The state government has given Hume and Whittlesea councils $60,000 to better prepare for emergencies.
Local Government Minister Natalie Hutchins announced that funding from the Municipal Emergency Resourcing Program would continue to be allocated annually to the 64 councils within Country Fire Authority Districts.
The $4.6 million program is designed to help councils prepare their communities for future emergencies such as bush fires and provide support for police, the SES and fire services.
Local councils also manage a database of vulnerable people that must be shared with Police in times of an emergency.
Whittlesea council’s resilience and emergency management coordinator Andrew Tierney said the council has received the funding for the last four years, which has allowed it to employ someone to manage community strengthening projects.
He said Whittlesea has focussed on working with communities most likely to experience an emergency.
“We’ve worked with the Whittlesea Community Resilience Group, which recently launched a Community Emergency Plan, and the North Epping community who experienced major grassfires in 2012 and 2013.”
“We produced a range of community resources, including a DVD for new communities in the growth corridors, personal emergency bags, and localised emergency planning,” Mr Tierney said.
Hume council’s city communities director Margarita Caddick said the funding would help maintain the council’s Municipal Emergency Management Plan (MEMP), “and particularly the planning for response and recovery.”
The MEMP outlines how councils and local agencies work together to respond and deal with emergencies in the community.
