That the City Council approve the 2020 Orange County Operational Area Agreement and authorize the City Manager to execute the agreement. 

The City of La Habra, along with other public agencies in Orange County, relies upon a coordinated system of planning and response for large scale emergency and disaster events. This system is established through the Orange County Operational Area (OCOA) Agreement, which creates a collaborative framework for emergency response as required by California's Standardized Emergency Management System (SEMS) (Title 19 California Code of Regulations Section 2409, et seq). 

The City of La Habra joined the OCOA in November 1995. The OCOA guides the process by which Orange County jurisdictions coordinate emergency planning and response activities, overseen by an Executive Board that meets quarterly and which is composed of representatives with significant expertise in emergency response disciplines.  The Executive Board is responsible for the development, establishment and implementation of the policies of the Operation Area. 

In 2017, the Executive Board identified the need to update the Operation Area agreement to better reflect contemporary best management practices. To accomplish this task, the Sheriff-Coroner Department's (Sheriff) Emergency Management Division, which serves as staff to the Operation Area (OA) Executive Board, formed a multi-jurisdictional "OA Agreement Revision Working Group" to complete a comprehensive review and revision of the document.  The revised OCOA Agreement produced by this process has been approved by the Orange County Board of Supervisors and is now ready for final review and approval by member jurisdictions, including the City of La Habra. 

The new proposed OCOA Agreement makes several structural and content changes from the original 1995 document.  Agreement sections are reorganized to make the document easier to understand and reference, as well as reformatted to more closely align with the Emergency Management Division's plan document style guide which brings consistency among the participating jurisdictions.

Approval of the 2020 OCOA Agreement will institute a reorganized operational structure that better addresses agency relationships, jurisdictional responsibilities, and legislated mandates before, during, and after major emergencies, including the present COVID-19 response.
The City of La Habra, upon approval and execution of this agreement, will become members of the "Signatory Council". The overall OA agreement is overseen by the Executive Board which consists of the Chair of the Orange County Board of Supervisors, County Executive Officer, Orange County Sheriff Mutual Aid Coordinator, Fire & Mutual Aid Coordinator, County Public Works Mutual Aid Coordinator, County Health Care Mutual Aid Coordinator, County Water/Wastewater Mutual Aid Coordinator, County Social Services Agency Director, representatives from City Managers Association, the County Chiefs and Sheriffs Association, the County Fire Chief Association, the County Engineers and Public Works Directors Association, Independent Special Districts, County Superintendent of Schools, Community College District and Transportation Authority.  

A comparison of the major content changes between the 1995 document and the proposed updated agreement are outlined here, with a summary of the agreement attached for review  (Attachment 4):

New OA Executive Board Members
Five new Executive Board seats are added to the body to more diversely represent the jurisdictions of the OA.  The new seats are designated for:

• The County Executive Officer
• The OC Social Services Agency Director
• The OA Water/Wastewater Mutual Aid Coordinator
• A representative selected jointly from the OC Community College Districts
• The OC Transportation Authority Chief Executive Officer

OC Emergency Management Organization (OCEMO) Update
Since the 1995 OCOA Agreement was approved, OCEMO has transitioned to a simpler model.  Several changes are made in the new OCOA Agreement draft to reflect the current operational practices of OCEMO and ensure alignment with the new OCEMO bylaws approved in 2018.  Another change is the removal of the OCEMO Representative Board, which has not been in use for a decade or more.  The new draft also provides clarity on the nature of the administrative support provided to OCEMO by the County of Orange.

OA Coordinator Staffing
The 1995 OCOA Agreement specifically outlined which agencies are responsible for staffing the Operational Area Coordinator (OAC) position.  At the time of approval, this staffing arrangement aligned with the staffing of the Director of Emergency Services (DES) position and was meant to outline additional responsibilities for the DES during an OA-wide incident.  Since approval, the County Ordinance that defines staffing for the DES role was updated by Board Resolution #01-212 on July 17, 2001, which created a conflict with the original staffing arrangement.  To correct this conflict and to prevent similar issues in the future, the language in the updated draft is streamlined to reference the County Ordinance and Resolution rather than separately defining OAC staffing.

OA Finance
The 2020 OCOA Agreement includes a significant reworking of language related to OA finances, specifically in the area of  grant funding and administration.  Relevant language once contained in Addendum Two (See Addendums section below) is now incorporated in the main body of the OCOA Agreement.  Language referencing specific grant programs is replaced with broader language that reflects the shifting nature of grant funding and the challenges of grant administration.  The new language also addresses lessons learned related to the financial aspects of mutual aid and disaster recovery.

Addendums
The 1995 OCOA Agreement has three addendums that addressed various issues brought forth during the development of the original document.  Addendum One clarifies roles and responsibilities for the OA, the OA Executive Board and the OAC.  Addendum Two includes documents related to the administration of the Emergency Management Assistance Program grant that no longer exists.  Relevant portions of these two addendums are incorporated into the main body of the new OCOA Agreement draft as appropriate.  Addendum Three is the OA Mutual Aid Plan.  This critical document will become an attachment to the Unified County of Orange and OCOA Emergency Operations Plan.  This will put the Mutual Aid Plan on a more defined schedule of review and revision. 

Naming and Terminology Changes
Several name changes are introduced in the 2020 OCOA Agreement draft to clarify the differences between the various bodies and positions created by the document.

Staff at the La Habra Police Department actively participated in the drafting and development of the proposed agreement, and the proposed agreement has been reviewed by the City Attorney’s Office.

None

EP 1.1 Emergency and Hazard Mitigation Plans.
EP 1.2 Emergency Management Systems.