What we learned on September 12, 2013
Presented by:
Catrina Asher, Boulder County Financial Compliance Manager Darla Arians, Boulder County Leadership Academy
Teresa Walters, Boulder County Leadership Academy Tony Cavalier, Town of Lyons Director of Finance
Agenda
Overview
Day 1 – Immediate Response
Days 2-30, and beyond– Get Ready for the Marathon Cost Tracking Considerations
Managing Expectations
Working With Other Agencies Preparing for the Next Disaster
Recommended Policies and Procedures
Overview
In September 2013, Boulder
County received 17 inches of rain in only a few days.
All four mountain canyons
flooded simultaneously, cutting off access to rescue vehicles and leaving whole towns isolated
Over 1,100 people and 550 pets
were airlifted to safety. This was the biggest airlift effort since Hurricane Katrina.
Recovery and rebuilding will
take many years. Costs are still being compiled, but for
unincorporated Boulder County alone, recovery costs are estimated at $217 million.
Day 1 – Immediate Response
Priority 1 – Life Safety & Rescue Operations
Accounting is rarely a life or death situation. Focus on
getting your rescuers what they need to get their job done.
What can we (accounting folks) do on day one?
• Set up coding for cost tracking
• Communicate emergency procedures
• Emergency procurement procedures
• Coding established and any additional documentation needs • Payroll tracking and timecard comments
Days 2-30, and beyond –
Get Ready for the Marathon
It is a marathon, so treat it that way. Pace yourself! Have someone on your side to represent you
Consultant or other in house expertise, FEMA PAC
Staff up! Don’t underestimate your needs Know who the players are
Think about both immediate and future financial
reporting needs, and make sure your processes are sustainable.
Cost Tracking Overview
Emergency procedures vs. long term recovery FEMA Categories
Basic A-G Categories
Your declaration may not include all categories
Alternative Procedures HMP vs. HMGP
Donated Resources
Other Potential Funding Sources
NRCS, CDBG-DR, GOCO, CWCB, ABCDEFG….
Non-Reimbursable Costs Unmet Needs
Top 5 Cost Tracking Considerations
Communicate your cost tracking strategy Manage your procurement process
Have a way to make large purchases quickly Track your time, and track it the right
Time must be tied to a task and equipment used
Managing Expectations
It’s a marathon (not kidding about this one) You will need more staff than you think
Documentation, compliance, records, etc.
Be realistic about what your staff can handle
Watch for burnout, stress, depression
FEMA and other agencies will take over your
conference rooms…and your calendar
Be realistic with your Board/Commission/Council Don’t expect to be made whole
Working with the State
The State is the official recipient of funding for most
programs (FEMA, CDBG-DR, etc.)
They will be your primary partner after FEMA leaves The State will have a huge influence funding,
procedures, timing of reimbursements, etc.
This is probably new to them as well
First FEMA reimbursements took 6 - 9 months
Working with your neighbors
Know who your neighbors are
Include reimbursement and finance processes in
preparedness discussions
Involve finance and your attorneys’ to get IGAs in place Work with contractors early when work crosses
jurisdictions
Consider ALL agencies
Fire districts, school districts, water districts, ditch
companies, neighboring towns, emergency response staff from the state and local OEM offices
What we’ve seen in the field
Reimbursement potential is around 70% or less of
total recovery costs
Reimbursement takes months
Comprehensive financial projections become crucial
There are no text book projects or cases The experts are just as confused as we are
Rules, regulations and FEMA staffing change
depending on the person, day and position of the moon and Jupiter
Preparing for the Next Disaster
Leadership Academy: Policies for Declared Emergencies
Leadership Academy is a year long leadership program of trainings, professional coaching, mentoring and team work to enable both
professional and personal growth in our emerging and current leaders in Boulder County.
One of the challenges of the September 2013 flood event was creating and amending policies and procedures on the fly while we worked to assist our citizens, support our employees, and repair damage; while at the same time trying to follow federal guidelines so that the expenses would be
reimbursable.
Our team project is to create emergency policies for potential future
disasters to increase the County’s response efficiencies, and to obtain the highest reimbursements possible.
Preparing for the Next Disaster
Purchasing Policies top recommendations as a result
of extensive interviews and research:
Contracts and Services: Have pre-negotiated
contracts for emergency products, services, etc. and cooperative purchasing.
P-Cards: Emergency P-Card increase on limits
Spending limits: Increase spending authorization
Preparing for the Next Disaster
Timekeeping & HR Policy top recommendations as a result
of extensive interviews and research:
Timekeeping: Have a project tracking mechanism
prepared so staff can track their time by project
Volunteers: Have FEMA-approved time-tracking sheets
readily available and be sure all volunteers utilize them
Overtime: Have overtime limits in place and have staff
rotate shifts
Leave: Have a leave policy in place for employees who are
victims of the emergency
Preparing for the Next Disaster
Vehicle/Fleet Policy top recommendations as a result
of extensive interviews and research:
Use of County/City Vehicles: Have policy in place
that all usage of county/city vehicles be tracked on FEMA-approved tracking form which tracks all
mileage and project-related usage
Use of Personal Vehicles: Have policy in place that
all approved usage of personal vehicles be tracked on FEMA-approved tracking form which tracks all
Preparing for the Next Disaster
Utmost Importance for Reimbursement:
Keep policies specific to Federal and State guidelines Have procedures and guidelines adopted and in place Practice using the policies during non-declared
Other Key Considerations
Get it in writing, and keep it forever
If you’re a paperless entity, be ready to use paper,
especially for Force Account Labor/Equipment
Be patient
Debrief at different phases of the disaster Take care of yourself! Keep doing what you
Resources
FEMA Guidance
http://www.fema.gov/public-assistance-policy-and-guidance
State of Colorado Office of Emergency Management
http://www.coemergency.com/
Office of Management & Budget (oversight of federal grant funding)
