The City of Sumner has a problem of which they are not aware. Specifically, it has not addressed the need to manage significant and/or disaster events that are beyond the normal day-to-day functioning of its emergency response system. Although there is no identified local facility that serves as an emergency operations center, nor an identified means to provide adequate staffing, the City of Sumner believes it has addressed the issue through a contract for emergency management services with the county emergency management department. The purpose of the research was to determine whether jurisdictional size and/or population impact the existence and location of emergency operations centers. Using descriptive and action research methods, the following questions were answered: 1.Does the geographical size and/or population served by a jurisdiction influence the existence, location, and staffing of emergency operations centers? 2. How are other jurisdictions staffing emergency operations centers? 3. To what extent are key officials supportive and serving as participants within the emergency operations center? The research revealed that jurisdictional size and/or population has no impact on the existence of emergency operations centers. However, the type of jurisdiction, municipal versus fire district, did influence whether the emergency operations center was contained within the jurisdiction or was part of a regional center. It also provided a ranking of various individuals and agencies that should be represented in an emergency operations center.Finally, the research indicated that a majority of those agencies utilizing emergency operations centers are satisfied with the participation and support provided by key officials. The recommendation from this study expressed the need for the City of Sumner to determine how they will provide appropriate local support to the regional emergency operations center and to identify what individuals and agencies would be utilized in this local support role.