The city is seeking a $150,000 grant from the state office of Homeland Security to update a joint emergency response plan with the county — which is temporarily being denied a $34,822 federal grant administered by the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency because the plan is outdated.

The Vicksburg Board of Mayor and Aldermen OK’d the grant application Wednesday. If approved, it would require no local match. In a letter to a Homeland Security grants director in Jackson, Mayor Paul Winfield wrote both the city and county “lack the manpower, expertise and financial resources to complete the plan in-house.”

Warren County Emergency Management Director Gwen Coleman last week submitted to MEMA a draft of the updated plan that did not include the city’s role or responsibilities in the event of a local emergency. Coleman said she did so only after months of waiting on the city to submit its revisions to the plan.

MEMA Director Mike Womack has said he intends to send members of his staff to Vicksburg and Warren County in the coming weeks to help sort out the mess and get an up-to-date comprehensive response plan that details both city and county responsibilities.

City and county officials began meeting with MEMA officials in March about updating the plan, which was last modified in 2007. A May 1 deadline was identified to make the appropriate revisions, but more than three months later the plan remains out of date.

Disputes between the city and county over emergency management began immediately after Vicksburg created its own emergency management department and response plan five years ago in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Then-Mayor Laurence Leyens criticized the county and state for not having adequate emergency response plans.

While a handful of cities in the state have independent emergency management departments, counties are responsible for managing emergency management operations and reporting to MEMA. The city previously has attempted to become the state-recognized emergency management department locally and has also complained about not getting a share of MEMA reimbursements for joint training exercises that go into county coffers.

All counties are required to have a MEMA-approved comprehensive emergency management plan spelling out the responsibilities of various emergency response departments, such as police and fire, in the event of natural disasters, chemical accidents or other emergencies.

MEMA will not release to Warren County $34,822 in federal grant funds, which can be used for personnel and equipment, until the local plan is updated. Outside of three counties not participating in the grant program, Warren County is the only one of the state’s 82 without an up-to-date plan, a MEMA spokesman has said.

Marcia Weaver, who handles most of the city’s grant applications, said she does not know when the city will find out if it gets the Homeland Security grant to update the plan.