For your OEM budget, couldn't you set up a 'Preparedness Fair' for your area, and charge the vendors a fee to increase revenue to your budget?

The business get to showcase wares, ideas.
The public can smell, touch, talk, look at set ups and gear.
OEM budget gets an infusion of cash and media attention.

OK, thanks everyone for all the input.

I'll be going back for another pass at this, I'll post what comes out of it. I hope you all got the very SMALL nature of this community.

OK, Over and out for now.

I liked bsmith's suggestions as well (including the "we can't" which could also be "the town can't" or "emergency services can't").

Making this easy to read and absorb - even to the point of making it visual, with illustrations, will likely improve acceptance and understanding. Many people will not read and absorb a traditionally written text letter.

(My work is in communications and interactive media, so I deal with similar issues every day.)

Just for the sake of curiosity, how did this turn out?

2 cents' worth idea:

An emergency preparedness checklist, tailored to the area, on the back of the letter? Print it so it forms columns when the letter is folded.

Did an interview with the papers, got a bunch of input, and make a presentation to the board of supervisors next week.

We'll see what happens then.