Abstract
Centralization in the emergency management framework after September 11, 2001, has been widely debated for its effect on the appropriate roles of government. To better understand the implications of centralization on US disaster management, a nationwide survey of county emergency managers was conducted that identified several issues regarding the expansive federal role in day-to-day operations of local emergency management. Somewhat surprisingly, survey responses of local emergency managers describe the current disaster management framework as a centrally planned function. The results of this survey are further explored through a literature review which examines the role of the local emergency manager, given that he has little autonomy from the federal government.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Notes
- 1.
An electronic survey was sent to 2339 county emergency managers during the fall of 2013, with 598 respondents.
References
Balonon-Rosen, P. 2017. The Business of Disaster: How Does the U.S. Spend Relief Money? Marketplace, November 27. http://www.marketplace.org/2017/11/27/world/business-disaster-how-does-us-spend-relief-money.
Birkland, T.A., and S.E. DeYoung. 2011. Emergency Response, Doctrinal Confusion, and Federalism in the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill. Publius: The Journal of Federalism 41 (3): 471–493.
Birkland, T., and S. Waterman. 2008. Is Federalism the Reason for Policy Failure in Hurricane Katrina? Publius: The Journal of Federalism 38 (4): 692–714.
Blanchard, W. 2004. Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Higher Education Project Update, December 3, 2004. Washington, DC: Federal Emergency Management Agency. http://www.training.fema.gov/emiweb/downloads/highedbrief_course2.ppt.
Choi, S.O. 2004. Emergency Management Growth in the State of Florida. State & Local Government Review 36 (3): 212–226.
Collins, M.L., and S.L. Peerbolte. 2012. Public Administration Emergency Management Pedagogy: Cultivating the Habit of Critical Thinking. Journal of Public Affairs Education 18 (2): 315–326.
Comfort, L. 1985. Integrating Organizational Action in Emergency Management; Strategies for Change. Public Administration Review 45 (Special Issue: Emergency Management: A Challenge for Public Administration): 155–164.
Crabill, A. L. 2015. The Effects of Federal Financial Assistance: Attitudes and Actions of Local Emergency Managers. University of Delaware Thesis. http://udspace.udel.edu/handle/19716/17054.
Cwiak, C., K. Cline, and T. Karlgaard. 2004. Emergency Management Demographics: What Can We Learn from a Comparative Analysis of IAEM Respondents and Rural Emergency Managers? Washington, DC: Federal Emergency Management Agency. https://training.fema.gov/hiedu/surveys.aspx.
Derthick, M. 2009. The Transformation That Fell Short: Bush, Federalism, and Emergency Management. Paper for the Nelson A. Rockefeller Institute of Government, Albany, N.Y. https://rockinst.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/2009-08-Transformation_That_Fell-min.pdf
FEMA. 2016. Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act, as Amended, and Related Authorities as of August 2016, Public Law 93-288. Washington, DC: Federal Emergency Management Agency and US Congress. https://www.fema.gov/media-library/assets/documents/15271.
FEMA. 2017a. Emergency Management Performance Grant Program. Washington, DC: Federal Emergency Management Agency and US Congress. https://www.fema.gov/emergency-management-performance-grant-program.
FEMA. 2017b. Homeland Security Grant Program. Washington, DC: Federal Emergency Management Agency and US Congress. https://www.fema.gov/homeland-security-grant-program.
Garrett, T.A., and R.S. Sobel. 2003. The Political Economy of FEMA Disaster Payments. Economic Inquiry 41 (3): 496–509.
IAEM. 2012. Emergency Management Performance Grant Funds: Returns on Investment at the Local Level. Falls Church, VA: US Council of International Association of Emergency Managers. http://www.iaem.com/documents/IAEM.EMPG.ROI.Survey.Report3.5.12.pdf.
IAEM. 2018. IAEM-USA Legislative Priorities. Falls Church, VA: US Council of International Association of Emergency Managers. http://www.iaem.com/documents/IAEM-Legislative-Priorities-Summer2018.pdf.
Jensen, J. 2011. Preparedness: A Principled Approach to Return on Investment. Falls Church, VA: International Association of Emergency Managers. https://www.ndsu.edu/fileadmin/emgt/IAEM_preparedness_principled_approach_81111.pdf.
Jensen, C., and H. Meckling. 1976. Theory of the Firm: Managerial Behavior, Agency Costs and Ownership Structure. Journal of Financial Economics 3 (4): 305–360.
Kincaid, J. 1990. From Cooperative to Coercive Federalism. Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science 509 (1): 139–152.
Lovell, C.H. 1981. Evolving Local Government Dependency. Public Administration Review 41 (Special Issue: The Impact of Resource Scarcity on Urban Public Finance): 189–202.
Miao, Q., Y. Hou, and M. Abrigo. 2016. Measuring the Financial Shocks of Natural Disasters: A Panel Study of U.S. States. National Tax Journal 71 (1): 11–44.
Mitnick, B. M. 1975. The Theory of Agency: A Framework. SSR Working Paper No. ID 1021642. https://papers.ssrn.com/abstract=1021642.
National Emergency Management Association. 2018. NEMA’s Role in Washington. https://www.nemaweb.org/index.php/about/government-relations. Accessed December 15, 2017.
New York v. United States. 1992. US Supreme Court, Volume 505, U.S. 144. https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/505/144/case.html.
Niskanen, W.A. 1968. The Peculiar Economics of Bureaucracy. The American Economic Review 58 (2): 293–305.
O’Connor, M. J. 2005. From Chaos to Clarity: Educating Emergency Managers. University of Akron Dissertation. https://etd.ohiolink.edu/!etd.send_file?accession=akron1123250948&disposition=inline.
People ex rel. Le Roy v. Hurlbut. 1871. Michigan Supreme Court. https://www.ravellaw.com/opinions/35a38466d5974971fa5620128e4c98be.
Roberts, P.S. 2007. Dispersed Federalism as a New Regional Governance for Homeland Security. Publius: The Journal of Federalism 38 (3): 416–443.
Ross, S. 1973. The Economic Theory of Agency: The Principal’s Problem. The American Economic Review 63 (2): 134–139.
Scavo, C., R.C. Kearney, and R.J. Kilroy. 2008. Challenges to Federalism: Homeland Security and Disaster Response. Publius: The Journal of Federalism 38 (1): 81–110.
Sobel, R.S., and P.T. Leeson. 2006. Government’s Response to Hurricane Katrina: A Public Choice Analysis. Public Choice 127: 55–73.
Sullivan, J. 2003. The Tenth Amendment and Local Government. The Yale Law Journal 112 (7): 1935–1942.
US Census Bureau. 2009. American FactFinder – Results. Washington, DC: US Census Bureau. https://factfinder.census.gov/faces/tableservices/jsf/pages/productview.xhtml?pid=ACS_16_5YR_S1501&prodType=table.
US House Select Bipartisan Committee to Investigate the Preparation for and Response to Hurricane Katrina. 2006. A Failure of Initiative: The Final Report of the Select Bipartisan Committee to Investigate the Preparation for and Response to Hurricane Katrina, H. Rept. 109-377. Washington, DC: US House of Representatives. https://katrina.house.gov/.
Waugh, W.L. 1994. Regionalizing Emergency Management: Counties as State and Local Government. Public Administration Review 54 (3): 253–258.
Waugh, W.L., and G. Streib. 2006. Collaboration and Leadership for Effective Emergency Management. Public Administration Review 66 (s1): 131–140.
Weaver, J., L.C. Harkabus, J. Braun, S. Miller, R. Cox, J. Griffith, and R.J. Mazur. 2014. An Overview of a Demographic Study of United States Emergency Managers. Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society 95 (2): 199–203.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2020 The Author(s)
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
LePore, A. (2020). The Role of the Local Emergency Manager in a Centralized System of Disaster Management. In: Haeffele, S., Storr, V. (eds) Government Responses to Crisis. Mercatus Studies in Political and Social Economy. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-39309-0_4
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-39309-0_4
Published:
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-030-39308-3
Online ISBN: 978-3-030-39309-0
eBook Packages: Economics and FinanceEconomics and Finance (R0)