EL PASO COUNTY – Big changes are happening to the way natural and manmade disasters are handled in the Pikes Peak Region. The separate operations of El Paso County Office of Emergency Management and Colorado Springs Office of Emergency Management are now slated to combine as one. El Paso County Commissioners and Colorado Springs City Council both voted to create the Pike Peak Regional Office for Emergency Management or PPROEM.
The idea to combine and work together as one, has been in the works for several years. “There’s always been representation on each OEM from the other side and that’s been effective in communication, but when we’re co-located that communication will be instantaneous because you’ll literally be sitting next to each other,” said El Paso County Commissioner, Stan Vanderwerf. Two separate operations will now combine under one roof.
First responders from both the city and county will be assigned to work at the new PPROEM. Funding will be a fifty-fifty contribution from city and county budgets.
