Introduction
The threat of disasters and terrorisms has increasingly become real in the United States. The challenge has put significant pressure on federal and state agencies responsible for handling emergency situations. The Federal Emergency Management Agency is one such body at the federal level responsible for coordinating the federal government’s response to natural and manmade disasters. As such, FEMA is essentially tasked with handling all possible disasters in the United States. At the state level, there are such agencies as the South Carolina Emergency Management Department. The South Carolina Emergency Management Department works to coordinate and lead the state emergency management programs, enabling effective preparation, response to, and recovery from emergencies and disasters, with the main objective of saving lives, reducing human suffering, and minimizing property loss. In order to carry out its responsibilities effectively, South Carolina Emergency Management Department needs sufficient funding from the state and federal government, as well as from non-governmental organizations. Therefore, there has been an increasing need for more funding, given the real challenges of hurricanes and tropical storms facing South Carolina. Although budgets are expected to address all the emergency needs of the community, the funds may not be sufficient (Rubin, 1990). This may call for budget cuts, with a view to prioritize more critical emergency management programs. Despite the fact that budget cuts could be necessary for any agency, they may not be perceived positively by the public, as some may feel that the agency is not doing enough to meet the ever-increasing emergency needs in a society where natural and manmade disasters are becoming common. This puts pressure on the agencies to strive to do a lot despite tight budgets. Therefore, budget cutting is increasingly becoming common in organizations, particularly in those that need to address numerous problems facing the public.
Budget Cutting at South Carolina Emergency Management Department
Organizations around the United States currently have to cope with tight finances. For instance, South Carolina Emergency Management Department employs both targeted and across-the-board spending cuts with an objective to direct more funds on more critical programs. The agency has to prioritize certain programs in terms of funding. As much as budget cutting may be necessary for South Carolina Emergency Management Department, it is important to examine how the budget cuts affect the agency’s operations.
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The South Carolina Emergency Management Department has a general budget of $1,053,000.00. The budget has to be used to finance the necessary measures to prevent, mitigate, and recover from a disaster, particularly in the State of South Carolina (SCEMD). South Carolina Emergency Management Department’s budget can be cut by 10 percent through elimination of transport disaster allocations. Being a state prone to hurricanes and tropical storms, the agency should focus on such disasters and cut allocations on transport disasters. Essentially, the transport disasters do not result in significant casualties as hurricanes and tropical storms. Although the public may view the agency as not concerned with the victims of transportation disasters, it is important to realize the importance of maintaining sustainable budgets. Many people feel that the agency should meet all the medical emergency needs in South Carolina. As such, a failure to address transportation medical emergencies can be seen as some form of incompetence on the part of South Carolina Emergency Management Department. The perception of quality from the perspective of the public may be negative based on the fact that some of the expectations may not be met. This is because some people may feel that catering for transportation medical emergencies is critical. The agency may mitigate such a challenge by effectively communicating its mission and vision to the public and justify that the budget cutting is in line with the set objectives.
A 20 percent reduction in South Carolina Emergency Management Department’s expenditures could go a long way in ensuring that the agency maintains a sustainable budget. The expenditures on special sheltering assistance and droughts could be eliminated to achieve a 20 percent budget cutting. Basically, allocating funds for special sheltering assistance programs and droughts are important initiatives that should be supported by any agency responsible for responding to medical emergencies. Such agencies are expected by the public to deliver as much emergency medical assistance as possible. A failure to address some of the medical emergencies may be considered a weakness. As such, the agency is continuously under pressure to meet the demands of the public in terms of responding to emergency situations in South Carolina. The senior management at South Carolina Emergency Management Department needs to ensure that the agency’s priorities are in line with much of the expectations of the public. It is obvious that the perception of quality of the services provided by the agency could be adversely affected. This is because quality is often determined by the agency’s ability to attend to as much emergencies as possible on time. Thus, a failure to address special sheltering needs of victims of natural or manmade disasters can influence the public’s view of the agency. Additionally, the agency will be expected to play an instrumental role in meeting the medical emergency needs presented by the occurrence of drought. However, it is important to realize that the impact of drought cannot compare with the impact of hurricanes and tornadoes. For instance, Hurricane Florence resulted in a serious medical emergence event in South Currency, given its significant impact on the health and safety of people living in South Carolina.
Impact of Budget Cuts on SCEMD’s Image
Once an organization has established that budget cuts are inevitable, it must seriously consider the extent of the cuts (Rubin, 1990). Essentially, budget cuts mean that an agency such as South Carolina Emergency Management Department may not be able to offer certain services. This is because each service has financial implications on the agency. Limited financial resources necessitate prioritization of services, with those most critical being considered for funding. Although South Carolina Emergency Management Department may maintain and even improve the critical services such as emergency responses to such natural disasters as hurricanes and tornadoes, a failure to meet certain emergency needs such as providing special sheltering assistance may have a negative impact on the image of the agency. The communities who feel that the agency responded inadequately to an emergency situation on which the organization has placed less priority, the victims and the surrounding communities may feel betrayed by the agency. Such an occurrence may reduce the trust on the agency, as well as the willingness of the public to provide support in the future. However, it is important to realize that the reaction of the public could be based on the agency’s effectiveness in communicating its mission and vision to the public. Basically, the actions of the agency should be consistent with its mission and vision. The budget cuts should be communicated clearly. This is because people may start to worry about their own programs, jobs, as well as their friends. As a result, the staff morale may be affected adversely. Therefore, the leaders should focus on properly communicating the reason behind the budget cuts in a bid to garner support for the course of action. It is always easy to implement a change when all the stakeholders are behind it. As such, focus should be on involving all the parties involved in the decision making process. Gaining the support of both the employees and the clients can help in achieving the objectives of the agency.
Impact of the Proposed Budget Cut on South Carolina State’s Image
The State of Carolina funds a significant proportion of South Carolina Emergency Management Department’s budget. The budget cuts could be seen to be as a result of the state’s inability to provide sufficient funding for the agency. As such, the image of the State of Carolina could be affected negatively as the public may believe that it does not pay attention to the emergency medical needs of the people. The people may brand the state as an unreliable actor in terms of providing the necessary support in times of emergency. Thus, the public may not trust the state to provide sufficient support in times of emergencies in the future. The public could react in two ways. They could decide to support the agency or choose not to support it. The public could feel that South Carolina Emergency Management Department is willing to meets its mandate but the state failed to provide the necessary financial resources. As such, they may decide to support it through donations, given its role in addressing medical emergencies. As such, public trust in the agency may increase, even in the future. On the other hand, the public may develop a negative attitude to both the state and its agencies, including the South Carolina Emergency Management Department. This means that the state will lose public trust in the present and even in the future. Therefore, cogent reasons behind the budget cuts should be clearly communicated to gain the support of all the stakeholders.
Conclusion
In conclusion it is demonstrable that budget cuts are increasingly becoming necessary in today’s organizations. This is the case because many organizations are working with tight budgets. As such, there is always the need to maintain a sustainable budget. Budget cuts could have a negative impact on South Carolina Emergency Management Department’s image. However, this can be mitigated by ensuring that the budget cuts are in line with the mission and vision of the agency. Budget cuts can also affect the image of the governing body such as the State of Carolina. The public may feel that the governing body has failed to address their medical emergency needs.
References
https://www.SCEMD.org
Executive Budget Office. (2018). Current Budget Plans- Office of the Adjutant General. Retrieved from: https://www.admin.sc.gov/files/E240%20-%20Adjutant%20General.pdf
South Carolina Emergency Management Division. (n.d.). Retrieved from: https://www.scemd.org
South Carolina Emergency Management Division. (2018a). Emergency Operations Plan. Retrieved 10 Nov. 2018 from http://www.scemd.org/em-rofessionals/plans/emergency operations-plan/
Rubin, I. S. (1990). Budget Theory and Budget Practice: Mow Good the Fit?. Public Administration Review , 50 (2), 179-189.
