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Local Elected and Appointed Officials 

Quick Reference Guide

This resources highlights key concepts from FEMA’s Local Elected and Appointed Officials 

Guide: Roles and Resources in Emergency Management. For the full document, please 

visit: https://www.fema.gov/emergency-managers/national-preparedness/plan. 

Introduction

Local elected and appointed officials—subsequently referred to as “senior officials”—balance many responsibilities 

and are expected to serve in numerous roles to support and lead their jurisdiction. During emergencies, the public 

may see senior officials as responsible for the success or failure of disaster response and recovery efforts. 

Leading Communities Before, During and After Disasters

Senior officials make significant policy and resource decisions before, during and after disasters. In many ways, 

senior officials can make or break the success of disaster operations. Disaster response and recovery are more 

effective when senior officials are familiar with emergency management processes and have established 

relationships with their community’s emergency managers.

 Senior officials typically make key policy decisions, collaborate with emergency managers and communicate key 

information to the public, including use of sign language, closed captioning and foreign language interpretation. 

 Emergency managers work with relevant agencies and organizations to assess and mitigate risks, respond to 

emergencies and carry out recovery activities. 

Understanding Potential Impacts on the Community

Local senior officials should be familiar with the potential impacts of threats and hazards such as floods, storms,

earthquakes and wildfires, as well as less predictable incidents like active shooters, technological hazards, extended 

power outages or cyber incidents. Emergency managers can help senior officials learn about the threats and 

hazards most likely to affect the jurisdiction and the potential incident’s impact on people, infrastructure and the 

economy.1 

1 FEMA’s Resilience Analysis and Planning Tool (RAPT) is a source of information that can assist local senior officials in formulating questions 

and help provide insights about their jurisdiction’s threat and hazard profile.
Local Elected and Appointed Officials Quick Reference Guide

Learn more at fema.gov September 2022 2 

 Equity Considerations 

Understanding potential disaster consequences begins with knowing who in the area might be affected, 

especially those disproportionately impacted. It is vitally important for senior officials to understand the 

demographic composition within their communities such as historically underserved populations, individuals 

with disabilities and others with access and functional needs since they may require additional assistance 

during a disaster. See the last page of this quick reference guide for more information.

Key Roles

Senior officials have important roles during every stage of a disaster. Key elements are presented below. The Local 

Elected and Appointed Officials Checklists provide additional details to help senior officials prepare for, respond to 

and recover from disasters and emergencies.

BUILD RESILIENCE BEFORE A DISASTER

Work with the emergency manager to establish preparedness priorities and 

encourage all government agency heads, academic and nonprofit organizations

and business leaders to coordinate and collaborate on the jurisdiction’s mitigation,

response and recovery planning efforts. FEMA’s Developing and Maintaining Emergency 

Operations Plans (Comprehensive Preparedness Guide 101, Version 3.0) offers 

comprehensive information on how to develop effective plans.

Champion community risk reduction by adopting and implementing mitigation and 

climate adaptation strategies. Examples include implementing hazard-resistant building 

codes and land use planning.

Encourage individuals, families and businesses to develop emergency plans and be 

self-sufficient in the immediate aftermath of a disaster.

Participate personally in emergency and disaster preparedness exercises to 

demonstrate support and practice executing legal and leadership responsibilities. Exercises 

also build familiarity with emergency management plans and staff.

Prepare for possible media interviews by working with the Public Information 

Officer (PIO) to build relationships with traditional and social media outlets and develop 

coordinated messaging.

Understand how continuity of essential private sector services and government 

operations will be maintained during disasters to minimize casualties and impacts, which 

may continue for long periods and require decentralized employee work locations. 
Local Elected and Appointed Officials Quick Reference Guide

Learn more at fema.gov September 2022 3 

RESPOND EFFECTIVELY DURING A DISASTER

Get informed quickly and stay in close touch with the emergency manager. Develop 

a regular meeting cadence with the lead emergency manager and appropriate individuals.

Trust and empower emergency management officials. This may include obtaining 

assistance from other agencies, the private sector or neighboring jurisdictions, declaring a 

state of emergency, issuing emergency orders and assuring compliance with proper fiscal 

procedures.

Communicate quickly, clearly and effectively to the whole community, and work with 

the PIO and other partners to ensure coordinated and accessible communication. 

RECOVER EFFICIENTLY AFTER A DISASTER

Identify opportunities to build more resilient communities through improved planning 

and smart infrastructure investments, including mitigation projects and climate adaptation 

strategies that reduce risk from future events. 

Understand use of the financial and in-kind assistance programs available that will 

help both community members and the government. 

Leverage the expertise and resources of various departments and partner 

organizations. Include personnel with planning, community outreach, housing, public 

works, education systems, economic development, natural resources and public health 

expertise. FEMA’s Pre-Disaster Recovery Planning Guide for Local Governments provides

more potential partners.

Clearly communicate with community members and set realistic expectations to help 

instill trust and confidence during the recovery process. The recovery process and programs 

can be complex. 

Ensure all codes and regulations are enforced during the recovery process. Develop 

disaster financial management processes and procedures before an incident. 

Mutual Aid

Mutual aid agreements facilitate rapid, short-term deployment of emergency support from public or private sector 

partners before, during or after incidents, especially if local resources are inadequate or overwhelmed. They can be 

local, regional, statewide or interstate in scope. Additional information can be found in FEMA’s National Incident 

Management System Guideline for Mutual Aid. 
Local Elected and Appointed Officials Quick Reference Guide

Learn more at fema.gov September 2022 4 

Federal Disaster Financial Resources

The federal government can support jurisdictional governments that respond to and recover from disasters. 

Additional information can be found in FEMA’s Local Elected and Appointed Officials Guide and Disaster Financial 

Management Guide. 

Key Stakeholder Considerations

 Equity. As stated in Executive Order 13985, equity means “the consistent and systematic fair, just, and impartial 

treatment of all individuals, including individuals who belong to underserved communities that have been 

denied such treatment, such as Black, Latino and Indigenous and Native American persons, Asian Americans 

and Pacific Islanders and other persons of color; members of religious minorities; lesbian, gay, bisexual, 

transgender and queer (LGBTQ+) persons; persons with disabilities; persons who live in rural areas; and persons 

otherwise adversely affected by persistent poverty or inequality.” The most at-risk members of communities 

often experience the greatest losses from disasters. 

 Individuals with disabilities. Individuals with disabilities are protected by the Americans with Disabilities Act 

(ADA) against being denied participation in or receiving benefits from emergency plans. Senior officials can use 

their authority, contacts and influence to promote inclusion of people with disabilities living in the community in 

the planning process so that their needs are met effectively during disasters.

 Individuals with access and functional needs. Examples include, but are not limited to, individuals with 

disabilities, elderly and populations having limited English proficiency, limited access to transportation, or limited 

access to financial resources to prepare for, respond to and recover from emergencies. A “One-Size-Fits-All” 

approach to emergency management planning, resourcing and information dissemination does not work for 

individuals with access and functional needs. Senior officials and civic leaders play important roles in developing 

plans and solutions that address the entire community.

 Private sector organizations. Including private sector partners in planning activities can improve and accelerate 

preparedness, response and recovery efforts. Senior officials may be helpful in connecting private sector 

businesses and emergency managers.

 Voluntary and Non-Governmental Organizations. These groups may respond to a disaster with available 

resources in accordance with the requirements of their internal policies and in cooperation with emergency 

management or senior officials. See FEMA’s Engaging Faith-Based and Community Organizations guide for more 

information. 

 Individual Preparedness. A community’s ability to respond to or recover from disasters depends on the level of 

preparedness of every member. Basic individual preparedness requires enough resources to survive without 

outside help for several days. Senior officials should work with emergency managers to identify groups in the 

community that can help educate individuals, families and households about preparedness. Visit ready.gov for 

resources.