Executive/Council Action Form (ECAF)
ITEM TITLE:
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Motion 21-223, authorizing the County Executive to execute the dissolution vote ballot to dissolve the Northwest Incident Management Team
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DEPARTMENT: Department of Emergency Management
ORIGINATOR: Jason Biermann
EXECUTIVE RECOMMENDATION: Approve
PURPOSE: To authorize the Executive to vote on dissolution of the Northwest Washington Incident Management Team and take any further actions on behalf of Snohomish County necessary to carry out the dissolution of the Team.
BACKGROUND: On September 9, 2014, by interlocal agreement, Snohomish County became a member agency of the Northwest Washington Incident Management Team (NWIMT), joining several other Snohomish County jurisdictions and special purpose districts. Over the years, Snohomish County has been a partner in trying to cooperatively fund and operate this team, which supported the region (i.e., Snohomish, Skagit, Whatcom, San Juan, and Island Counties). Fluctuations in membership and deployments, increasing costs to equip and run the team, and diminished availability from the volunteer members of team made it increasingly difficult to adequately maintain all of the work that allowed the team to stay trained, educated, qualified, and at the ready to deploy. Meanwhile, over the same time period, the NWIMT became become increasingly reliant on Snohomish County for revenue and membership. Currently, 80% of the total amount of special assessments paid by member agencies comes from Snohomish County entities, and the bulk of the team members come from Snohomish County agencies. Recognizing that a regional team may no longer be viable, the NWIMT's Board of Directors met on May 7, 2021 and passed a motion to send the attached documents to all 19 member agencies. These documents outline the background for their decision and include a ballot to be submitted by each agency. In accordance with the original interlocal agreement, "The NWIMT may be dissolve...
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