Politics & Government

Berkeley Appoints New Emergency Management Coordinator

Detective Michael Tier was sworn in as Berkeley's new emergency management coordinator on Monday night.

Detective Michael Tier (front, middle) was sworn in as Berkeley’s new emergency management coordinator on Monday night.
Detective Michael Tier (front, middle) was sworn in as Berkeley’s new emergency management coordinator on Monday night. (Kimberlee Bongard/Patch)

BERKELEY, NJ — Detective Michael Tier was sworn in as Berkeley’s new emergency management coordinator on Monday night.

The Berkeley Township Office of Emergency Management provides a coordination of efforts and response for its residents during natural, technological or man-made emergencies.

The emergency management coordinator position was previously held by Police Chief Karin DiMichele, who retired earlier this month.

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Tier began working in a volunteer position with the office of emergency management in September 2012.

During Superstorm Sandy, he was selected to serve in the role of deputy coordinator and helped coordinate the reentry of South Seaside Park residents and contractors to the barrier island.

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Since then he has responded to more emergencies, including snow storms, wildfires and the COVID-19 pandemic.

“As you can tell he’s well, well-qualified to serve in the position of emergency management coordinator,” said Mayor Carmen Amato before Tier was sworn in.

As a detective with the Berkeley Township Police Department, Tier has successfully investigated cases like homicides, narcotics distributions, robberies, burglaries, money laundering and fraud.

In addition to his police duties, Tier has served in the Pennsylvania Army National Guard since 2005. He has completed two overseas deployments, including Iraq in 2009 as a reconnaissance platoon leader and Saudi Arabia in 2018 as a joint multinational task force operations officer.

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