disciplines: firefighters, law enforcement, emergency management, emergency medical services, hazardous materials, public works, public health, health care, public safety communications, governmental administrative, cyber security and private security providers.

Tracking Compliance with NIMS:
All jurisdictions must show substantial progress toward compliance with the NIMS by October 1, 2005 and be in full compliance by October 1, 2006 or are subject to the loss of federal preparedness funds. Therefore, it is critical that we track our certification progress. A centralized database has been developed and will be maintained by the Columbus Police Training Academy to track the IS700 NIMS Certification by jurisdiction. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) will issue a "Certificate of Achievement" to all persons who satisfactorily complete the IS700 NIMS training. A copy of every certificate must be mailed to the Columbus Police Training Academy 100 N. Hague Ave. Columbus, Ohio 43204. Quarterly reports will be issued to the CEO of each jurisdiction indicating certification progress to date.

Additional information about NIMS compliance and resources for achieving compliance is available by contacting Kathy Crandall, Director of Homeland Security and Justice Programs at 462-5570 or Donna Monell, Interim Director of Emergency Management and Homeland Security at 794-0213.

Thank you for your support in the adoption and implementation of the National Incident Management System (NIMS) in Franklin County. Together, by adopting the NIMS and training our personnel, we will strengthen our preparedness to prevent, respond to, and recover from threats or acts of terrorism and natural disasters.

Mary Jo Kilroy, President
Franklin County Board of Commissioners

Enclosures: HSPD 5
Secretary Ridge's Letter to the Governors
Legislative Templates
NIMS Training Options