• The chief elected official of the jurisdiction submits a letter of request, addressing the specified criteria, to his/her respective State office of emergency management.

• If the State office of emergency management supports the request, it should attach a letter of endorsement outlining how acceptance of this request will meet State emergency management objectives. Note: At this stage in the request, the State may elect not to forward the request but, instead, work with the community (especially if the community is under 100,000 in population) to conduct the G110 Emergency Management Operations Course (EMOC) for the community.

• If approved by the State office, the request should be forwarded to the appropriate FEMA regional office for review. The FEMA regional office, if it supports the application, should include an endorsement for each community it recommends. If more than one jurisdiction is submitted, the region should prioritize its recommendations.

• Starting in FY 2007, applications should be received at EMI from the regions no later than January 15 each year. Between January 15 and February 15, EMI staff and FEMA program office representatives will review the applications and rank them based on regional priority and information provided in the requests. Recommendations will be forwarded to the Superintendent of EMI for final selection no later than March 1.

• By March 31, communities that have been accepted will be notified, as will communities that were not accepted. Appropriate FEMA regional offices and State emergency management offices also will be notified.

• Communities that were not selected and that want to be reconsidered for the following year must re-apply. Applications will not automatically be considered for the following year.

Communities must include the following in their letter of application:

• Sample Application for a Community-specific IEMC

• Population of jurisdiction.

• A brief description of the government structure (include organizational chart if possible); clarify if the request is for a single county or city or a combination of both.

• A narrative that includes the status of emergency management in the community, including past disaster history.

• Emergency management training and exercise history.

• Specific hazards facing the jurisdiction and/or specific hazards requested to be addressed in the .

• Any major national events or special events planned for the jurisdiction, such as sporting events, conventions, etc.

• The community emergency management objective(s) that will be accomplished through participation in the IEMC program