TEXAS, USA — The Texas A&M University System’s Keeping Texas Prepared statewide emergency management initiative received $96.7 million in the 88th Texas Legislative Session, helping the Lone Star State in disaster preparedness operations to reap significant benefits.
The Legislature provided the following amounts:
● Texas Division for Emergency Management, $14.6 million for Workforce Development
● Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service, $24.2 million for the Extension Agent Network
● Texas A&M Forest Service, $34.7 million for Emergency Response Capacity and Local Firefighting Capacity
● Texas A&M Veterinary Medical Diagnostic Laboratory, $3.7 million for Rapid Detection of Animal and Human Disease Threats
● Texas A&M Engineering Extension Service, $19.5 million for Recruitment and Retention
"By having all of our agencies together under one system, we can communicate very closely with each other," Texas A&M Agrilife Extension Program Director Monty Dozier said. "We work together with other agencies and other resources to bring in the help that community."
Additionally, thanks to the provided funding from the Extension Service Disaster Assessment and Recovery unit, they will be expanding their statewide disaster preparedness, response, and recovery efforts to support the "Keeping Texas Prepared" initiative that was set in motion during the most recent Texas legislative session.
"Texas leads the nation a lot of times, unfortunately in disasters, and we've got 254 counties," Dozier said. "We're the size of the country of France, and then we have over 300 miles of Gulf Coast exposure."
Currently, the Disaster Assessment and Recovery unit (DAR) unit has 19 positions, but will soon be expanding their staff numbers to 28. Dozier says they will become more agile and will be able to work a lot quicker and smoother because there will be more boots on the ground all over the state.
"We work together as a team, and with this new funding, we're going to be able to put more extension disaster assessment recovery folks out in the field to bring more response and recovery to the state of Texas," Dozier said.
Texas A&M system agency employees will also receive a 5% pay raise over the next two years. If you're interested in joining the disaster assessment and recovery unit, job postings will begin to go out on Sept. 1.
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