Councilwoman Cabello Havrda Calls For Increased Trust And Responsiveness In San Antonio City Emergency Response

Press release from the City of San Antonio:

June 25, 2021

SAN ANTONIO –The City Council was convened on Wednesday for a Special Meeting and Final Report from the Committee on Emergency Preparedness. The Committee’s briefing focused on the causes, reactions and lessons learned from the power, water and city service outages caused by February’s winter storm.

In her remarks after the committee presentation Councilwoman Cabello Havrda questioned both CPS Energy CEO Paula Gold Williams and SAWS CEO Robert Puente on establishing trust and responsiveness as part of an overall emergency preparedness plan.

“San Antonians need to trust that the City, CPS Energy and SAWS are prepared for the next emergency, and the best way to establish trust is through everyday responsiveness,” said Councilwoman Cabello Havrda. “My question is what portion of emergency preparedness is dedicated to trust and responsiveness - specifically are you increasing the number of people in the budget line dedicated to responding to resident concerns?”

Both Gold Williams and Puente assured the Council that plans were in place to increase personnel and systems dedicated to responsiveness.

“I’m encouraged by the idea of the City coordinating centralized emergency efforts,” the Councilwoman added, “and I urge all the entities involved to establish a strong, extensive communications plan that includes public and non-profit organizations involved in emergency response.”

To learn more please visit the Emergency Preparedness website: https://www.sanantonio.gov/emergency-preparedness/

This press release was produced by the City of San Antonio. The views expressed here are the author’s own.