The city of Kyle has joined the Texas Emergency Management Assistance Team (TEMAT) program, a statewide emergency response initiative. The program, established in 2014, brings together trained personnel from participating local and state agencies to serve as a coordinated response team in the case of emergencies.

Program Overview

The TEMAT program expands the capacity of local emergency operations in participating jurisdictions by bringing in trained reinforcements to support response efforts. The program allows jurisdictions to authorize their employees to deploy regionally or statewide during a crisis through memorandums of understanding (MOUs), formal, non-binding documents outlining an agreement between two entities.

According to Kyle Police Department Chief Jeff Barnett, the program enables the city to deploy personnel from various departments to an emergency, depending on the need and the city’s availability. These personnel may include heavy equipment operators, geographic information systems analysts, law enforcement agency representatives, public safety operation personnel, dispatchers, and incident management team members.

Benefits and Logistics

The city of Kyle, along with all TEMAT participants, has discretionary authority over dispatched personnel. Teams within the program train together before incidents to ensure efficient and coordinated responses. The state provides full financial reimbursement to cover responder and backfill staff costs, including wages, benefits, travel, and per diem. The city will also be able to recoup 5% of the costs to cover administrative duties related to the program.

The MOU is a five-year commitment that may be rescinded within the first 30 days of its approval by either the city or the Texas Division of Emergency Management. Deployment obligations last approximately seven to 14 days, and the city will receive a reimbursement of costs around 45 days after the event.

Original reporting: Community Impact — Austin — read the source article.