CHENANGO COUNTY – The Chenango County Emergency Management Office is petitioning county officials to create a new FEMA Coordinator position which the department says is essential in handling COVID-19 response efforts.

County EMO Director Matt Beckwith made a case to create the position during a Safety and Rules Committee meeting on Wednesday, stressing that the heavy workload of satisfying FEMA requirements while also distributing emergency supplies during the pandemic is overwhelming for his department.

The County Board of Supervisors approved an extra hire position to help the EMO at the start of the crisis back in March; but Beckwith said now's the time to think about making that position long-term.

“It's a tremendous relief to have people help me out throughout this,” he said. “What I'm asking for is to create the position using the same (budget) line item.”

Roughly $13,000 remains in the EMO's 2020 budget for the position. What helps the county, Beckwith noted, is that salary is reimbursable. FEMA will pay back the salary expense so long as the position is used for COVID-19 response during the crisis. And because the crisis is ongoing, there's no end date for reimbursement.