FEMA has approved $1,386,224 for the State of Florida to help the City of Fort Lauderdale defray administrative costs associated with Hurricane Irma recovery under FEMA’s Public Assistance Program.
FEMA funds will reimburse the City of Fort Lauderdale for administrative costs related to managing FEMA PA programs and projects. This amount is five percent of the total dollar value of all eligible project costs prior to insurance and cost share reductions.
Funding for this Public Assistance (PA) project is authorized under Section 428 of the Stafford Act authorizing FEMA to provide funding for Direct Administrative Costs that may include actions like: site inspections; developing detailed site-specific damage descriptions; evaluating Section 406 hazard mitigation measures; reviewing Project Worksheets; preparing small projects; preparing correspondence; travel expenses; collecting, copying, filing, or submitting documents to support a claim; or requesting disbursement of PA funds. This is a pilot program available to each applicant on a voluntary basis.
FEMA’s Public Assistance grant program is an essential source of funding for communities recovering from a federally declared disaster or emergency. The Florida Division of Emergency Management works with FEMA during all phases of the PA program and conducts final reviews of FEMA-approved projects.
Applicants work directly with FEMA to develop project worksheets and scopes of work. Following approvals by FEMA and FDEM, FEMA obligates funding for the project.
FEMA’s Public Assistance program provides grants to state, tribal, and local governments, and certain types of private non-profit organizations including some houses of worship, so that communities can quickly respond to and recover from major disasters or emergencies.
The federal share for Public Assistance projects is not less than 75 percent of the eligible cost. The state determines how the non-federal share of the cost of a project (up to 25 percent) is split with the sub-recipients like local and county governments.
