WASHINGTON CO. HAS NEW COUNTY LIAISON OFFICER THROUGH TDEM
POSITION WILL COORDINATE EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT RESOURCES BETWEEN COUNTY, STATE
Washington County has new help at the state level to improve the coordination of emergency management needs.
During Tuesday’s Washington County Commissioners meeting, Emergency Management Coordinator Bryan Ruemke introduced Troy Keller as the new County Liaison Officer (CLO). The position is through the Texas Division of Emergency Management (TDEM), who rolled out the program in April as a way to provide more comprehensive state support for Texas communities and improve emergency management capabilities statewide.
Keller, who lives in Washington County, called himself a “dot connector” who will look at all state resources available and see how they can be utilized locally.
One suggestion Keller offered as an example of the work he would do was to organize a workshop between county officials and TDEM to explain the process of acquiring recovery and mitigation funds from the state after a disaster.
Keller is originally from Iola and joined TDEM after serving for 11 years as a military police officer.
According to a TDEM press release, the division is using funding from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to hire 100 CLOs across Texas, placing state emergency personnel in 137 of the state’s 254 counties. The CLOs are trained and equipped to work as part of an incident management team to support local, regional and statewide efforts.
Texas Emergency Management Chief Nim Kidd said the program “allows TDEM to directly support local partners in a more robust manner by leveraging resources for Texas communities.”