America’s Unseen Frontline: Local Emergency Managers Strained by Underfunding and Mounting Crises

Local emergency managers, the indispensable, behind-the-scenes architects of community resilience, are sounding an urgent alarm: adequate resources are critically needed to safeguard populations before disaster strikes. This recurring plea underscores a deepening crisis in the nation’s preparedness infrastructure, revealing systemic vulnerabilities that leave communities exposed to escalating threats, from devastating storms to novel challenges like lithium battery fires and large-scale migrant arrivals. An investigative review, drawing on insights from over 40 current and former emergency managers across 11 states, paints a stark picture of agencies burdened by expanding mandates, chronic understaffing, and uncertain federal support.

The consequences of this resource deficit are not hypothetical; they are etched into recent history. In Yancey County, North Carolina, the devastating impact of Hurricane Helene in 2024 served as a tragic catalyst for change. Only after the storm’s destruction did county commissioners approve additional emergency management staff – positions the former emergency manager had reportedly requested for years. Similarly, in St. Louis, Missouri, a critical upgrade to the city’s faulty outdoor warning system was underway when a tornado ripped through in May 2025, claiming four lives and injuring dozens. These incidents underscore a perilous pattern: proactive investment in disaster preparedness often lags behind reactive responses to catastrophe.

The Widening Mandate and Precarious Staffing

Emergency management agencies, once primarily focused on natural disasters, now confront an ever-growing spectrum of responsibilities. This expansion has stretched already thin resources to their breaking point. In Saluda County, South Carolina, for instance, the emergency management director revealed that his team of six juggles tasks ranging from managing the county’s IT department to overseeing a local spay and neuter program. San Bernardino County, California, illustrates the evolving nature of threats, with its emergency manager detailing responses to new challenges like lithium battery fires and, in a previous role, coordinating assistance for busloads of immigrants arriving from other states. These diverse and often complex demands require specialized skills and dedicated personnel, yet agencies frequently operate with skeletal crews.

The most pressing concern cited by emergency managers is the severe lack of funding for additional staff. An internal study in one North Carolina agency, conducted approximately three years prior, recommended a team of more than 20 professionals; currently, only 10 positions are filled. This local snapshot reflects a national trend. A July 2025 survey by Argonne National Laboratory, which polled 1,689 local emergency management agencies across the country, revealed that more than half operate with either one or no permanent full-time employees. Disturbingly, a "notable percentage" of local emergency managers are volunteers, often juggling critical public safety roles with their primary occupations.

Samantha Montano, an emergency management associate professor and researcher at the Massachusetts Maritime Academy, unequivocally states that, given the expansive responsibilities and the escalating risks driven by climate change, part-time or volunteer emergency management positions are unsustainable. "To expect somebody to understand how to mitigate cyber risks and also recover from a tornado, I mean, these are different skill sets," Montano emphasized. "So to think that one person is going to be capable of doing all of those things, especially working part time or as a volunteer, is ludicrous." Her analysis highlights a dangerous disconnect between the complexity of modern disaster preparedness and the inadequate human resources allocated to it.

Federal Funding Flux and Shifting Burdens

Adding another layer of uncertainty to this already strained system are recent shifts in federal policy and funding. The Trump administration has notably contributed to delays in emergency management funding to state and local agencies. Furthermore, an executive order issued by the administration explicitly aimed to transfer a greater share of disaster preparedness responsibilities and financial burdens onto state and local governments. This move has sparked considerable apprehension among practitioners and experts alike.

Kelly McKinney, Vice President of Emergency Management at NYU Langone Health and former Deputy Commissioner at the New York City Emergency Management office, observes that states have historically grown "overly dependent" on funding administered by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). While acknowledging the need for potential reform, McKinney points out a critical flaw in the current federal strategy: "there is no clear plan for alternative funding streams." This lack of a coherent transition strategy threatens to destabilize an already fragile national crisis-management system. "This crisis-management system in the United States is itself in crisis," McKinney starkly concluded.

The "Invisible" Essential Service: A Struggle for Recognition

Unlike their counterparts in fire, EMT, or law enforcement services, emergency managers often grapple with a "public identity issue," according to Montano. This lack of public recognition and understanding of their crucial, often proactive roles frequently translates into smaller budgets and a lower priority in municipal and county spending. Many emergency managers interviewed by ProPublica described competing for funds with more visible and traditionally recognized agencies. Elected officials, they noted, often lack a comprehensive grasp of the emergency manager’s multifaceted role, which extends far beyond immediate disaster response to encompass long-term mitigation, planning, and recovery. The inherent difficulty in garnering public and political support for a disaster that "hasn’t happened yet" further exacerbates this funding challenge.

The increasing frequency and intensity of disasters, largely attributed to climate change, compound the operational difficulties. Emergency managers are finding it increasingly hard to manage the arduous, often multi-year process of recovery from one event while simultaneously preparing for the next impending storm, wildfire, or other catastrophe. St. Louis Emergency Management Commissioner Sarah Russell’s experience exemplifies this relentless cycle; they were still deep in recovery efforts from severe flash flooding in 2022 when the 2025 tornado struck. The constant state of crisis and recovery leaves little bandwidth for proactive planning and system upgrades, perpetuating a reactive cycle.

The St. Louis Tornado: A Microcosm of Systemic Failure

The St. Louis tornado incident serves as a poignant illustration of these systemic failures. A key concern following the tornado was the non-activation of sirens, which the city was in the process of upgrading. An external investigation commissioned by the city attributed this failure, in part, to a miscommunication between Commissioner Russell and a fire alarm dispatcher. Russell maintained that the fire department held primary responsibility for sounding the sirens. Compounding the issue, even if the activation button had been pressed, over a third of the city’s sirens were non-functional, and a subsequent test revealed the fire alarm office’s activation button was also inoperative.

Russell’s employment was terminated in August 2025, partially due to their management of the tornado response, as stated in their termination letter. Russell, who is appealing the decision, asserts that the incident fundamentally highlights the urgent need for proactive investment in emergency management infrastructure and personnel. They had previously made multiple requests for additional staff specializing in emergency management to bolster core responsibilities, including the crucial task of updating the city’s outdated emergency response plan. "There’s always things that you would do different with hindsight," Russell reflected, "But there’s only so much you can do with so little resources and support.”

St. Louis Mayor Cara Spencer, who had been in office for only a month at the time of the tornado, and an alderwoman for a decade prior, acknowledged being aware of the agency’s funding requests. However, she noted that such requests are common across most city departments. In the wake of the tragedy, the city took immediate steps, fully automating the tornado sirens and issuing an executive order to clarify primary authority for siren activation, assigning it definitively to the fire department. A city spokesperson confirmed that the new emergency management commissioner has since "implemented several improvements" to the emergency operations plan. Mayor Spencer, in an email statement, recognized the persistent reality of budget constraints but expressed pride in the team’s ability to implement improvements "with almost no additional funding." While commendable, this sentiment inadvertently underscores the very challenge: critical safety improvements are often achieved despite, rather than because of, adequate resourcing.

Uncertainty Ahead: The Future of Federal Support

The strained budgets of local emergency management agencies are not a new phenomenon, but the past months have introduced unprecedented uncertainty regarding federal funding. In April 2025, the Trump administration moved to cut federal grants designated for local disaster-preparedness projects, a decision later halted by a judge. A month later, in May 2025, federal officials further delayed grants that are vital for funding local and state emergency managers’ salaries. These actions have sent ripples of concern through the emergency management community.

In December, the FEMA Review Council, established by the Trump administration to advise on agency reforms, was slated to vote on a highly anticipated report outlining FEMA’s future direction. However, following a leaked draft to CNN, the meeting was abruptly canceled, and the council’s work extended until late March. While many emergency managers express a desire for positive change within FEMA, they voice significant apprehension about the prospect of the federal government eliminating grant programs – which fund salaries, equipment upgrades, and mitigation efforts – or drastically reducing reimbursement for large-scale disaster responses without viable alternative funding mechanisms. Such measures, they warn, would be particularly devastating for small, rural regions already operating with severely limited local budgets. FEMA did not respond to requests for comment regarding these concerns.

One emergency management director in North Carolina articulated the stark reality: without federal emergency management performance grants, which can cover 50% of an emergency manager’s salary, "we are looking at the loss of preparedness and response capabilities." Another described these grants as "vital" to daily operations.

Claire Connolly Knox, who directs the University of Central Florida’s master’s program for emergency and crisis management, has extensively studied the potential implications of a "decentralized FEMA" for state agencies. She cautions that it could take several legislative cycles for states to adequately prepare and fill the gaps created by significant changes to FEMA’s operational model. Many states, Knox notes, currently lack robust systems for tracking spending across multiple departments and various phases of emergency management, meaning "we don’t know the true cost" of comprehensively mitigating, preparing for, responding to, and recovering from disasters. "When you start breaking that down," Knox concluded, "You start seeing that this isn’t a quick fix."

The call to action is clear: the United States must confront the chronic underinvestment in its local emergency management capabilities. The current system, characterized by expanding responsibilities, precarious staffing, and shifting federal support, is simply not sustainable in an era of escalating climate risks and evolving threats. Proactive, sustained investment in these unseen front-line professionals is not merely an operational necessity but a fundamental imperative for safeguarding American communities.

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