Post Disaster Recovery Planning Toolkit

Step 6: Implement and Monitor Recovery

Step 2

Establish Post-Disaster Recovery Coordination

Step 3

Identify Recovery Sectors and Build Partnerships

Step 4

Communicate and Engage with Community Stakeholders

Step 5

Formulate Recovery Projects and Draft Plan

Step 6

Implement and Monitor Recovery

Glossary

Quick Links

Step 6

In this step, you will establish services, learn the steps to track finances and resources, and learn ways to keep a record of lessons learned for future recovery efforts. Keep in mind that recovery plans are not static; they are living documents that require continual reshaping as implementation efforts advance and recovery conditions evolve.

Guiding Questions

Assistance: How do we ensure that disaster-impacted households receive the recovery assistance they need?
Finances: How do we ensure that recovery costs are accounted for and reimbursed by insurance, grant assistance, or disaster financing (as eligible)?
Cash Flow: How will the community maintain jurisdiction cash flow?
Alignment: Are recovery projects aligned with community resilience and mitigation goals and objectives?
Integration: What changes to community plans are needed in response to the disaster itself and from changes or enhancements that result from recovery efforts?
Reporting: How does the community regularly report progress to the governing board or the public?

Checklist for Step 6

Activity 1: Establish Case Management (Unmet Needs) Services
Activity 2: Account for Costs and Resources
Activity 3: Ensure Resilience Remains A Recovery Priority
Activity 4: Monitor and Adjust the Recovery Plan as Needed

Step 6, Activity 1: Establish Case Management (Unmet Needs) Services

Communities address the unmet needs of constituents by establishing case management programs.

Tips

Private Property: Local governments have legal limitations on their ability to assist individuals and work on private property. Where independent recovery organizations have not been established, communities can partner with nongovernmental and volunteer organizations, or with a local VOAD, to better meet individual needs and address case management requirements.
Strategic Partners: By partnering with community organizations (United Way, National and Colorado VOAD (NVOAD / COVOAD) organizations, etc) that have been involved over time in the local community and that have in place the capacity to oversee or assume all case management activities, including the staffing of trained volunteers, communities can often establish case management services much faster.
Communication: Stakeholders must manage the expectations of survivors, businesses, and other impacted entities. Much of this will fall to the case managers who interface directly with community members to highlight recovery ordinances, policies, and regulations that will help but may also slow down their work.

Why?
Many disaster survivors will struggle if no case management services exist to support them in their recovery efforts.
Disaster Case Management (DCM) programs, as they are often called, are time-limited processes that typically involve the development of a partnership between a case manager and a disaster survivor (often referred to as a “client”). Case managers will work with your community's unique needs to establish an inclusive and well-rounded support system. The case management partnership provides the client with a single point of contact to facilitate access to a broad range of resources. Together, the case manager and the client develop and implement a disaster recovery plan that is unique to the client.
When?
Case management begins during early recovery and often lasts until recovery operations are considered complete. (Days 31 - 120)

How does my community do this?

This process might include:

Assessment of the client’s needs that are the result of the disaster. Typically case management is determined using disaster assessment data from impact assessments completed early in the disaster. When such assessments are not completed or available, communities can work with government agencies and community organizations to begin developing a clearer understanding of likely needs.
Development of a goal-oriented plan that outlines the steps necessary to achieve recovery. This step will also help to develop the community’s recovery goals, register the assistance that is currently being provided, and gauge the community’s capacity to plan for, manage, and implement a coordinated long-term recovery process. See this Disaster Case Management (DCM) Work Plan template for example.
Organization and coordination of available resources that match the client’s needs including coordinating mass care support (Human Services agencies and nonprofit/voluntary agencies including American Red Cross, Salvation Army, etc.) and those who will be engaged in case management (the provision of mass care is often a precursor for case management support). See this Disaster Case Management Program Request for Proposal (RFP) Template for example.
Incorporate long-term recovery activities into the Disaster Assistance Center (DAC), activate a local recovery assistance center. Disaster survivors will have many concerns and unanswered questions about how to achieve their recovery. To address those concerns, answer questions, and provide tailored support, communities can provide a ‘one-stop-shop for citizens by:
1. Establishing capabilities to serve long-term recovery needs in the DAC (if one exists).
2. Set up (or transition DAC long-term recovery activities to) a Recovery Assistance (RA) center.
3. Establish a Disaster Recovery Center (DRC) in coordination with DOLA and FEMA. Note that disaster-impacted communities that are geographically close to each other can open a shared Disaster Assistance Center.
Establish a call center or request assistance from Colorado 2-1-1 to provide call center, information, and referral services. A fixed, in-person facility may be necessary for larger events where community members need to meet with agencies and organizations to obtain information and assistance.
Monitoring of progress towards recovery plan goals and establishing client tracking capabilities.
Client advocacy when necessary. Ensure the availability of trained case managers to support a variety of unmet needs which might include (but are not limited to): application for assistance; housing support; employment support; business services; legal services; replacement of personal property (e.g., clothing, furniture); transportation support; medical and behavioral health services; and referral/transition to other public services. Identify resources to meet unmet needs for crisis counseling (victim advocates, behavioral health specialists).

Community Call Out: Loveland, CO

Loveland was among the Colorado cities impacted by major flooding on September 12, 2013. The city activated its Emergency Operations Center that same day to manage many of the response and early recovery needs of community members. An evacuation center was opened one day later, on September 13, to accommodate the displaced. Just two days into the disaster, on September 14th, the community opened a Disaster Assistance Center to begin managing recovery needs. This began with donations management, but very quickly (within hours) expanded to include early recovery functions. Many evacuees had lost their homes, their cars, and all of their possessions, and recovery, therefore, needed to begin immediately.

The DAC, called the Northern Colorado Disaster Assistance Center, was able to open using donated space in the privately-owned and operated Rocky Mountain Center for Innovation and Technology. The facility allowed all supporting agencies to set up operations in a centralized location, which in turn made the task of applying for and accessing recovery support much easier for survivors. This facility remained open in this location until October 4th, during which time Approximately 1,000 flood-affected families accessed assistance for a range of recovery needs including housing, transportation, employment, health, and human services, mental health, insurance, planning and building, document replacement, and extension services. The facility also allowed disaster-impacted families to access the specialized services of local service organizations including the United Way.

After the closing of the centralized facility, access to the services of these organizations continued to be provided through their distinct offices. The Larimer County Long-Term Recovery Group made up of more than 50 nonprofit agencies, government organizations, faith-based groups, and concerned citizens, assumed case management responsibilities on December 3rd of that year. Case managers met with flood survivors one-on-one to assist them in planning and facilitating their recovery, and to serve as survivors’ advocates throughout the recovery process. Survivors were assigned to a Recovery Case Manager who assessed their recovery needs and then worked together with them to identify recovery goals. They helped to connect survivors with community resources, to find funding, and to partner with volunteers. LTRG Recovery Case Managers operated in two distinct facilities located in Loveland and Estes Park, and Recovery Case Managers also conducted site visits to affected communities periodically.

Step 6, Activity 2: Account for Costs and resources

The purpose of this activity is to ensure your community has adequate finances and resources to assist in recovery efforts.

Why?
Accurate accounting of losses, costs, and expenditures is a vital part of the recovery process. Disaster-affected communities need to ensure steps are taken to capture and account for recovery costs and expenditures because:

It helps to determine financial eligibility for recovery programs. In many cases, it is a requirement of the application process.
Fiscal and damage impact reports and analyses are also the basis of many recovery grant awards.
Jurisdictions must ensure that the types of disaster costs incurred, such as housing, infrastructure, or transportation, are eligible expenses for the disaster recovery program utilized.

In addition to the need for fiscal responsibility, accurate accounting for losses is a reimbursement requirement for both insurance policies and disaster assistance programs and can help to offset the local cost share of Federal disaster programs (as applicable in larger disaster events). Initiating the documenting and organization of cost accounting from the earliest point in the incident helps communities to avoid funding denials, appeals, or delays. Develop standardized processes, a centralized database, and coordinated accounting tools. See Additional Guidance section for tips on this important step.

When?
Initial cost recovery starts concurrently with response operations and continues through recovery. (Days 1 - Ongoing)

How does my community do this?

Determine local, State, and Federal cost tracking and document retention requirements.
Establish a multidisciplinary team of planning, grants management, and financial management subject matter experts to develop and execute a recovery financial management plan. This team can assist with budget forecasting, cash flow management, debt monitoring, payroll, risk avoidance, disaster assessment, and expense reimbursement pertaining to both response and recovery funding streams. Members of this team might include an emergency management director, recovery managers, finance managers, grants managers, and legal counsel.
Establish cost tracking and document retention policies and systems. Train staff in cost tracking and document retention policies.
Activate and use disaster accounting general ledger lines. Ledger line items allow jurisdictions to track costs precisely, report them to agencies for reimbursement, and conduct detailed reporting and analysis. The jurisdiction must justify each expenditure and directly relate it to the incident response, as well as differentiating response costs from concurrent general operational costs.
Log and track time and expenses. Disaster cost reimbursement requires accurate and detailed records of the time and costs associated with response actions.
Document all equipment and materials used during response activities.
Document all damages and cost impacts. The documentation will include cost and expense reports, as well as established damage cost estimation processes. To achieve certain thresholds for disaster cost reimbursements, jurisdictions must show proof of cost and impact, which requires compiling and aggregating fiscal information.
If State and/or Federal recovery financial support is provided, the State of Colorado and/or FEMA will conduct monitoring visits to subgrantees, which will include assisting communities in the preparation of documentation to inform future audits.

Step 6, Activity 3: Ensure Resilience remains a recovery priority

The purpose of this activity is to accurately plan and prepare for recovery efforts.

Tips

Find your Champion: It is vital that trusted community leaders, including the chief elected official, champion resilience-building efforts and the multiple long-term benefits as being central to the community’s recovery vision and goals. Recovery leaders and recovery planning organizations will need to become informed of resilience best practices to serve as effective champions of change.
Adapt and utilize nature-based solutions: Communities need to determine how “adaptive” their recovery will be. Many traditional mitigation measures seek to exert control over hazard risk by ‘hardening’ structures or incorporating engineered solutions, which are akin to humans seeking to overcome natural processes. Many nature-based solutions can be implemented to help with adaptation, such as green infrastructure techniques. The recovery vision and goals can reflect such intentions and methods.
Engage all Community Members: Engage with community organizations that have existing relationships with or that represent a diversity of populations. Engage across all committees and departments that manage all community hazard risk. Account for the way that hazard exposures and resulting vulnerabilities are influencing the community risk profile.
Include Green Development Efforts: Resilience planning should be inclusive of energy efficiency, smart resource utilization, carbon sequestration, and other practices that prepare the community for a more sustainable future.

Why?
Communities reduce their risk from similar future events by promoting disaster risk reduction and pursuing resilience. Resilient communities are:

Less likely to be negatively impacted by a disaster and also better able to respond and recover effectively.
Better able to adapt to changing conditions.
Able to ensure the long-term health of community stakeholders and the local and regional economy and understand the importance of protecting natural ecosystems.

In this activity, you will ensure that recovery planning efforts are conducted in a manner that is cognizant of existing and emerging hazard risks and changing climatological and development-related changes and will take the necessary actions to ensure that recovery projects, programs, and efforts remain aligned with the community’s long-term resilience goals.

When?
Resilience and sustainability goals are established in the visioning process, and these serve to guide project formulation efforts throughout the planning. In pre-disaster planning and early recovery, regulatory or legislative actions (e.g., construction moratoria and reassessment of building codes and land-use frameworks) may be required to prevent risk-blind activities. (Days 1 - Ongoing)

How does my community do this?

Enlist planning support from resilience and mitigation subject matter experts, stakeholders, and organizational representatives in the public, private, and nonprofit sectors. For more information see the Community Readiness and Resilience Toolkit. Hazard mitigation and resilience building should extend across all recovery efforts.
Integrate resilience into your approach and strategy for all recovery efforts, including with private-sector construction and development contractors supporting business and household recovery efforts. Resilience and risk reduction efforts need to begin in the earliest days and weeks of the disaster when initial recovery actions are most uncoordinated. Promote information about resilience goals, including existing and new construction and land use regulations, and provide access to training on resilient design and construction methods for local organizations engaged in recovery efforts (including construction contractors).
Evaluate the adequacy of building and zoning codes and land use using new hazard information. The local governing board should reassess the utility and/or impact of building and land development codes to determine whether they are appropriate or adequate given new risk information. This could include:
1. Private or voluntary structural mitigation during repair and rebuilding.
2. Use of programs that support the land acquisition or transfer of development rights.
3. Permanent changes to land use and zoning to relocate development away from high-risk areas.
4. Risk reduction in the repair and reconstruction of community infrastructure and support the restoration of natural ecosystems and other features that provide hazard buffers.
Ensure that planning efforts incorporate the findings and recommendations of existing community plans, including the all-hazards mitigation plan.
Coordinate with State and federal agencies on hazard mitigation programs and resources, including FEMA Section 404 hazard mitigation grant program funding (if a Federal Presidential Major Disaster Declaration has been issued for the event).

Community Call Out: Big Thompson River Restoration Coalition

The Big Thompson River and the North Fork of the Big Thompson River basins experienced extreme flooding in September 2013. In response, the Big Thompson River Restoration Coalition (BTRRC) was formed as a grass-roots organization soon after the flood to help property owners and other stakeholders with cleanup, debris removal, and to facilitate longer-term recovery of the river corridors.

Step 6, Activity 4: Monitor and adjust the recovery plan as needed

The purpose of this activity is to understand monitoring efforts and the impact they have on future planning.

Tips

Establish a Recovery Definition: There is no single definition of recovery success that all communities would consider to be acceptable. A clear definition and description of recovery across multiple dimensions must therefore be established in the community context before any measures of success can be made. Possible dimensions of success might include the extent of environmental restoration, the physical reconstruction of damaged or destroyed buildings and infrastructure, resumption of the community’s economic drivers and/or sources of livelihood, or the reestablishment of social and institutional well-being.
Prioritize Monitoring: Ongoing monitoring of recovery efforts helps recovery planners to address common operational uncertainties that are linked to planning complexities, resource dependencies, and a general lack of information required for effective decision-making. By taking an iterative and incremental approach to monitoring where planning leads to monitoring, and monitoring informs planning, a positive feedback loop is introduced.

Why?

Achievement of successful and sustainable recovery outcomes requires collecting and analyzing data that helps planners to understand whether projects are meeting their intended goals and objectives. Planners also need to understand whether community stakeholders’ needs are being adequately addressed and that recovery is fair and equitable. The outcomes of recovery efforts are likely to influence existing local plans, programs, and policies, and local planning committees will need to adjust throughout recovery and after recovery has been declared a success. On the flipside, neglecting to identify and implement such measures can leave a recovery effort highly vulnerable to operational inefficiencies, unintended or inequitable outcomes, and program failure.

When?

Monitoring of long-term recovery projects begins with approval of the long-term recovery plan. (Days 31 - Ongoing)

How does my community do this?

Ensure that recovery organization policies and bylaws and community long-term recovery plans comply with local, State, and Federal laws and regulations. Community finance experts need to be active in the procurement and contracting process to ensure that the allocation of community funds and funds received through insurance, grants, or donations are used appropriately. After action reviews must be conducted to ensure that recovery best practices and lessons learned are captured so the community is more prepared to manage any future disaster recovery needs. Begin by asking three key questions:
- Who is accountable?
- What are they accountable for?
- To whom are they accountable?
Develop a monitoring strategy and assign responsibility. Communities should understand and monitor legal considerations associated with the recovery operations. Accountability needs to ensure that: 1) individual projects are legally compliant and aligned with the community recovery strategy or plan, and that 2) recovery resources (human, financial, and in-kind) are allocated across all projects in a manner that ensures a fair and equitable recovery, and which is likewise aligned with identified recovery vision and goals. Accountability systems should be developed in conjunction with the implementation approach, and address three separate but interrelated strategies: Timelines, Spatial Strategies, and Systematic Strategies. See the Additional Guidance section below for more information.
Establish recovery metrics and indicators that reflect the community’s long-term recovery vision and goals and allow for meaningful measurement of recovery progress and success. Recovery plans are living documents that help community stakeholders understand the work that has been completed, and the work that remains. It is important that the monitoring process itself is standardized, developed with wide stakeholder input, and includes a representative cadre of stakeholders tasked with monitoring. Framing of a monitoring methodology may include the following questions:

At what scale will recovery success be measured (i.e., the individual or household level, by census tract, by neighborhood, or some other measure)?
Over what length of time, and in what increments of time, will recovery success be measured?
Who evaluates recovery success?
How will evaluations consider the perspective of different community stakeholders, including recovery assistance recipients?

Well done! You have taken the steps to help your community recover and prepare for the next disaster. Share your lessons learned with the CRO.

Additional Guidance for Step 6

Click on the question to expand the answer.

+ How do you know if a Disaster Assistance Center is needed?

A Disaster Assistance Center should be activated if the survivors’ and businesses’ recovery requirements exceed the abilities of recovery organizations to address them. This will differ by community and event. The recovery manager and/or recovery organization will determine whether or not a Disaster Assistance Center is needed. Considerations for this decision include:

Number of people affected by the disaster;
Estimates of uninsured losses;
Reports from governmental and non-governmental organizations regarding the number of people seeking assistance; and,
Determination of the ability of governmental and non-governmental organizations to meet the needs of people seeking assistance.

+ Who are the stakeholders commonly involved in a DAC or DRC?

Colorado Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management
The local housing department or authority
The Colorado Division of Housing (within DOLA)
The local or regional Council of Governments (COG)
Mental health professionals
Colorado Department of Human Services
The local human services agency
Colorado Division of Insurance, private insurance carriers, and the Rocky Mountain Insurance Information Association
Colorado Department of Agriculture
The County extension agent
Local and/or State public health officials and community health centers
Local building department
Veteran Services
Local Small Business Development Center
American Red Cross, United Way, and other non-profit/non-governmental agencies
Utility agencies
Family Resource Centers
Colorado Department of Labor and Employment
Federal partners such as FEMA, Small Business Administration, and USDA

+ How does a community value donated time and resources for FEMA Local Match Eligibility?

FEMA allows recipients and sub-recipients to apply the value of donated resources used during eligible emergency and permanent work toward the non-Federal cost share of their projects. Recipients and sub-recipients must meet certain conditions to apply the offset to specific work. Communities that are seeking to account for these resources can refer to the “Donated Resources'' section of FEMA’s Public Assistance Program and Policy Guide for more information.

+ What kind of information should communities track to support reimbursement for State or Federal Grant Programs?

Before and after photographs of each repair, labeled by location (with map, as needed) and date;
Relevant correspondence and press releases;
Insurance policies for the types of coverage, policy limits, and exclusions;
Precise information on materials and equipment used (e.g., number of bricks v. square footage);
Any emergency powers granted by the governing body (e.g., if the city manager is given the authority to enter into contracts without the board’s approval);
Volunteer hours and donated items, with documentation of value (applicable to local share, even if not reimbursable); and
Local equipment usage (by hours, operators, and purposes for which used).

+ What is the FEMA Individual Assistance (IA) Program?

If a Federal Presidential Major Disaster Declaration has been issued for the event, the FEMA IA Program, also known as the Individuals and Households Program, is a program available under some Presidential Major Disaster Declarations that fall under the Stafford Act. The State, through DHSEM and the Governor’s office, are responsible for requesting IA from FEMA as part of the State’s request for a Presidential major disaster declaration. If the declaration is approved by the President, then individuals impacted by the disaster apply directly to FEMA for assistance. The IA program provides financial help or direct services to those who have expenses and other serious needs that they are unable to meet through other means. Up to $33,000 (adjusted annually) in financial help is available per applicant, although some forms of IA assistance have limits.

Local government has a limited role in the Individuals and Households Program through FEMA., and the local government often does not have access to those who have applied or who have been granted funding. This can cause some confusion post-disaster, as community members will often turn to their local government officials with questions. Because of this, local recovery organizations must have a strong relationship with local agencies that provide case management and other assistance to individuals, including VOAD organizations. Additionally, having a clear line of communication from the individuals seeking assistance to those who can assist is critical.

+ What are some examples of legal considerations associated with recovery operations?

Communities should understand and monitor legal considerations associated with recovery operations, which might include:

The legal basis of, and community adherence to, moratoria and other emergency restrictions.
The impact of the disaster on nonconforming facilities.
The ability to conduct emergency demolitions, notably in light of historic preservation, environmental concerns, and other factors that are typically addressed at length during non-disaster times.
Expedited environmental reviews, including the ‘Federalization’ of reviews that are conducted by non-Federal agencies.
Protection, renovation, and repair of historic or cultural sites, including the costs incurred and resources, dedicated.
Property acquisitions and relocations, especially in light of the impact on values of unaffected properties in high-risk areas.
Infringement on and the expropriation of private property for public use.
Fast-tracking of permits and/or tax incentives for development prioritization.

+ What are the most important aspects of an accountability system?

Accountability systems should be developed in conjunction with the implementation approach, and address three separate but interrelated strategies: Timelines, Spatial Strategies, and Systematic Strategies. See the Additional Guidance section below for more information.

Timelines. Although recovery may seem chaotic, there is an overarching logic to the order and timeline of specific recovery processes, programs, and projects. This order is similar, even if compressed, to what is seen during normal periods of development. For instance, reconstruction of a damaged road will not likely commence until debris has been cleared, engineering studies are made, funding is secured, and preparations for reconstruction are completed. By monitoring timelines, many challenges can be identified and addressed before they become an obstacle to recovery success.
Spatial Strategies. Recovery should follow a logical geographical progression. Spatial priorities are often determined by the nature of the disaster. Communities may need to implement moratoria on repairs and reconstruction in the most heavily damaged areas to ensure that spatial prioritization can help to account for resource constraints. Funding delays and limitations in construction labor and materials may make it difficult to allow simultaneous reconstruction of all damaged areas. Monitoring efforts must be cognizant of how expedited permitting or incentivization in higher-priority areas might be negatively impacting recovery goals and influencing recovery equity.
Systematic Strategies. Disasters often require agencies or stakeholders to address impacts to multiple similar components of a larger system of infrastructure, facilities, or other community assets. School districts or public housing are examples. Recovery progress within the system should emphasize the dedication of resources to repairing those assets with less damage or in areas with easier access, while more detailed planning, project design, and execution is addressing those system components that require more comprehensive reconstruction. Systematic approaches to recovery might be applied across entire sectors, such as with housing recovery where planners work to ensure there is coordination across all housing recovery projects in light of state or Federal grant funding; the siting and design of temporary housing; and the pace of wraparound services like infrastructure. By ensuring recovery follows a systematic strategy, planners can help to ensure sectoral dependencies are addressed; for instance, the housing recovery is coordinated with the reopening of schools, resumption of jobs, and access to businesses like grocery stores.

+ What do recovery cost accounting activities include?

Recover cost accounting includes:
Establishing formal policies and procedures for record retention and the documentation of disaster-related costs, and providing training and education for all leadership and staff.
Ensuring that all disaster-related documentation is routed to a member of the finance department who reviews and approves all costs submitted by program staff before those costs are assigned to a recovery-specific account and submitted as part of any disaster relief grant reimbursement package.
Documenting the use of mutual aid and volunteer recovery resources. These costs factor into the state and Federal disaster declaration processes and offset local match requirements.
Identifying leads for each project that can oversee reimbursement submissions and who can respond to eligibility and other cost-specific questions from grant providers.
Engage legal counsel for contracts and procurement compliance to advise and consult on non-emergent contractual and fiscal functions and to ensure compliance for future fiscal reimbursements.
Use accounting to manage positive cash flow by ensuring expenses do not exceed reserves and receivables. Additionally, jurisdictions should understand the movement of fiscal resources for obligation and commitment that can be received and expended within a short accounting cycle, typically 30 days.
Identifying methods for monitoring the performance of contractors to ensure that work conforms to project design and scope of work, quality controls are being met, and potential delays or cost overruns are identified.
Maintaining sufficiently detailed procurement records that document procurement history inclusive of the rationale for the procurement method, the contract type, contractor selection (or rejection), contract price basis, the contract document, and any contract modifications with the signatures of all parties. Documentation should also include:

Purchase request, acquisition planning information, and other pre-solicitation documents
List of sources solicited
Independent cost estimate
Statement of work/scope of services
Copies of published notices of proposed contract action
Copy of the solicitation, all addenda, and all amendments
An abstract of each offer and/or quote
Determination of contractor’s responsiveness and responsibility
Cost or pricing data
A determination that price is fair and reasonable, including an analysis of the cost and price data
Notice of award
Notice to unsuccessful bidders or offerors and record of any debriefing
Record of any protest
Bid, performance, payment, or other bond documents
Notice to proceed

+ What tips do you have regarding accounting for costs?

Follow Guidelines where Necessary: Communities can activate emergency procurements and contracts as needed to control costs, but any pre-existing contracts must follow Federal procurement rules (2 CFR §§ 200.317-.326) and all applicable state, local, or tribal requirements if supported by a grant or other assistance program funding.
Procurement Thresholds: Communities can use cost accounting to determine if contracting and procurement thresholds need adjustment in light of recovery expenditures. If the community’s legal authority is exceeded, fiscal reimbursement or grant funding can be impacted. Consult with the appropriate funding authorities to make sure any changes in procurement or other policies are consistent with legal requirements.
Start Early: Many financial management activities must commence and/or be completed during early recovery, even though several activities do not occur until later in the process.
Think Long Term: Longer-term recovery funding programs can extend for years, and accounting systems need to accommodate that timeframe. By incorporating longer-term post-disaster activities into the regular rhythm of disaster financial management, disaster financial management risk is reduced.
Follow Procedures: Procedures should be implemented to enable funds to be returned to grantors when necessary (e.g., duplicate reimbursement, disallowed expenditures, or unanticipated insurance reimbursements).
Develop Contracts: Establish contractual relationships with volunteer and other NGO recovery partners to ensure that tracked cost equivalents (of assistance) are eligible for reimbursement under federal disaster programs.
Provide Detail: Ensure that cost tracking is detailed enough to support recovery claims.
Provide Easy Access: Retain disaster-related documents for as long as Federal guidelines require (which may be longer than state or local requirements) in a centralized (preferably web-accessible) location to enable ready access when required.
Develop Controls: Use accounting controls to avoid the likelihood of ‘double dipping’, wherein the same expenditure is covered by a different state, Federal, or other financial assistance programs.

+ What kinds of contracts can a community use to address payment obligations?

There are three common types of contract payment obligations:

Fixed Price Contracts: Fixed price contracts provide for a firm price or, in appropriate cases, an adjustable price. The risk of performing the required work, at the fixed price, is borne by the contractor. Firm-fixed price contracts are generally appropriate where the requirement (such as the scope of work) is well defined and of a commercial nature. Construction contracts, for example, are often firm-fixed-price contracts.
Cost-Reimbursement Contracts: Cost-reimbursement types of contracts provide for payment of certain incurred costs to the extent provided in the contract. They normally provide for the reimbursement of the contractor for reasonable, allocable, actual, and allowable costs, with an agreed-upon fee. There is a limit to the costs that a contractor may incur at the time of contract award, and the contractor may not exceed those costs without the jurisdiction’s approval or at the contractor’s own risk. In a cost-reimbursement contract, the jurisdiction bears more risk than in a firm-fixed-price contract. A cost-reimbursement contract is appropriate when the details of the required scope of work are not well-defined. There are many varieties of cost-reimbursement contracts, such as cost-plus-fixed-fee, cost-plus-incentive-fee, and cost-plus-award-fee contracts. It is important to note that FEMA does not reimburse costs incurred under a cost plus a percentage of cost contract or a contract with a percentage of construction cost method.
Time and Materials Contracts: This contract type typically provides for the acquisition of supplies or services based on 1) direct labor hours at specified fixed hourly rates that include wages, overhead, general and administrative expenses, and profit; and 2) actual costs for materials. A Time and Materials (T&M) contract is generally used when it is not possible at the time of awarding the contract to accurately estimate the extent or duration of the work or to anticipate costs with any reasonable degree of confidence. A labor-rate contract is a type of T&M contract. The regulation provides that a subgrantee may use a T&M contract only after a determination that no other contract is suitable, and if the contract includes a ceiling price that the contractor exceeds at its own risk. While FEMA allows these types of contracts in certain circumstances, it is difficult to get approval for their use, and therefore it is recommended that T&M Contracts are used as little as possible.