Chapter 3.124 Portland Bureau of Emergency Management

City Code Chapter

(Chapter replaced by Ordinance 184740; Amended by Ordinance 185304, effective June 1, 2012.)

3.124.010 Definitions.

(Amended by Ordinances 185304 and 189462, effective May 17, 2019.) 

  1. The following definitions apply to Chapters 3.124 through 3.126:
  2. A.  “Comprehensive Emergency Management Plan (CEMP)” means a written document that describes the City’s overall emergency management plan.  A CEMP specifies the purpose, organization, responsibilities and facilities of the agencies and officials of the City in the mitigation of, preparation for, response to, and recovery from emergencies and disasters. 
  3. B.  “Director” means the director of the Portland Bureau of Emergency Management.
  4. C.  “Emergency” means any natural, technological or human-made, event or circumstance causing or threatening: widespread loss of life, injury to persons or property, human suffering or financial loss, including but not limited to fire, explosion, flood, severe weather, landslides or mud slides, drought, earthquake, volcanic activity, tsunamis or other oceanic phenomena, spills or releases of oil or hazardous material, contamination, utility or transportation emergencies, disease, blight, infestation, civil disturbance, riot, sabotage, acts of terrorism and war.
  5. D.  “Emergency Coordination Center (ECC)” means the centralized location where local officials gather during an emergency to coordinate emergency response activities and implement direction from the Mayor.
  6. E.  “Emergency Management” means an approach to prevent, protect against, respond to, recover from, and mitigate the effects of incidents.
  7. F.  “Emergency Notices” means information that is disseminated primarily in anticipation of or during an emergency.  In addition to providing situational information to the public, it frequently provides directive actions required to be taken by the general public.
  8. G.  “Emergency Plan” means an ongoing plan for responding to a wide variety of potential hazards.
  9. H.  “Incident” means an occurrence, natural or human-made, that requires a response to protect life or property in an emergency.
  10. I.  “National Incident Management System” (NIMS) means the Federal Government’s standardized framework of doctrines, concepts, principles, terminology, and organizational processes for emergency management.
  11. J.  “Continuity of Operations” (COOP) Plan means a plan that describes how a bureau will continue to perform its essential functions following an event that disrupts normal operations. 

3.124.030 Purpose.

(Amended by Ordinance 185304, effective June 1, 2012.) 

  1. The purpose of PBEM is to centralize leadership and coordination of emergency management.

3.124.040 Organization.

(Amended by Ordinances 185304 and 189462, effective May 17, 2019.) 

  1. The Portland Bureau of Emergency Management shall consist of the Director and such other employees as the Council may provide. The Director shall be immediately responsible to the Mayor or its commissioner-in-charge if other than the Mayor, and, thereafter, to the City Council.

3.124.050 Director's Powers and Duties.

(Amended by Ordinance 185304, effective June 1, 2012.)

  1. The Director of the Portland Bureau of Emergency Management’s duties and powers include, but are not limited to the following:
  2. A.  Overall administrative authority for the Office;
  3. B.  Serve as principal strategic advisor to the Mayor concerning emergency management;
  4. C.  Implement policy directives of the City Council and the Disaster Policy Council and enforce the schedules and plans approved by them;
  5. D.  Manage the Emergency Coordination Center (ECC), establishing the overall structure, roles, responsibilities and direction for the operation of the ECC and ensuring that the ECC is appropriately sited, staffed, equipped, and maintained. The Director may reassign employees to ECC duties as required;
  6. E.  Maintain written emergency plans, including all chapters, annexes and appendices of the Comprehensive Emergency Management Plan (CEMP) and annually submit a report with any recommendations for revisions;
  7. F.  Maintain records documenting compliance with requirements of federal and state emergency management programs, including NIMS.  When a bureau other than PBEM possesses such records, the bureau shall immediately produce them upon the request of the Director;
  8. G.  Develop and implement training and exercise programs for responders that test the effectiveness of the CEMP and other emergency management plans;
  9. H.  Develop and implement processes, procedures, and systems for communicating emergency notices to the public and responders about incidents;
  10. I.  Develop and implement programs to educate the public about emergency preparedness, including volunteer programs, and train citizens to assist in emergencies;
  11. J.  Evaluate the effectiveness of the City’s response to an emergency event.

3.124.060 Staff and Delegation.

(Amended by Ordinances 185304 and 189462, effective May 17, 2019.) 

  1. A.  The Director may appoint an Operations Manager who is accountable to the Director and may appoint other personnel necessary to carry out the provisions of this Chapter, when in keeping with the adopted budget for PBEM or specially funded projects.
  2. B.  The Director may delegate to staff members any of the Director's duties.
  3. C.  In the event of an emergency, the line of succession for the PBEM is: the succession plan described in the Bureau’s COOP plan. 
  4. D.  When a succession occurs, all duties and responsibilities of the Director are transferred to the successor and any delegations remain in place unless withdrawn by the new Director.

3.124.070 Neighborhood Emergency Team Program.

  1. The purpose of the Neighborhood Emergency Team Program is to prepare neighborhoods for self-sufficiency during an emergency by providing individuals with information, training, and exercises related to emergency preparedness and response.

3.124.080 Neighborhood Emergency Teams.

  1. A.  As part of the Neighborhood Emergency Team Program, the Director is authorized to:
    1. 1.  Create Neighborhood Emergency Teams (NET) and define the qualifications for membership therein;
    2. 2.  Develop written processes and procedures governing the conduct of members;
    3. 3.  Conduct or cause to be conducted such inquiries or investigations into the fitness of an individual to serve as a NET member that the Director believes are necessary and appropriate;
    4. 4.  Conduct or approve of ongoing training for NET members;
    5. 5.  Designate certain NET members as team leaders for the purpose of supervision;
    6. 6.  Dismiss or remove NET members.
  2. B.  When acting as agents of the City, NET members are entitled to defense and indemnification pursuant to ORS 30.285.

3.124.090 Neighborhood Emergency Team Leaders.

  1. A.  All NET members shall be immediately responsible to a team leader and thereafter the Director.  The Director may dismiss or remove a NET Leader.
  2. B.  NET leaders may designate one assistant for each five NET members or fraction thereof for purposes of maintaining adequate supervision of NET members during training or deployment.
  3. C.  NET leaders are responsible  for the organization, ongoing training, communication with and operational safety of the NET members assigned to their teams.
  4. D.  NET leaders shall attend regularly scheduled meetings for the purposes of training and communicating with NET members.
  5. E.  NET leaders shall evaluate the performance of NET members and may recommend to the Director the dismissal or removal of NET members.

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