FARMINGTON – Franklin County commissioners pledged Tuesday to do their part to comply with National Incident Management System training, and will send notices to county employees to do the same.

Commissioners also agreed to let Franklin County Emergency Management Agency Director Tim Hardy send a copy of a letter sent to the board by Robert McAleer, director of Maine Emergency Management Agency, to municipalities to remind them of the required training and documentation.

The future availability of grant funding hinges on it as of Oct. 1.

McAleer’s letter is dated Sept. 11 and states it is an attempt to get commissioners’ “attention to an issue which has the very real potential of severely impacting the future viability of Franklin County’s overall emergency management program and the safety and well-being of the citizens it is designed to protect.”

Commissioners adopted NIMS in October 2006 and committed to adhering to the federally mandated standards and requirements of that system, McAleer wrote.

Adoption of the system and compliance with its standards and requirements are critical to improving the county’s level of preparedness, he stated.

“Beginning in October 2007, adoption and compliance will also be mandatory for continued eligibility for Federal Homeland Security related funding. Simply stated, if a county or a local municipality is not compliant with the NIMS requirements, they will not be able to compete for or receive any (homeland security) funds to support training, education, planning, or equipment acquisition,” McAleer stated.

Since fiscal 2003, Franklin County has been allocated approximately $785,000 from the Homeland Security Grant Program, $149,500 from the Emergency Management Planning Grant Program, and $1.5 million from the Assistance to Firefighters grant program, which is specifically designed to provide assistance to rural fire departments, according to McAleer.

The funds received to date have allowed agencies throughout the county to improve their level of preparedness and security, including the $311,000 that was allocated to the county’s school security program, he said.

And, the towns of Strong, Temple, Kingfield, Phillips, Eustis and New Sharon received a total of nearly $1.17 million to pay for new vehicles with tens of thousands of additional dollars provided for needed individual firefighters’ personal protective gear from the Assistance from the Assistance to Firefighters Grant Program, McAleer stated.

“Although the county has managed these funds well and significantly improved its readiness posture, without continued support, it is unlikely that the taxpayers will be able to shoulder these kinds of expenses,” McAleer stated. “With the loss of federal support, the county’s readiness will rapidly begin to be degraded.”

The information available to McAleer indicates Franklin County and towns of Strong and Farmington have made significant initial efforts to meet the compliance requirements but have further to go, he said.

Noncompliant municipalities and organizations risk being eliminated from the funding process, he stated.

Some individuals have already come forward to get their training information into the data system, Hardy told commissioners.

Employees of the Sheriff’s Department, Franklin County Detention Center and dispatch center and commissioners all need to be trained, Hardy said.

“We’ll do our part, I promise you that,” commission Chairman Gary McGrane said.

Hardy said he has some hard copies and a disk for the course and test and suggested that Internet service be reinstated at the dispatch center so employees could take the online course while working. The course is able to be paused while someone does something else and then they may go back to it, Hardy said.