AN ORDINANCE PROVIDING FOR CIVIL DEFENSE AND FOR PROTECTION AND PROMOTION OF PUBLIC SAFETY, HEALTH AND WELFARE IN THE CITY OF WABASSO DURING CIVIL DEFENSE EMERGENCIES
The City Council of Wabasso ordains:
Section 1
Subdivision 1. Because of the existing and increasing possibility of disasters of unprecedented size and destructiveness resulting from enemy attack, sabotage or other hostile action’ or from fire, flood, earthquake, or other natural causes and in order to insure that preperations of this city will be adequate to deal with such disasters, and to generally provide for the common defense and to protect the public peace, health and safety, and to preserve the lives and property of the people of this city, it is hereby found and declared to be necessary:
- To establish a local organization for civil defense;
- To provide for the exercise of necessary powers during civil defense emergencies;
- To provide for the rendering of mutual aid between this city and other political subdivisions of this state and of other states with respect to carrying out of civil defense functions.
Subdivision 2. It is further declared to be the purpose of this ordinance and the police of the city that all civil defense functions of this city be coordinated to the maximum extent practicable with the comparable functions of the Federal governments, of this state, the county and of other states and localities, and of private agencies of every type, to the end that the most effective preparations and use be made of the nation’s manpower, resources, and facilities for dealing with any disaster that may occur.
Section 2
Definitions.
Subdivision 1. “Civil Defense” means the preparations for and the carrying out of all emergency functions, other than functions for which military forces are primarily responsible, to prevent, minimize and repair injury and damage resulting from disasters caused by enemy attack, sabotage, or natural causes. These functions include, without limitation, fire-fighting services, police services, medical health services, rescue, engineering, warning services, communications, radiological, chemical and other special weapons defense, evacuation of persons from stricken areas, emergency welfare services, emergency transportation, existing or properly assigned functions of plant protection, temporary restoration of public utility services, utilization of best available Fallout Shelters, and other functions related to civilian protection, together with all other activities necessary or incidental to preparation for and carrying out of the foregoing functions.
Subdivision 2. “Civil Defense emergency” means an emergency declared by the governor under Minnesota Statutes, Section 12.31, or an emergency proclaimed by the Mayor under Section 6 of this ordinance.
Subdivision 3. “Civil Defense forces” means any personnel employed by the city and any other volunteer or paid member of the local civil defense agency engaged in carrying on civil defense functions in accordance with the provisions of this ordinance or any rule thereunder.
Section 3
Establishment of Civil Defense Agency
Subdivision 1. There is hereby created within the city government a civil defense agency, which shall be under the supervision and control of a director of civil defense, hereinafter called the director.
Subdivision 2. The director shall be appointed by the mayor for an indefinite term and may be removed by him at any time. The director may be compensated at a rate to be determined by the city council and he shall be paid his necessary expenses. The director shall have direct responsibility for the organization, administration and operation of the civil defense agency, subject to the direction and control of the mayor. The civil defense agency shall be organized into such divisions, and bureaus consistent with state and local civil defense plans, as the director deems necessary to provide for the efficient performance of local civil defense functions during a civil defense emergency. The civil defense agency shall perform civil defense functions within the city and, in addition, shall conduct such functions outside the city as may be required pursuant to the provisions of the Minnesota Civil Defense Act of 1951 as amended or this ordinance.
Section 4
Powers and Duties of the Director
Subdivision1. The director, with the consent of the mayor, shall represent the city on any regional or state organization for civil defense. He shall develop proposed mutual aid agreement with other political subdivisions within or outside the state for reciprocal civil defense aid and assistance in civil defense emergencies too great to be dealt with unassisted, and he shall present such agreements to the council for its action. Such arrangements shall be consistent with the state civil defense plan and during a civil defense emergency, it shall be the duty of the civil defense agency and civil defense forces to render assistance in accordance with the provisions of such mutual aid arrangements. Any mutual aid arrangement with a political subdivision of another state shall be subject to the approval of the governor.
Subdivision 2. The director shall make such studies and surveys of the man power, industries resources, and facilities of the city including Fallout Shelters, as he deems necessary to determine their adequacy for civil defense, and to plan for their most efficient use in the time of a civil defense emergency.
Subdivision 3. The director shall prepare a comprehensive general plan for the civil defense of the city which shall include a community shelter plan using the established fallout shelters and shall present such plan to the council for its approval. When the council has approved the plan by resolution, it shall be the duty of all municipal agencies and all civil defense forces of the city to perform the duties and functions assigned by the plan as approved. The plan may be modified in like manner from time to time. The director shall coordinate the civil defense activities for the city to the end that they shall be consistent and fully integrated with the civil defense plans of other political subdivisions within the state.
Subdivision 4. In accordance with the state and city civil defense plan, the director shall institute such training programs and public information programs and shall take all of the preparation steps, including the partial or full mobilization of civil defense forces in advance of an actual disaster, as may be necessary to the prompt effective operation of the city civil defense plan in the time of a civil defense emergency. He may, from time to time, conduct such practice air-raid alerts or other civil defense exercises as he may deem necessary.
Subdivision 5. The director shall utilize the personnel, services, equipment, supplies and facilities of existing department and agencies to the maximum extent practicable. The officers and personnel of all such departments and agencies shall, to the maximum extent practicable, cooperate with and extend such services and facilities to the local civil defense agency and to the governor upon request. The head of each department and agency, in cooperation with and under the direction of the director, shall be responsible for the planning and the programming of such civil defense activities as will involve the utilization of the facilities of this department or agency.
Subdivision 6. The director shall, in cooperation with existing city departments and agencies affected, organize, recruit, and train fallout shelter managers, radiological monitors, police reserves, rescue personnel, auxiliary firemen, emergency medical personnel, and any other personnel that may be required on a volunteer basis to carry out the civil defense palns of the city and the state. To the extent that such emergency personnel are recruited to augment a regular city department or agency for civil defense emergencies, they shall be assigned to such department or agency for purposes of administration and command. The director may dismiss any civil defense volunteer at any time and require him to surrender any equipment and identification furnished by the city.
Subdivision 7. Consistent with the civil defense plan, the director shall provide and equip emergency hospitals, casualty stations, ambulances, canteens, evacuation centers and other facilities, or conveyances for the care of the injured or homeless persons.
Subdivision 8. The director shall carry out all orders, rules and regulations issued by the governor pertaining to civil defense.
Subdivision 9. The civil defense director shall direct and control the general operations of all local civil defense forces during a civil defense emergency in conformity with controlling regulations and instructions of State civil Defense authorities. The heads of departments and agencies shall be governed by his orders in respect thereto.
Subdivision 10. Consistent with the civil defense plan, the director shall provide and equip at some suitable place in the city an emergency operating center and, if required by the local civil defense plan, auxiliary centers to be used during a civil defense emergency as headquarters for direction and control of civil defense forces. He shall arrange for representation at the center by municipal departments and agencies, public utilities and other agencies authorized by Federal or State authority to carry on civil defense activities during a civil defense emergency. He shall arrange for the installation at the emergency operating center of necessary facilities for communication with and between the heads of civil defense divisions, the stations and operating units of municipal services and other agencies concerned with civil defense and for communication with other communities and emergency operating centers within the surrounding area and with the Federal and State agencies concerned.
Subdivision 11. During the first 30 days of a civil defense emergency; if the legislature is in session or the governor has coupled his declaration of the emergency with a call for a special session of the legislature, the director may, when necessary to save life or property, require any person, except members of the Federal or State Military forces and officers of the state or or any other political subdivision, to perform services for civil defense purposes as he directs; and he may commandeer, for the time being, any motor vehicle, tools, appliances or any other property, subject to the owner’s right to just compensation as provided by law.
Section 5
General Provisions on Civil Defense Workers
Subdivision 1. No person shall be employed or associated in any capacity in the civil defense agency who advocates or has advocated a change by force or violence in the constitutional form of government of the united States or in this state, or the overthrow of any government in the United States by force or violence, or who has been convicted of or is under indictment for information charging any subversive act against the United States. Each person who is appointed to serve in the civil defense agency shall, before entering upon his duties, take an oath in writing before a person authorized to administer oaths in this state, or before any officer of the state department of civil defense, or the local (or county) director.
The oath shall be in substantially be in the form prescribed by Minnesota Statues, Section 12.43.
Subdivision 2. Civil defense volunteers shall be called into service only in case of a civil defense emergency or natural disaster for which the regular municipal forces are inadequate or for necessary training and preparation for such emergencies. All volunteers shall serve without compensation.
Subdivision 3. Each civil defense volunteer shall be provided with such suitable insignia or other identification as may be required by the director. Such identification shall be in a form and style approved by the Federal government. No volunteer shall exercise any authority over the persons or property of others without his identification. No person except an authorized volunteer shall use the identification of a volunteer or otherwise represent himself to be an authorized volunteer.
Subdivision 4. No civil defense volunteer shall carry any firearm while on duty except on written order of the chief of police department.
Subdivision 5. Personnel procedures of the city applicable to regular employees shall not apply to volunteer civil defense workers, but shall apply to paid employees of the civil defense agency.
Section 6
Emergency Regulations
Subdivision 1. When used in this section, the term “civil defense emergency” includes, in addition to the meaning given in Section 2, Subdivision 2 , disasters caused by fire, flood, windstorms or other natural causes.
Subdivision 2. Whenever necessary to meet a civil defense emergency or to prepare for such an emergency for which adequate regulations have not been adopted by the governor or the city council, the mayor may be proclamation promulgate regulations, consistent with applicable Federal or State law or regulation, respecting: protection against nuclear missiles; the sounding of attack warning; the conduct of persons and the use of property during emergencies; the repair, maintenance, and safeguarding of essential public services; the emergency health, fire and safety regulation, trial drills or practice periods for preliminary training; and all other matters which are required to protect public safety, health and welfare in civil defense emergencies.
Subdivision 3. Every proclamation of emergency regulations shall be in writing and signed by the mayor; shall be dated; shall refer to the particular civil defense emergency to which it pertains, if so limited; and shall be filed in the office of the city clerk, where a copy shall be kept posted and available for public inspection during business hours. Notice of the existence of such regulation and its availability for inspection at the clerk’s office shall be conspicuously posted at the front of the city hall or other headquarters of the city and at such other places in the affected area as the mayor shall designate in the proclamation. Thereupon the regulation shall take effect immediately or at such later time as may be specified in the proclamation. By like proclamation the mayor may modify or rescind any such regulation.
Subdivision 4. The city council may rescind any such regulation by resolution at any time. If not sooner rescinded, every such regulation shall expire at the end of 30 days after its effective date or at the end of the civil defense emergency to which it relates, whichever occurs first. Any ordinance, rule, or regulation inconsistent with an emergency regulation promulgated by the mayor shall be suspended during the period of time and to the extent that such conflict exists.
Subdivision 5. During a civil defense emergency the mayor is authorized to contract on behalf of the city, services, or for the purchase of merchandise or materials where the amount of the contract or purchase does not exceed $500.00. The mayor may take such action without prior approval of the council, without compliance with regular purchasing and bidding procedures, but all the claims resulting therefrom shall be audited and approved by the council as in the case of other purchases and contracts.
Section 7
Civil Defense Agency Procedure
Subdivision 1. There is hereby established a special fund to be known as the civil defense fund. Into this fund shall be placed the proceeds of taxes levied for civil defense, money transferred from other funds, gifts and other revenue of the civil defense agency. From it shall be made expenditures for the operation of the civil defense agency and other expenditures of the civil defense agency. Regular accounting disbursement, purchasing, budgeting, and other financial procedures of the city shall apply to the civil defense fund insofar as practicable; but budgeting requirements and other financial procedures shall not apply to expenditures from the fund in any case when their application will prevent compliance with terms and conditions of a Federal or State grant of money or property for civil defense purposes.
Section 8
Conformity and cooperation with Federal and State Authority
Subdivision 1. Every officer and agency of the city shall cooperate with Federal and State Authorities and with authorized agencies engaged in civil defense and emergency measures to the fullest possible extent consistent with the performance of their other duties. The provisions of this ordinance and all regulation made thereunder shall be subject to all applicable and controlling provisions of Federal and State laws and of regulations and orders issued thereunder and shall be deemed to be suspended and inoperative so far as ther eis any conflict therein.
Subdivision 2. The city mayor may appoint any qualified person holding a position in any agency created under Federal or State authority for civil defense purposes as a special policeman of the city, with such police powers and duties within the city incident to the functions of his position, not exceeding those of a regular policeman of the city, as may be prescribed in the appointment. Every such policeman shall be subject to the supervision and control of the chief of police and such other police officers of the city as the chief shall designate.
Section 9
Participation ion Labor dispute or Politics
The civil defense agency shall not participate in any form of political activity, nor shall it be employed directly or indirectly for political purposes, nor shall it be employed in a legitimate labor dispute.
Section 10
Penalty
Any person who violates any provision of this ordinance or of any regulation adopted thereunder relating to acts, omissions, or conduct other than official acts of city officers or employees, is guilty of a misdemeanor, and upon conviction may be punished by a fine of not more than $100 or by imprisonment for not more than 90 days.
Section 11
Effective Date
This ordinance shall take effect upon its passage and publication. Adopted by the council this 13th day of October, 1975.
John J Maurer, Mayor
Attest:
Marilyn Davis, City Clerk
Published in the Wabasso Standard October 20, 1979.