There shall be a Department of Emergency Response under the direction of a Director, who shall be appointed by the County Administrator, following consultation with the Fire, Disaster, and Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Advisory Board, subject to confirmation by the Tompkins County Legislature.
The Director shall be appointed on the basis of professional experience and other qualifications appropriate to the responsibilities of the office. The Director of the Department of Emergency Response shall be directly responsible to the County Administrator for the implementation of policies established by the Tompkins County Legislature.
The Director of the Department of Emergency Response shall have the power to appoint such deputies, dispatchers, and employees as may be necessary to perform the duties of the Office of Director of the Department of Emergency Response and as shall be authorized by the Tompkins County Legislature. All such deputies, dispatchers, and employees of the Department shall be directly responsible to the Director of the Department of Emergency Response.
Except as otherwise provided in this Charter, the Director of the Department of Emergency Response shall have all the powers and perform all the duties now or hereafter conferred or imposed by law upon a County Fire, Disaster, and Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Coordinator, together with such other and related duties as may be required by the Tompkins County Legislature.
The powers and duties of the Director of the Department of Emergency Response shall be to:
(a) 
Administer the County programs for fire training and mutual aid in cases of fire and other emergencies in which the services of firefighters and EMS personnel would be used;
(b) 
Act as a liaison officer between the Tompkins County Legislature, County Fire, Disaster, and Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Advisory Board, and the fire-fighting forces in the County and the officers and governing boards or bodies thereof;
(c) 
Perform the functions of a County Civil Defense Director under the provisions of the State Executive Law, acting as the County's liaison officer between the Chief Executive Officer and all other elected public officers to the State Office of Emergency Management (OEM) and Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA);
(d) 
Perform the functions of an Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Coordinator, pursuant to County law;
(e) 
Manage the planning, acquisition, installation, maintenance, and oversight of all communications and personnel at the County Emergency Communications Center and in fire, EMS, public safety vehicles and in the vehicles of all public entities authorized to use the County's Communications Systems;
(f) 
Develop and maintain a Comprehensive Emergency Management Plan for Tompkins County;
(g) 
Serve as a resource person to the public and various local organizations, explaining County operations of emergency public safety, fire safety, EMS, and related fields of knowledge;
(h) 
Assist fire departments in training programs; assist all other public agencies in emergency management training;
(i) 
Assist in provision of oversight and coordination between New York State Department of Health, EMS Bureau, Regional EMS Council, Regional Emergency Medical Advisory Committee (REMAC), and personnel throughout the County who are providers of EMS at all levels.
There shall be a County Fire, Disaster, and Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Advisory Board, consisting of not fewer than five and not more than 21 members, appointed by the Tompkins County Legislature for staggered three-year terms.
The powers and duties of the County Fire, Disaster, and EMS Advisory Board shall be to serve as an advisory body to the Tompkins County Legislature and to the Director of the Department of Emergency Response, performing the functions of the Fire, Disaster, and Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Coordinator.
The County Fire, Disaster, and EMS Advisory Board shall advise the Director of the Department of Emergency Response and the County Tompkins County Legislature regarding the County's participation in programs for fire training and mutual aid in cases of fire and other emergencies in which the services of firefighters would be used; shall cooperate with the New York State Office of Fire Prevention and Control, effectuating the purposes for which the office was established in relation to such programs for fire training and mutual aid; and shall advise and recommend upon a coordinated, appropriate County-wide emergency communications system.
The County Fire, Disaster, and EMS Advisory Board shall have the authority to draft bylaws for approval by the Tompkins County Legislature, elect officers from its membership, and establish committees. Updated copies of bylaws must be kept on file in the office of the Clerk of the Tompkins County Legislature.