David Charles Cox, 53, took over emergency management at the beginning of Nov. 4 and earns $99,527.66 annually.
When asked if he would have more responsibilities than his predecessors, City Manager Shawn Sherrouse said the emergency manager role has not changed from the duties performed by Audrey Cain and former LPD Chief Ruben Garcia. They are defined as:
“Planning, programming, budgeting, coordinating, and managing all aspects of the comprehensive city-wide Emergency Management Plan. The emergency manager is responsible for ensuring that strategies, policies, and plans are developed and formulated to achieve a plan that supports the goals and objectives of the city manager.” Cox will also:
- Supervise and administer all emergency and non-emergency preparedness activities.
- Develop exercises and drills to test and evaluate emergency plans and procedures.
- Analyze and prepare statistics and records for educational purposes.
- Facilitate communication and teamwork among city departments and external agencies.
Sherrouse said the city is prepared for hurricanes, but he wants to ensure safety on a wider scale.
“My concerns have been toward our emergency postures for other less common events, like civil unrest, mass shootings, crowd control at special events, aircraft crashes, etc.,” Sherouse said via email. “David’s past experiences, managing similar emergency events, will strengthen our abilities to mitigate, prepare, respond and recover.”