IN THIS ISSUE Public Assistance Key to Disaster Recovery Natural disasters have become so widespread in recent years that they can be second-page news. While their frequency might dull our sensitivity to them, more importantly, they should be a wake-up call that now is the time to prepare for these events and to have a plan for recovering from the devastation they cause. In the United States, FEMA’s Public Assistance Program plays a major role in bringing about recovery for our communities. But as Skip Cerminaro of Tidal Basin explains, deriving full benefit from the program as quickly as possible starts with understanding its key operating procedures and documentation requirements. We believe you will find his article to be informative and a helpful first step in preparing now to recover if and when a disaster strikes. In 2020, the president declared 310 disasters — 104 major disasters, 128 emergency disasters and 78 fire disasters. They were the result of, but not limited to, earthquakes, hurricanes, tropical and heavy storms, tornados, snow, ice and wildfires. All resulted in public entities being stressed beyond their capabilities to respond and recover. Be Ready for the Next Disaster — and the Public Assistance Process! Understanding these standard operating procedures and being proactive with required documentation will help expedite your recovery. By Skip Cerminaro Disaster Preparedness and Recovery Consulting
2 D I SAS T E R R ECOVE RY TODAY.COM nature driven or man-made. This is evident by the nationally, and globally, declared disaster COVID-19. The best way to recover from a catastrophic occurrence is through preparedness. Responsibility After a disaster strikes, it is the local community’s responsibility to respond. If the response efforts are beyond their capabilities, the state may be brought in to provide assistance. If this collaboration falls short of adequately responding to the disaster, the state can then request assistance from the federal government. Fortunately, our federal government —by authority of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act, Public Law 93-288, as amended, 42 U.S.C. 5121- 5206 —provides assistance through the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), a component of the Department of Homeland Security. State, local, territorial, and tribal (SLTT) governments and certain types of private nonprofit organizations (PNPs) are eligible to receive federal grants through the Public Assistance (PA) Program that FEMA implements. Once the president declares a major disaster or emergency for a specific location, FEMA— in coordination with the state or “Recipient”—will arrive to work with the eligible SLTT governments and PNPs or “Sub-recipients” to implement the PA Program. Following their standard operating procedures, FEMA and the state will conduct informational meetings and assign PA personnel to work with the affected entities to aid them in submitting grants to recover their costs As evident from the above graph, the mean average consistency zone from 2010 through 2019 shows that U.S. States and Territories have averaged approximately 105 declarations per year. When weather patterns and other meteorologic conditions such as above average water temperatures converge, storm numbers and intensity increase as we experienced in 2011 and 2020. It’s easy to imagine the number of public entities that have been affected by these changing weather patterns. While some regions might be prone to certain types of disasters, no one community is completely immune from being affected by some sort of disaster, whether it is “The best way to recover from a catastrophic occurrence is through preparedness.” 300 – 250 – 200 – 150 – 100 – 50 – 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 84 79 103 137 124 101 310 D I S A S T E R S Y E A R S 108 241 112 95
T IDALBAS INGROUP.COM 3 in responding to the disaster — and rebuilding to become whole again. The PA Program is complicated and includes guidelines to ensure that the funding needed by a devastated community will arrive in a timely manner. FEMA and state PA personnel will coordinate efforts with the authorized representative of the eligible applicant or “sub-recipient” via an Exploratory Call and eventual Recovery Scoping Meeting to jumpstart the process. These PA personnel will likely be working with various department supervisors and other personnel to conduct site visits at the damaged areas and subsequently develop Streamlined Project Applications (SPA) in the FEMA Grants Portal (FGP) and eventual Sub-grant Applications (SA) that are the formal grant requests for funds. Advance knowledge of the PA Program can go a long way in expediting the process. However, a thorough understanding is usually lacking. Local officials have enough on their plate meeting the demands of their everyday duties while becoming proficient in the PA Program is not always a priority for department heads and supervisors. Additionally, there are standard operating procedures (SOPs) that local government departments can adopt and implement in preparation for a disaster. These SOPs will help expedite the PA process and secure funds when FEMA arrives following a disaster declaration. If several years have passed since you were last involved in a presidentially declared disaster you will see that the process to submit disaster-related expenditures has changed. Transmitting hard copy documentation prone to “The Public Assistance Program is complicated and it includes guidelines to insure that the funding needed by a devastated community will arrive in a timely manner.” misplacement or loss has been diminished significantly. Since 2017, submitting project documentation and Sub-grant Applications includes receiving access to and utilizing a new delivery model and a secure cloudbased website: FEMA’s Grants Portal, a U.S. Government information system. There are several training and support sites including the FEMA Support Hotline to guide you through navigating the Grants Portal.
4 D I SAS T E R R ECOVE RY TODAY.COM Affected Departments Many departments within a government entity will be affected by a disaster. Let’s identify some of the most likely. First responders to a disaster event are typically community safety departments such as police, fire, medical and public works. Police, fire and medical teams might conduct search and rescue operations, oversee evacuation measures, place sandbagging, supply security forces, provide emergency medical care and initiate road closures. Public works crews might also assist with emergency protective measures, and oversee repairs to roads, bridges and other government infrastructure. Facilities departments will be involved in many types of repairs. Parks and Recreation personnel will respond to damages to their affected properties. Departments of Health and Social Services may be involved in evacuations and establishing temporary shelters. The Information Technology (IT) department could be called upon to install emergency communication systems. Keep in mind that at the onset of an occurrence —whether man-made or natural — it won’t be immediately known if the event will develop into a large enough catastrophe warranting a presidential declaration and federal intervention. Department heads and supervisors will need to be able to differentiate between a manageable occurrence and one that has the potential to escalate. Once an occurrence does become a declared disaster, the likelihood of a community being able to obtain eligible funding in a timely manner will be contingent upon its ability to accurately and expeditiously document costs incurred for equipment use, rented equipment, labor, materials, contracts, etc., and if applicable, mutual aid and donated services. Accounting for Disaster-Related Costs It is important that the system a department utilizes to track work orders for labor, equipment usage and materials can differentiate between eligible disaster work and normal duties. These systems can range from simplified handwritten work orders and timecards to sophisticated computer software programs. Whichever system is implemented, it is very important to be able to track all disaster-related labor, equipment, materials, etc., by date, hours, locations and tasks performed. When a community is affected by an extraordinary disaster event, all work attributable to that event should be specifically identified. For instance, a special code can be assigned so all labor, equipment, materials, purchases and invoices, etc., that were utilized can “… there are standard operating procedures (SOPs) that local government departments can adopt and implement in preparation for a disaster.”
T IDALBAS INGROUP.COM 5 easily be tracked and separated from normal day-to-day costs. Let’s say a city is anticipating a severe stormwith a chance of four to six inches of rainfall forecast to hit the area by late afternoon. During normal working hours, the DPW road crews perform regularly scheduled maintenance and repair work then suddenly address a severe weather event. The daily work orders should have a specific code for this work that tracks the additional labor, equipment and any material used. The work order needs to show staff name(s), the hours responding to the event, the location, and the task performed by each person. This item could be coded by any chosen means. Equipment Inventory for Disaster Usage Reimbursement One of the first steps a municipal department can take in preparation for a disaster is to have a current and complete inventory of their equipment. This should include the type, year, make, model, capacity (if applicable), engine horsepower (if applicable), unit identification number, length of blade (if applicable), load capacity (trailers), etc. An example might be: County # 102 —Dump Truck – 2010 – Ford F-350 – 8 cyl. – 400 HP, etc. This will be very helpful when it comes time to formulate a Project Worksheet (PW) that includes the use of the equipment. FEMA will apply a cost code based on an established national rate for the use of equipment that includes operation, fuel, insurance, depreciation and maintenance. SLTTs may have established their own rates. FEMA may accept these rates up to $75.00 per hour. FEMA will consider rates exceeding $75.00 per hour if the SLTT can show that each component of the rate is comparable to the current market prices. Some applicants may have established hourly rates for their equipment’s usage. These local rates may be used, but FEMA will use the FEMA cost code if it is higher. If the local rate is higher and the applicant can show the basis for their rates, they may receive approval from FEMA. “One of the first steps a municipal department can take in preparation for a disaster is to have a current and complete inventory of their equipment.”
6 D I SAS T E R R ECOVE RY TODAY.COM Labor One of the major obstacles in capturing labor costs is the fringe benefit calculation for personnel involved in the disaster response. Fringe benefits are eligible if they are part of the applicant’s established policy before the disaster hits. Fringe benefit rates for both regular time and overtime should be calculated for each individual employee. FEMA may want to calculate an average rate to use for all employees of a municipality. Typically, most response work is done by hourly non-supervisory personnel who usually have a higher overall fringe benefit rate. Establishing an average rate by including lower fringe rates of salaried supervisory personnel will result in a lower rate being attached to the majority of employees who accumulated the most eligible hours of work. For large applicants this may result in the loss of a significant amount of funding on large-scale disasters. Union and labor contracts should be provided to FEMA. These contracts will identify such eligible expenses as shift differential pay, meals or other additional supplemental expenditures that should be included on a SPA. Inventory for Disaster Damage Reimbursement An updated inventory of equipment and supplies should always be available. Not only will this have budgeting benefits, but if a catastrophic event occurs in which buildings and contents are damaged or destroyed, the time saved in identifying and documenting these items will be diminished, ultimately speeding up the flow of much-needed funds. This is especially important for buildings that may be located in Special Flood Hazard Areas (SFHA)1 which are more likely to be affected by flooding. Compiling a list of contents of a damaged building after a disaster can take months, especially if the only means of accounting for them is by memory. Without proper documentation, having these items included for replacement reimbursement can be very difficult. Having a roomby-room, up-to-date inventory list with purchase documentation readily available will solidify the authenticity of your claim significantly and shorten the time you will have to wait for funding. “Work performed under contracts for eligible disaster-related projects must meet certain requirements to be considered for reimbursement under the Public Assistance Program.”
T IDALBAS INGROUP.COM 7 Picture isWorth 1,000Words Damage descriptions have much greater impact when accompanied by pictures. When depicting the impact of a major event, it is ideal to include photos of conditions before the damage occurred when possible, and even more important to provide pictures of the damages and the finished repairs. First responders should be equipped with inexpensive digital cameras and fresh batteries or cell phones capable of taking reliable photos. It is helpful to have the devices set to include a date stamp on each picture. When it comes time to formulate SPAs in the FGP for grant reimbursement, photos, along with the aforementioned preparations, will expedite the flow of eligible funding. “Having a room-by-room, up-todate inventory list with purchase documentation readily available will solidify the authenticity of your claim significantly and shorten the time you will have to wait for funding.” Contracts Work performed under contracts for eligible disaster-related projects must meet certain requirements to be considered for reimbursement under the Public Assistance Program. Contracts must be for
8 D I SAS T E R R ECOVE RY TODAY.COM reasonable costs, generally competitively bid, and meet Federal procurement requirements2. A copy of the applicant’s contract procurement policy must be readily available and provided to FEMA. FEMA considers the following methods of procurement acceptable: Micro-purchase — Purchase of supplies or services where costs do not exceed the Federal Acquisition threshold of $10,0003. Small purchase procedures —An informal method for securing services or supplies that do not cost more than $250,0004 by obtaining several quotes from different sources. Sealed bids —This is a formal method where bids are publicly advertised and solicited, and the contract is awarded to the lowest bidder (this is the preferred method for procuring construction contracts). Competitive proposals —This method is like sealed bid procurement, but contracts may be awarded on the basis of contractor qualifications instead of price (this is preferred for professional architectural or engineering contracts). Non-competitive proposals —A proposal is received from only one source and one of the following apply: there is a public exigency or emergency requirement that makes a bidding process not feasible; the item is available from only one source; FEMA authorizes a non-competitive proposal; or solicitation has been attempted and the competition is inadequate. Non-competitive proposals that do not fall within these parameters and“piggyback” contracts are generally not eligible. There are three types of contracts for which FEMA will provide reimbursement: “Contracts must be for reasonable costs, generally competitively bid, and meet Federal procurement requirements.2”
T IDALBAS INGROUP.COM 9 Lump sum—A contract for work within a prescribed boundary with a clearly defined scope of work and total price. Unit price —A contract for work done on an item-by-item basis with cost determined per unit. Cost plus a fixed fee —These contracts are either lump sum or unit priced with a fixed contractor fee added into the price. Time and materials contracts should be avoided, although FEMA may allow this type of contract for work that is necessary immediately after a disaster —when a clear scope of work cannot be developed. There may be instances when an immediate emergency contract must be awarded to stabilize a facility to prevent an imminent threat to the life, health, or safety of the community, or reduce the threat of significant damage to improved public5 or private property. This type of contract is normally allowed if reasonable, has a not-to-exceed or ceiling price, and extensive oversight is maintained. Once the threat has been eliminated and more time is needed to complete all disaster-related repairs, the remaining work must be put out to bid to comply with PA Program requirements. All work should stop until a new contract can be awarded. Cost-pluspercentage-of-cost contracts are not eligible. Specific guidance on contracts can be found in FEMA’s Field Manual — Procurement Guidance For Recipients And Sub-recipients Under C.F.R. Part 200 (Uniform Rules) Supplement To The Public Assistance Procurement Disaster Assistance Team (PDAT). Establishing a Benchmark A prerequisite for identifying and quantifying disaster-related damages is establishing a benchmark based on the condition, capacity and function of the facility before the event occurred. Remember that the fundamental goal of the Public Assistance Program is to return the facility to its pre-disaster condition, capacity and function— including adherence to applicable codes and standards in place prior to the event. This requires vigilantly keeping and updating maintenance records. Eligible items that should be monitored, and not limited to, include buildings; equipment that is non-expendable, costs $5,000 or more and has a life expectancy of more than a year; vehicles; bridges; culverts; road systems, including drainage ditches and road surface maintenance; water control facilities; utilities; and recreational facilities.
10 D I SAS T E R R ECOVE RY TODAY.COM As discussed previously, before-andafter pictures greatly help the eligibility of a damaged facility. Incorporating this procedure in your routine maintenance records will solidify and expedite your retention of disaster funding. their administrative burden, FEMA, as stewards of taxpayer resources, continually implements changes in how damage is identified and evaluated. Initially, after the Recipient requests federal intervention following an event, a joint FEMA, state and applicant Preliminary Damage Assessment (PDA) is conducted. If all PA Program criteria are met and a declaration is granted, the first significant meeting with affected Sub-recipients will be the Applicant’s Briefing in which the state discusses the application process, administrative requirements, funding, and PA Program eligibility criteria. The next step for the Applicant is to submit a Request for Public Assistance (RPA). After review and approval of the RPA, FEMA will conduct a brief Exploratory Call with an Applicant. Within 21 days FEMA and the Recipient should conduct a Recovery Scoping Meeting (RSM) which kicks-off the assistance process for the Applicant. Damaged facilities and emergency work must be identified and reported to FEMA within 60 days of the RSM. Typically, FEMA will require a comprehensive list of damages accompanied by corresponding estimates of expenditures and repairs. This information and documentation may be requested much earlier in the process, starting with the PDA and RPA. Be sure that all time spent on the documentation of each project is recorded by the person who collects or develops the information. All the time to attend these meetings, collect project information and manage the PA awards is eligible for reimbursement as grant management and administrative cost6. Liberty State Park pedestrian bridge destroyed by Hurricane Sandy. FEMA News Photo Liberty State Park pedestrian bridge replaced after Hurricane Sandy. Fred Gaunt/FEMA Identifying and Estimating DisasterRelated Damages Standard operating procedures under FEMA’s Public Assistance Program for providing grants in disasters are in constant flux. To streamline the process and lessen
T IDALBAS INGROUP.COM 11 Retaining an engineering firm through your contract procurement policy to detail the extent of work on all complex projects is advisable. Be prepared to establish a 30-, 60- and possibly a 90-day recovery plan in conjunction with FEMA and the state. Below is a list of key documentation you should develop and maintain. You will need it early in the PA process and will need to upload the documentation to the FEMA Grants Portal: RPA • Drug-free workplace certification • Federal Tax ID form • DUNS number (Data Universal Number System. May be ascertained from Dun & Bradstreet); Full insurance policy; Labor contracts and pay policies; Fringe benefits; List of personnel including titles and pay rates; Contract bid procurement policy; Inventory of equipment/vehicles; Inventory of supplies; Maintenance records; Mutual aid agreements. As your recovery progresses, FEMA is likely to request additional documentation specific to projects that are developed. For example: Timecards showing personnel names, labor hours and equipment (with operator names) and hours used; Purchase orders and paid invoices for materials used; Contracts • Bid proposal/announcement • Bid responses • Awarded contract (signed) • Paid invoices; Rental equipment paid invoices and rental agreements; Maintenance records; Photos of damages (pre-damage if available, pre-repair and post-repair); Applicable permits and/or notices of exemption; Applicable codes and standards, if triggered, and the resolution that formally adopted them. Documentation is Critical Accurate and concise documentation is vital to obtaining and maximizing your Public Assistance Program funding. Implementing these preemptive measures can make this sometimes daunting process flowmore smoothly and quickly. Consider the Possibility—and Be Prepared! Today, with disasters of many types being more widespread than ever, no organization is immune from being impacted. As you consider the possibility —beforehand and if you ever become an
CORPORATE OFFICE 126 Business Park Drive Utica, New York 13502 888.282.1626 Outside U.S. (703) 683.8551 FAX: (315) 272.2054 [email protected] Copyright 2021 Tidal Basin. All Rights Reserved. Follow Disaster Recovery Today on Facebook & Twitter: Facebook.com/TidalBasinGroup Twitter.com/DRToday DISASTER RECOVERY TODAY® is published as a public service by Tidal Basin. It is provided for general information and is not intended to replace professional insurance, legal or financial advice for specific cases. WEB ADDRESSES TidalBasinGroup.com DisasterRecoveryToday.com PUBLISHER Daniel A. Craig, MBA EDITOR Sheila E. Salvatore DRT21 4018-R2 Is there a topic you would like to see covered in an upcoming edition of Disaster Recovery Today? You can make topic suggestions, contact the editor, request free subscriptions and browse our back issues all from our website — DisasterRecoveryToday.com. We look forward to hearing from you. Skip Cerminaro Applicant in a declared disaster — remember to keep three questions in mind: • What was your facility like before it was damaged? • What will it take to bring it back to its pre-disaster condition? • What do you want the facility to be after it is repaired? There are programs and policies that allow possible upgrades to mitigate damage from a similar disaster in the future. Equipped with this information and an understanding of what’s required to receive help through FEMA’s Public Assistance Program, you will already be on the road to an optimum recovery. THE AUTHOR ____________________ 1 SFHA – An area having special flood, mudflow, or flood-related erosion hazards and shown on a Flood Hazard Boundary Map (FHBM) or Flood Insurance Rate Map (FIRM) as Zone A, AO, A1-A30, AE, A99, AH, AR, AR/A, AR/AE, AR/AH, AR/AO, AR/A1-A30, V1-V30, VE or V. 2 2 C.F.R. § 200.318 – 200.327 for Tribal & local governments. 3 Federal Register Vol. 85, No. 157 August 13, 2020, Page 49514. 4 IBID. 5 Improved property is any structure, facility, or item of equipment that was constructed, built, or manufactured. Land used for agricultural purposes is not improved property. 44 CFR § 206.221(d). 6 FEMA Recovery Policy FP 104-11-2, Public Assistance Management Costs (Interim) and FEMA’s Public Assistance Management Costs Standard Operating Procedures; www.fema.gov/media-library/assets/documents/174133. “Accurate and concise documentation is vital to obtaining and maximizing your Public Assistance Program funding.”
www.tidalbasingroup.comRkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy NjIxNjMz