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o damages. Moreover, following Hurricane Lili in 2002, we provided direct support and assistance in drafting an eligibility appeal for the Iberia City School Board, state of Louisiana. Our assistance helped secure funding for the replacement of a storm damaged roof. With respect to the filing and securing of other grant funds and leveraging opportunities for disaster recovery, Ash Britt has customarily taken an advisory role, simply apprising clients of other available grant programs. These programs, generally, are administered by the Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS), the Federal Highway Administration (FHW A), the Department of Agriculture (USDA), and the Department of Labor (USDOL). Organization To fully understand how the Public Assistance Program works it is important first to understand the organizational structure as it relates to FEMA, the State of Florida, and the local jurisdiction. Following a disaster declaration by the President of the United States, FEMA will enter into a contract with the State that will define the responsibilities and accountabilities for the federal and state governments. The State, having requested federal assistance for the recovery through application by the Governor, becomes the "Applicant". Local jurisdictions requesting federal assistance through the State are "Sub-applicants" with no direct contractual relationship to FEMA. The best situation for local government is to have a strong State Emergency Management department that is willing and able to support their constituent communities when the inevitable conflicts arise during the recovery mission. Without consistent and firm support from the State disputes related to eligibility, contract implementation, and reimbursement will invariably be determined solely by FEMA in favor of the FEMA position regardless of the facts or the impact to the local community(s). o The Process for Payment The Project Worksheet (PW) is the FEMA document used to request funding for specific recovery projects. A properly formatted PW will fully detail the necessity of a project, the scope of the project and will accurately forecast the costs associated with the project. Small projects (less than $59,700) are written by local government, and large projects (greater than $59,700) are written by FEMA. Debris removal projects, averaging 65% of Public Assistance grants, are almost exclusively large projects. The FEMA Project Officer (PO) assigned to the local government will begin the process of gathering data and writing the debris removal PW within days or weeks after the event. Several sets of critical data are necessary to complete the PW. . Accurate estimates of the total amount of debris to be collected. . Accurate estimates of the total cost of the debris removal project. . Accurate database tracking of work completed to date. . Invoices submitted by and payments to the contractor. Upon completion of the PW, it is sent to the Disaster Field Office (DFO) and reviewed by the Public Assistance Officer (P AO) and staff. I f approved, the PW is then sent to the Federal Coordinating Officer (FCO) for additional review and endorsement by the State. Approved PW claims exceeding $1,000,000 in value may also be sent to FEMA Headquarters for review and approval. At any time in this process the PW may be returned to the original FEMA Project Officer for additional information or may be returned to the local government as a denied PW. Denied PW can be appealed to the FCO and then to FEMA Headquarters. Strong State support of the local government appeal is absolutely necessary for a successful appeal. Once approved, the PW is scheduled for payment by FEMA to the State, and by the State to the local government. If the process works as designed the first PW should be completed in 3 to 4 weeks; the FEMA and state processing 3 to 4 weeks; payment transfers, federal to state and state to local, 2 to 3 weeks. Additional PW or supplements to the original PW should take about half the time as the original. What can delay a payment? o · Lack of documentation or low quality contractor invoice support. · Poorly estimated debris quantities or project costs. · Inadequate monitoring by local government. · Extreme number of local claims. · Lack of immediate FEMA funds. · FEMA cost containment initiatives. A~;hBritt. Inc. I Sunny Isles Beach. FL I RFP No. 08-07-01 73