Austin Emergency Management Director Jim Redick told the Austin Public Safety Commission on Oct. 6 that his office has changed its name and internal organization and is rewriting emergency plans and outreach to be more usable during disasters.

Redick said the office — renamed from “Homeland Security and Emergency Management” to “Austin Emergency Management” — reorganized on Oct. 1 for the new fiscal year into two branches: a public information/finance/technology branch and an operations/strategy/training branch. “We are in a state of just wholesale change,” Redick said, adding the shift is intended to make planning, exercises and response more streamlined and accessible.

Redick said the department is adopting a “whole‑of‑community” approach that brings city departments, higher education, the private sector, nonprofits, the military and faith groups into planning. He described the use of emergency support function (ESF) annexes — the operational contacts, authorities and resource lists tied to the city’s basic response plan — and said the city is considering adding a separate ESF to recognize emergency medical services.

The office is rewriting the city’s foundational “basic plan” so it is usable in an Emergency Operations Center and by partner agencies and the public. Redick said hazard‑specific annexes (for wildfire, flooding, extreme heat, etc.) will document the incident command relationships, public messaging, and operational checklists for mass care, sheltering and logistics. “We don’t plan for the community. We want to plan with the community,” he said.

Redick described the city’s alerting strategy and tools: the Integrated Public Alert and Warning System (iPAWS), Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEA), and a city page for consolidated messages (austintexas.gov/alerts). He said the department will use WarnCentralTexas (the regional notification network) for follow‑up or preparatory messages that are not life‑safety WEA alerts and that the goal is to “over‑communicate rather than under‑communicate” while avoiding alert fatigue.

On sheltering, Redick said the city’s homeless office currently uses a centralized embarkation point to move people to shelter beds and that Austin Emergency Management provides background support. He said that system is separate from general emergency shelters and that the department’s aim is to locate shelters as near affected neighborhoods as possible during localized emergencies. He noted the homeless office process was identified in the meeting by the shorthand “1 Texas.” Redick said the mass‑care team is reimagining how to stage and staff shelters in a way that reduces unnecessary travel for residents.

Commissioners pressed Redick on extreme‑heat sheltering. Commissioner Barnhart asked whether the city has funding to support longer hours for cooling centers; Redick said extreme‑heat strategies are being incorporated into the hazard mitigation plan and into separate extreme‑heat planning efforts the city coordinated with public health and the resilience office. He said the mitigation plan will document hazards, vulnerabilities and goals and that the plan is updated formally with the state every five years and reviewed annually internally.

Commissioner Wynne, who noted she works with the Red Cross, asked how shelter and cooling plans will serve seniors, medically fragile people and households that lose power. Redick said the basic plan will include a community makeup section and the hazard annexes will be data‑driven: “We want to know exactly where the need exists, how we can help meet those needs, and we’re only going to get that by talking with folks out in the community.”

Redick said the department will tighten and test alerting systems: the office plans targeted WEA and iPAWS tests by council district, and he committed to follow up on reports that NOAA weather‑radio tests have been spotty in Travis County. He said Austin Emergency Management maintains a 24/7 duty‑officer capability to support after‑hours incidents, and that WEA will be used to wake people for life‑safety messages if residents have not opted out.

Redick also highlighted training and exercises, saying the office is mapping exercise requirements across partner organizations, breaking down silos and developing a three‑year training and exercise plan tied to capabilities and grant opportunities such as UASI (Urban Area Security Initiative) and state homeland security grants. He said plans will be living documents updated after drills and real incidents and that the office is working to capture donated volunteer hours so they can count toward potential federal reimbursement.

The presentation closed with commissioners offering to help the department identify needs for future council recommendations. Redick said he will bring forward specific asks if and when they are ready.

Ending: Redick did not present a funding request at this meeting but asked the commission to expect further briefings as hazard annexes and the mitigation plan are finalized and as the department follows up on alert‑system testing and extreme‑heat planning.