12/12/2018

Outstanding Irma Requests for Documentation and Pending Subgrant Agreements

As the Florida Division of Emergency Management (DEM) works to ensure the timely and correct payment of federal Public Assistance (PA) funding, it is vital for applicants to provide accurate documentation confirming that expenses are valid. If questions arise during the reimbursement validation process for Large Projects, classified as projects over $123,100.00 in value, an official Request for Information (RFI) is issued to the applicant. In order for the associated project to move forward, the information requested in the RFI must be provided by the applicant. Unanswered RFIs are a significant source of delay in the PA reimbursement process. For Hurricane Irma, there are currently projects totaling more than $67,000,000.00 with outstanding RFIs.

The applicants with outstanding RFIs are listed below:

Charlotte County Sheriff's Office

City of Arcadia

City of Moore Haven

Collier County Sheriff's Office

Glades County

Greater Naples Fire Rescue District

NCH Healthcare System

North Collier Fire Control/Rescue District

San Carlos Park Fire Protection and Rescue District

Pinellas County (Sheriff's Office)

Sumter Sheriff's Office

City of Coconut Creek

City of Margate

City of Miami

City of Miami Gardens

City of Plantation

City of West Palm Beach

Key West Utility Board

Monroe County

Monroe County Sheriff's Office

Renaissance Charter School, Inc.

Seacoast Utility Authority

City of Apopka

City of Cocoa Beach

City of Edgewood

City of New Smyrna Beach

City of Port St. Lucie

City of Rockledge

Florida Municipal Power Agency

Volusia County

Orange Park

An even greater number of applicants have projects pending Essential Elements of Information (EEI) completion with FEMA. In this phase, FEMA requires the applicant to provide the documentation required to build a description of damages and costs and develop a scope of work. There are currently 501 local applicants with 3,058 projects related to Hurricane Irma pending EEI completion with FEMA. This phase in the process must be completed by the applicant and by FEMA prior to funds being obligated and disbursed to the state and DEM.

Another significant source of delay is pending subgrant agreements. After a project is obligated by FEMA, a subgrant agreement is sent to the subrecipient for signature. Until the subrecipient signs the subgrant agreement, the project is not eligible to move forward into the payment phase post validation. There are currently 213 applicants with pending subgrant agreements. 

A full list of projects pending EEI completion with FEMA and applicants with pending subgrant agreements is available at the following link: https://portal.floridadisaster.org/recovery/PA_Payments/Irma_Projects.xlsx

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