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Approval of the City of Dublin Emergency Operations Plan
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TO: Honorable Mayor and City Councilmembers
FROM: Colleen Tribby, City Manager
Prepared By: Jordan Foss, Senior Management Analyst
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:
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The City Council will consider approving the City of Dublin Emergency Operations Plan (EOP). The EOP, consisting of a Basic Plan (the primary governing section) as well as appendices and annexes that contain sensitive operational information, establishes the City’s emergency structure, order of operations, and policies for coordinating disaster response and recovery as a member of the Alameda County Operational Area. Under the EOP, the City Council approves the Basic Plan, while the appendices and annexes are maintained by the City Manager and the City’s Emergency Coordinator.
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STAFF RECOMMENDATION:
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Adopt the Resolution Approving the City of Dublin Emergency Operations Plan.
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FINANCIAL IMPACT:
The cost for Tetra Tech, Inc. to assist Staff with updating the Emergency Operations Plan was $47,243. Adequate funds were included in the Fiscal Year 2026-27 Budget for this purpose.
DESCRIPTION:
Background
On January 6, 2004, the City Council approved the Comprehensive Emergency Management Plan (CEMP) as the City’s official emergency response plan (Resolution No. 7-04). On November 17, 2020, the City Council approved the City of Dublin Emergency Operations Plan (EOP), which replaced the 2004 CEMP (Resolution No. 116-20). The 2026 EOP is the first comprehensive update to the plan since its approval in 2020.
Since 2020, emergency management guidance and the City’s planning context have continued to evolve, including updates to the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) Comprehensive Preparedness Guide and the City’s participation in the 2023 Tri-Valley Hazard Mitigation Plan. The City engaged Tetra Tech, Inc. to assist Staff with preparing a comprehensive update to the 2020 EOP.
2026 Emergency Operations Plan Overview
The updated EOP outlines how the City, its partner agencies, community organizations, businesses, and residents coordinate their response to major emergencies and disasters. It identifies the roles and responsibilities of the City’s emergency organization across the four phases of emergency management (preparedness, response, recovery, and mitigation) and continues to integrate ICS, SEMS, NIMS, and the National Response Framework (NRF). The plan is organized in three parts:
• Basic Plan - This provides the planning assumptions, policies, and operating concepts that guide the City’s emergency management program, including Emergency Operations Center (EOC) activation and organization, emergency proclamations, public information, continuity of government, and plan maintenance. The Basic Plan is the portion of the EOP that is required to be approved by the City Council.
• Appendices - These provide supporting operational information, including the EOC Action Plan (roles and responsibilities, EOC activation, and a profile of the City).
• Annexes - These are hazard-specific and functional plans that address earthquakes, flooding, wildfire, severe weather, mass care and shelter, energy emergencies, alerts and warnings, and cyber incidents.
Key Updates
The updated EOP reflects current state and federal guidance and the city’s current hazard profile. Notable elements include:
• Eight hazard-specific and functional annexes, including for natural disasters, energy emergencies, alert and warning, and cyber incidents;
• A Whole Community Approach that addresses the needs of people with disabilities and access and functional needs, as well as culturally diverse communities, and commits the City to considering these communities in future plan reviews;
• Flexible EOC staffing options, allowing the EOC to operate in person, virtually, or in a hybrid format at the discretion of the Director of Emergency Services;
• Updated local emergency proclamation procedures, which note that a proclamation by the Director of Emergency Services must be ratified by the City Council within seven days, reviewed by the City Council at least every 60 days, and made within 10 days of an incident to qualify for assistance under the California Disaster Assistance Act; and
• Alignment with the 2023 Tri-Valley Hazard Mitigation Plan, which identifies earthquakes as a high hazard and severe weather and landslide as medium hazards for the city.
Changes to Plan Approval and Maintenance
The 2020 EOP, including its appendices, was approved by the City Council in its entirety. Under the updated EOP, the City Council is required to approve only the Basic Plan, which establishes the City’s emergency management policy framework and is a public document. The appendices and annexes will be updated and maintained by the City Manager, as the Director of Emergency Services, and the City’s Emergency Coordinator, while the Basic Plan remains the City Council’s policy document for emergency management.
This approach serves two purposes. First, the appendices and annexes contain sensitive operational information, such as staff and agency contact information, facility locations and capabilities, security and cybersecurity procedures, and internal response protocols. These materials are maintained separately from the Basic Plan and may be withheld from public disclosure to the extent permitted under the California Public Records Act, because their release could compromise the safety of the public, emergency responders, or critical facilities. Second, maintaining these operational documents administratively allows them to be updated as staffing, procedures, and conditions change, keeping them current between formal plan updates.
Under Section 9.0 of the Basic Plan, the City’s Emergency Coordinator is responsible for the review, revision, management, and distribution of the EOP. Annexes will be reviewed at least annually, or sooner as conditions warrant. The Basic Plan may be modified following a post-incident or post-exercise evaluation, or because of changes in responsibilities, laws, guidance, or regulations. Any changes to the Basic Plan will be brought back to the City Council for approval.
Next Steps
Following City Council approval, a copy of the signed Resolution will be inserted into the EOP, and the Basic Plan component of the EOP will be finalized. The complete EOP, including the appendices and annexes, will be distributed electronically to City departments, the EOC, and EOC Section Chiefs within one month of approval. Distribution of the appendices and annexes outside the City is limited to emergency response partners with assigned responsibilities, including the Alameda County Sheriff’s Office (Dublin Police Services), the Alameda County Fire Department, and the Alameda County Office of Emergency Services. The Emergency Coordinator will continue to maintain the plan and use it to guide future emergency management training and exercises.
STRATEGIC PLAN INITIATIVE:
None.
NOTICING REQUIREMENTS/PUBLIC OUTREACH:
The City Council Agenda was posted.
ATTACHMENTS:
1) Resolution Approving the City of Dublin Emergency Operations Plan
2) Exhibit A to the Resolution - City of Dublin Emergency Operations Plan