By Mike Kruzman / news@whmi.com


Livingston County’s Emergency Manager reviewed the department’s accomplishments and undertakings before a committee of county commissioners.

At Monday afternoon’s meeting of the Livingston County Public Safety and Infrastructure and Development Committee, Emergency Manager Therese Cremonte gave her 2019 Annual Report to Commissioners Bob Bezotte, Doug Helzerman, and Gary Childs. Cremonte said 2019 was a very busy year, but it wasn’t as overwhelming as this year due to the pandemic.

In 2019, Cremonte said that the 9 county jurisdictions that have over 10,000 residents completed their required emergency support plans that talk with the county’s emergency operations plan. Additionally, all 20 jurisdictions adopted hazard mitigation plans. She reviewed real events that required Emergency Management assistance last year that included preparing people for polar vortexes, a 30 car pile-up on I-96, the July storm and extended power outages from it, a fatal plane crash in August, and a successful November search for a missing 24-year-old with autism.

Cremonte also laid out goals for 2020 and beyond. Emergency Management is shooting to complete Homeland Security Grant projects for local agencies, review and update local emergency support plans and the county plan, and move forward with lessons learned from the pandemic.

Cremonte said they can’t do anything without the support of others in the county, and that because of the collaborative relationships that exist within it, both between departments and disciplines, she believes Livingston County is one of the best and strongest for handling emergencies in the state. She said she feels very proud to say that, and very proud to be a part of it.