Drones, or unmanned aerial systems (AES), are becoming a large part of public safety operations. As this trend continues, township officials and emergency managers need to understand the capabilities and strategies for UAS use for emergencies. This presentation will provide the information needed when considering a new UAS program deployment.

This half-day class will cover a number of hot-button issues involving management of municipal police departments, making it a must-attend for township supervisors, police command staff, managers, and others with police-related responsibility. You will hear from and interact with representatives from the Pennsylvania State Police, municipal police departments, management-side labor counsel, and others.

Join your EMC colleagues from around the state at this highly-interactive session, and hear informative presentations from local and state emergency management personnel and hear the latest news and information from PEMA and TEMA. Additional presentations will address in-depth and practical ways to ensure the development and maintenance of an effective and efficient emergency operation program, and will highlight township exercise practices.

Many public employers do not understand their rights and liabilities under the Heart and Lung Act. As the result, improper benefits are provided and municipalities expend significant costs that may have been avoided. This webinar, presented by Scott Blissman and Ryan Cassidy of Eckert Seamans, will help you to identify who is and is not eligible to receive the generous benefits provided under the Act, what they receive, when benefits can be terminated and how. Learn to avoid the common mistakes made by employers which result in significant liability.

Cybercrime is a thriving business for hackers and an increasing cost burden for individuals and institutions. With the world becoming more interconnected, local governments have become even more vulnerable – unfortunately, it’s not a question of “if” but “when” your organization will be targeted by an attack. In this webinar, Tamara Kemmler of PLGIT will review the scope of cybercrime, as well as tools and security features you can implement to help mitigate some of these risks for your local government.

One of the most important matters a township supervisor needs to become familiar with is the status of their Emergency Operations Plan (EOP). The EOP specifies activities to be taken by the township and other community officials to protect the lives and property of citizens in the event of a natural or human-caused emergency or disaster. The Pennsylvania Emergency Management Services Code directs and authorizes townships to prepare, maintain, and keep current a disaster EOP for the prevention and minimization of injury and damage of its citizens. This webinar will review the requirements of what needs to be in your EOP and will detail the additional actions your township should take to effectively implement your EOP and keep it current.

In this webinar, representatives from Splashwire will review the 3Ps necessary to best protect your township – Process, Policy, and Procedures – against the ever-increasing number of cyber threats, whether those are malware or phishing attacks or other sinister efforts to access, take, or freeze your township’s data. They will also review the tools and ongoing management standards laid out by the National Institute of Standards and Technology and how they can be applied to your township.

If your township has a police department, contracts with another department for police services, or is part of a regional police department, you will want to attend this webinar to get caught up on all of the recent laws, as well as proposed legislation, affecting municipal police departments. You will also learn about what changes your townships and departments may need to make as a result of these new laws and legislation.

In this webinar, Chad Bruckner of Intercounty Investigations & Solutions and Chris Gerber of Siana Law will review what constitutes a proper employee background screening process, the problems that arise if you don’t conduct proper background screening, and the benefits of a quality screening process, including how it positively impacts your municipality’s culture and performance. They will also review examples of successes and failures from municipalities around the state and review best practices, including when selecting third-party screeners.

Tom Hughes, PEMA’s State Hazard Mitigation Officer, will discuss numerous funding opportunities through FEMA, including the Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC) program, which assists with hazard mitigation projects. He will also address grants available through the Flood Mitigation Assistance program, which can be used for projects that reduce or eliminate the risk of repetitive flood damage to buildings insured by the National Flood Insurance Program.