VITEMA Director Mark Walters Prepares to Request Budget
to Complement Federal Funds; Ensure Emergency Preparedness

Virgin Islands Territorial Emergency Management Agency Director Mark Walters, along with senior members of his team, will appear before the Virgin Islands Legislature Wednesday to present the budget for the recently elevated cabinet-level agency responsible for preparing our community for disasters and assisting in the recovery from them.

VITEMA is still transitioning to its new form as an integrated organization in a state-of-the art headquarters. 

Walters will tell legislators the agency will require $12,714,948 for fiscal year 2011, $7,370,080 of which has already been secured through federal grants. More than $6 million awarded by the federal government is intended to fund capital outlays for the Water and Power Authority's pre-disaster mitigation competitive grant and other hazard mitigation projects throughout the Territory.

VITEMA was recently consolidated with the Virgin Islands Office of Homeland Security, the Public Assistance Program and an expanded 911 emergency call center. The agency has 93 positions, 17 of them federally funded. Of the remaining jobs, 50 are 911 positions, 25 on St. Croix and 25 on St. Thomas. Personnel costs amount to more than $4 million. 

In October 2009, the 28th Legislature passed a law reorganizing VITEMA as a stand-alone agency. VITEMA's primary mandate is to provide clear direction, coordination and support of all agencies involved in the preparedness and response readiness to all hazards and threats that may impact the Virgin Islands. The agency's strategic goal is to always have ready a coordinated response and recovery plan. To meet that goal, VITEMA has worked to elevate public awareness, build effective response network partnerships and be ready to restore the Territory to its pre-disaster condition after an event. 

VITEMA works to reduce the vulnerability of the Virgin Islands people and communities to damage, injury and loss of life and property from natural or man-made catastrophes. The agency maintains a comprehensive Territorial Emergency Operations Plan, provides education and training for emergency management personnel and first responders, and is now responsible for providing efficient and effective 911 emergency services. VITEMA is currently working with FEMA to update the Territorial Emergency Operations plan , which helps the Virgin Islands qualify for federal funds. 

VITEMA also has been preparing the territory's hazard mitigation plans. It obtained grants to help WAPA bury cables to major facilities like hospitals and airports, measures that can reduce electrical downtime after a hurricane or other disaster. With FEMA grants, VITEMA provided shutters to many government departments and essential response agencies.

Perhaps VITEMA's most significant accomplishment in 2010 was the completion of construction and relocation to its new headquarters at Nisky. That integrated facility houses the 911 call center, an emergency operations center, a fusion center, office space and dormitories. At the facility, law enforcement agents will work to deter acts of terrorism and criminal activity, and promote public safety, through intelligence and information sharing between multiple local and federal law enforcement agencies. The headquarters was built to strict Department Of Homeland Security specifications.

The headquarters building helped realize Governor John P. de Jongh, Jr. and the 28th Legislature's commitment to implementing a modern 911 emergency system—one that is far superior to the previous system, and is now operational. 

In the past year, VITEMA also completed several exercises and drills, including testing the Territory's response to threats to livestock, tsunami notification procedures and students' preparedness to emergencies at local schools. 

Other efforts in 2010 to bolster preparedness included the launch of a website: vitema.gov. The site keeps citizens informed of up-to-the-minute developments during emergencies. VITEMA also recently launched VI Alert, a program that allows public notifications by multiple other electronic means, keeping citizens well informed. The value of providing that kind of information to the public was made abundantly clear during recent earthquakes in Haiti and elsewhere. 

This current year, with backing from Governor de Jongh and the legislature, VITEMA liquidated outstanding debts of $125,000, repaying local vendors for long overdue bills. The agency still has many outstanding bills, but has regained credibility among the vendors who will be critical to the Territory's emergency response capability during times of disaster and recovery.

The agency has also initiated corrective actions to improve the management of grants, and to ensure accountability and the responsible spending of public money. To save additional money, Walters has implemented policies to curtail the use of vehicles, minimize gas consumption, disconnect telephone lines, reduce inter-island and off-island travel and negotiate reduced rates for cell phones.

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