NORWICH – No one can say for sure how much of an impact recent changes to the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s Public Assistance Program will have on individual municipalities, but most agree the changes will result in at least some decrease in funding.

On Nov. 13, changes to FEMA’s Public Assistance Program, regarding administrative costs, were put into effect. The program, which previously funded 2 to 3 percent of disaster-related project costs as an administrative overhead reimbursement, has been changed and many believe that will result in less federal funding.

According to Alexandra Kirin, a media representative from FEMA, the changes were intended to “ simplify and clarify the method by which FEMA reimburses costs incurred by grantees and subgrantees in administering FEMA's Public Assistance and Hazard Mitigation Grant programs following a declared disaster or emergency, and establishes fixed management cost rates for compensating eligible grantees and sub-grantees.” 

Under the new regulations, New York State would receive 3.5 percent of all project costs to cover their own administrative costs, and distribute the rest to individual municipalities. “This reduces the amount of money for grant management,” said State Emergency Management Office representative Dennis Michalski. “This is a national issue, and all the states are looking at the impact.”

During a normal disaster situation, FEMA pays for 75 percent of disaster costs, the state picks up 12.5 percent and the municipality pays 12.5 percent. On top of that, FEMA pays an additional 2 to 3 percent to help with administrative overhead costs, which include associated costs (audits, inspections and overtime pay), grantee state management costs and grantee indirect costs (utilities, rent and other overhead).