Finance Director Jared Mullane announced this week that following more than 17 months of back-and-forth with the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the town has received the final $39,000 owed for COVID-19 expenditures.
Most of that money, $31,000, was spent by the schools, with the balance owed to the ambulance squad for its purchase of personal protection supplies, including COVID test kits. This latest reimbursement is in addition to the $59,000 the town received in August 2022. Of that payment, $56,000 covered COVID testing at the schools; the remainder paid for ambulance COVID-related supplies.
The FEMA payments reimburse the town for past expenses. These were originally paid from a variety of sources and while the money does not directly impact the town’s operating budget, it returns money to school and ambulance reserves.
FEMA is one of the most difficult organizations to work with, Town Administrator Tim Bragan wrote the Press. “Everyone thinks you just ask the federal government for disaster relief and then it comes. That is not the case. The reporting is detailed, scrutinized, and questioned at multiple steps.” Moreover, he said, agency staff can change from month to month as they get moved from one emergency to another, “and then you have to bring the new person up to speed.” Added Bragan: “Jared stayed on top of this and got it to the finish line while having to do his regular day-to-day work.”
