[HISTORY: Adopted by the Village Board of the Village of Waterford 8-28-2017 by Ord. No. 654.[1] Amendments noted where applicable.]
[1]
Editor's Note: This ordinance also repealed former Ch. 17, Emergency Management, adopted as Ch. 6 of the 1998 Code.
To prepare the Village to cope with emergencies resulting from enemy action and natural or man-made disaster, it is declared to be necessary to establish an organization of emergency management for the Village by conferring upon the President of the Village and others specified duties and powers, consistent with Wis. Stats. Chapter 323, which is hereby adopted.
As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the meanings indicated:
DISASTER
A severe or prolonged, natural or human-caused, occurrence that threatens or negatively impacts life, health, property, infrastructure, the environment, the security of the Village, or critical systems, including computer, telecommunications, or agricultural systems.
EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT
All measures undertaken by or undertaken by or on behalf of the Village:
A. 
To prepare for and minimize the effect of a disaster or the imminent threat of a disaster.
B. 
Make repairs to or restore infrastructure or critical systems that are destroyed or damaged by a disaster.
HAZARDOUS SUBSTANCE
Has the meaning set forth in Wis. Stats. § 299.01.
INCIDENT COMMAND SYSTEM
A functional management system established to control, direct, and manage the roles, responsibilities, and operations of all the agencies involved in a multiagency or multijurisdictional emergency response.
A. 
How constituted. The Village Board shall be the Emergency Management Committee, whose President shall be the President of the Village Board.
B. 
Duties. The Emergency Management Committee shall be an advisory and planning group and shall advise the Emergency Management Director on all emergency matters. It shall annually prepare and adopt a budget for emergency management.
C. 
Succession. In the event of an emergency, those members of the Village Board who are available shall have authority to conduct the activities of the Village with no requirement of a quorum. In the event the President is unavailable, the Trustee holding the longest continuous seniority as trustee at the time of the emergency and who is available shall be the President of the Emergency Management Committee.
A. 
Director. There is created the office of Director of Emergency Management.
B. 
Appointment. The Director and any deputies shall be appointed by the Village Board President and confirmed by the Village Board.
C. 
Term. The term of office of the Director shall be until a successor is appointed and qualified.
D. 
Powers and duties. The Director, subject to the control and direction of the Village Board, shall:
(1) 
Develop and promulgate emergency plans for the Village consistent with state and county plans.
(2) 
Be in compliance with all federal and state training requirements pertaining to this position.
(3) 
Direct the emergency management program for the Village as required by the Village Board.
(4) 
Direct the Village emergency training programs and exercises.
(5) 
Provide assistance to Village emergency departments during such emergencies requiring a major response or additional resources to support their efforts.
(6) 
During a state of emergency declared by the Governor, the Emergency Management Director, on behalf of the Village, may contract with any person to provide equipment and services on a cost basis to be used to respond to a disaster or the imminent threat of a disaster.
(7) 
Be the National Incident Management System (NIMS) point of contact for the Village and track all NIMS and ICS training to assure compliance with federal and state guidelines.
(8) 
Aid, assist, and guide all Village officials and departments in the completion of forms relating to emergencies including, but not limited to, ICS forms, emergency orders and declarations of disaster.
(9) 
Advise the Racine County Emergency Management Coordinator on all local programs and submit any required reports.
(10) 
Deputy Emergency Management Directors shall function at the direction of the Village Board and the Director of Emergency Management and shall in the Director's absence act on the Director's behalf in all emergency matters.
A. 
Policy. In preparing and executing the Emergency Management Program, the services, equipment, supplies and facilities of the existing departments and agencies of the Village shall be utilized to the maximum extent practicable; and the heads and personnel of all such departments and agencies are directed to cooperate and extend such services and facilities as are required of them.
B. 
Responsibility. In order to assure that in an emergency all the facilities of the existing Village government are expanded to the fullest to meet such emergency, department and agency heads assigned to specific responsibilities under the Village emergency operations plan will fulfill emergency and nonemergency duties as prescribed in the plan.
A. 
Declaration of emergency. The Village President and Board of Trustees may declare an emergency existing within the Village whenever conditions arise by reason of a riot or civil commotion, a disaster, or imminent threat of a disaster that impairs transportation, food or fuel supplies, medical care, fire, health or police protection, or other critical systems of the Village. In the absence of the Village President, the Trustee holding the longest continuous seniority as trustee at the time of the emergency and who is available may declare an emergency based on the above criteria. The period of the emergency shall be limited by this chapter to the time during which the emergency conditions exist or are likely to exist.
(1) 
In the absence of the Village President or any Trustees and based on the above criteria and an issue of expedience exists, any two of the following Village officials may declare an emergency: the Village Administrator, the Director of Public Works, the Fire Chief, an Assistant Fire Chief, the Emergency Management Director and the Deputy Emergency Management Director.
(2) 
Ratification. With the exception of a declaration by the Village Board, any other declarations shall be subject to ratification, alteration, modification, or repeal by the Village Board as soon as they can meet. Any subsequent action taken shall not affect the validity of the declaration.
B. 
Powers during an emergency. The emergency power conferred upon the Village Board by this chapter and Wis. Stats. §§ 323.11 and 323.14 includes the general authority to order whatever is necessary and expedient for the health, safety, protection and welfare of persons and property within the Village in the emergency and includes the power to bar, restrict, or remove all unnecessary traffic, both vehicular and pedestrian, from the roadway and limit or restrict the operation of watercraft upon any waterway within the Village. The period of the proclamation is limited to the time during which emergency conditions exist or are likely to exist.
(1) 
Proclamation. If, because of the emergency conditions, the Village Board is unable to meet properly, the Village President or the Trustee holding the longest continuous seniority as trustee at the time of the emergency and who is available shall exercise by proclamation all the powers hereby conferred on the Board.
(2) 
In the absence of the Village President or any Trustees and based on the above criteria and an issue of expedience exists, any two of the following Village officials may declare an emergency: the Village Administrator, the Director of Public Works, the Fire Chief, an Assistant Fire Chief, the Emergency Management Director and the Deputy Emergency Management Director.
(3) 
Ratification. With the exception of a proclamation by the Village Board any other emergency proclamations shall be subject to ratification, alteration, modification, or repeal by the Village Board as soon as they can meet, but subsequent action taken shall not affect the validity of the proclamation.
A. 
In responding to an official request for help during any declared state of emergency, any person may operate a boat or any motor vehicle, including a snowmobile or all-terrain vehicle that is not registered in this state.
B. 
Emergency management personnel, in accordance with Wis. Stats. § 340.01(3)(e), are authorized to use any vehicle of the Village and/or their private vehicles as an emergency vehicle in the event of a bona fide emergency.
A. 
A member of the Village's Emergency Management Program is considered an employee of the Village when providing his or her labor during a disaster, an imminent threat of a disaster or a related training exercise or equipment maintenance.
B. 
A volunteer who registers in writing with the Village emergency management to provide his or her own labor without compensation, other than reimbursement for travel, lodging, or meals during a disaster, an imminent threat of a disaster or a related training exercise is considered an employee of the Village for worker's compensation under Wis. Stats. Ch. 102 for purposes of any claim relating to labor provided.
A. 
Whenever during a state of emergency it becomes imprudent, inexpedient, or impossible to conduct the affairs of the Village at the Village Hall, the Village Board of Trustees may meet at any place within or without the territorial limits of the Village of Waterford by call of the Village President or his/her successor, and shall proceed to establish and designate by ordinance, resolution, or other manner, alternate or substitute places as temporary locations of the government where all, or any part of, the public business may be transacted and conducted during the emergency situation.
B. 
Exercise of governmental authority. While the public business is being conducted at a temporary location, the Village Board and other officers of the Village government shall possess and exercise all the executive, legislative, administrative and judicial powers and functions conferred on the body and officers under state law. Those powers and functions, except judicial, may be exercised in the light of the exigencies of the emergency situation without regard to or compliance with time-consuming procedures and formalities prescribed by law. All acts of the Village Board and Village officers shall be as valid and binding as if performed within the territorial limits of the Village of Waterford.
The Village of Waterford adopts the National Incident Management System (NIMS), and its component Incident Command System (ICS), as the standard for all incident management in the Village and shall endeavor to remain compliant with all standards and requests of the state and federal officials.
A. 
Prohibited discharge. No person may discharge or release a hazardous substance in violation of state or federal law in the Village of Waterford.
B. 
Emergency response. A declaration of emergency is not required for the immediate emergency response to a hazardous substance discharge or potential discharge under this section, provided that, if appropriate, a declaration of emergency shall be made as soon as possible.
(1) 
A person who possesses or controls a hazardous substance that is released, or who causes the release of a hazardous substance, shall take the actions necessary to protect public health and safety and prevent damage to property.
(2) 
The Village's emergency response to a discharge or potential discharge of a hazardous substance shall be made pursuant to the provisions of Wis. Stats. Ch. 323, Subchapter VII, and the applicable state, county and Village emergency plans. The Fire Chief and/or the Emergency Management Director may make orders in accordance with said provisions.
(3) 
If no emergency procedure for the response to a reportable hazardous substance discharge, or a potential discharge, is included in the emergency plans, the Fire Chief and/or the Emergency Management Director shall have the authority to develop an emergency procedure tailored to the specific type of discharge and issue orders in accordance with that procedure.
(4) 
In the event of a hazardous substance discharge that is not required to be reported under state or federal law, the Fire Chief shall have the authority to develop a plan and issue orders for the remediation of the discharge.
C. 
Recovery of costs. A person who possessed or controlled a hazardous substance involved in a release or potential release, and/or the person who caused a hazardous substance release or potential release, shall reimburse the Village for actual, reasonable and necessary expenses incurred in responding to the release or potential release.
D. 
Site access. Access to any site, public or private, where a hazardous substance discharge is indicated or suspected shall be provided to the Fire Department, the Emergency Management Director, law enforcement and any other emergency personnel required for the purpose of evaluating the threat to the public and monitoring containment, cleanup, and restoration activities.
A. 
Violations and penalties. Any person who violates any provision of this chapter or who refuses or intentionally fails to comply with the directives of emergency management authorities promulgated under this chapter during an emergency or during any training program or exercise shall be subject to a penalty as provided by Chapter 1, Article II, of this Code.
B. 
Civil liability. Any person in violation of this chapter shall be liable to the Village of Waterford for any expenses incurred by the Village or for any loss or damage sustained by the Village by reason of any violation of this chapter.