Emergency manager new to job

NORFOLK, Va. (WAVY.com) - The city of Norfolk is preparing to face the next big hurricane, and the city is doing it with a new emergency manager.

"We've had a long history of actually being on top of and ready for storms so we're doing what we've always done," said Norfolk city spokesperson Bob Batcher.

The city is doing it without longtime Director of Emergency Preparedness and Response Ronald Keys, who retired earlier this year.

Norfolk's new director is James Rogers. WAVY.com learned he is a former assistant to city manager Regina Williams. Rogers declined our request for an interview saying he was busy planning for Hurricane Earl. However, when WAVY.com asked about his experience, he said, "I provided briefings to city council during Isabel."

WAVY.com took a closer look at his resume and found that Rogers served as Williams' assistant from 2003 to 2008. During that time, he was Acting Bureau Manager of Neighborhood Revitalization. Rogers left the city in 2008 to take a job as YMCA's Vice President of Operations in metropolitan Washington D.C. He was responsible for managing three branches with budgets totaling more than $11 million. Rogers just completed a FEMA certification and he's currently working on his National Incident Command System certifications.

Batcher says Rogers can handle the job. "We've had conversations with our department heads if we have to move equipment into our shelter those are being done as we speak."

City councilman Tommy Smigiel, whose district was heavily flooded during the Nor'easter, said it will take a team to handle Norfolk's emergency needs. He said he was pleased with what he saw in July. "I felt comfortable after that presentation that we are prepared for it, and the city just signed a deal with Richmond. We can use their shelters if we have to evacuate the area," said Smigiel.

Under state law, the city manager directs the emergency plan.