City Council:
AN ORDINANCE AUTHORIZING THE MAYOR
TO ENTER INTO A MEMORANDUM OF
AGREEMENT WITH THE FEDERAL EMERGENCY
MANAGEMENT AGENCY (FEMA) INTEGRATED
PUBLIC ALERT AND WARNING SYSTEM (IPAWS)
Whereas, in correspondence dated March 11, 2026, the Director of the Office of Emergency Management formally requested authorization for the Mayor to execute a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) between the City of Mount Vernon Office of Emergency Management and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Integrated Public Alert and Warning System (IPAWS) Program Management Office for participation in the IPAWS program; and
Whereas, the City of Mount Vernon is committed to protecting the health, safety, and welfare of its residents, businesses, and visitors during emergency situations; and
Whereas, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) administers the Integrated Public Alert and Warning System (IPAWS), the nation's official system for disseminating critical public alerts and warnings through multiple communication platforms; and
Whereas, the IPAWS system enables local governments and authorized emergency management agencies to deliver life-safety alerts through several nationwide communication channels including Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEA) to mobile devices, the Emergency Alert System (EAS) through television and radio broadcasts, and NOAA Weather Radio All Hazards; and
Whereas, the City of Mount Vernon Office of Emergency Management seeks authorization to integrate the City's existing interoperable emergency notification systems with FEMA's IPAWS Open Platform for Emergency Networks (IPAWS-OPEN) in order to deliver timely, accurate, and coordinated emergency alerts to the public; and
Whereas, participation in the IPAWS program will allow authorized personnel within the City of Mount Vernon Office of Emergency Management to issue alerts during emergencies including severe weather events, public safety incidents, evacuations...
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