Commissioners ask staff to add reimbursement timeframes to interlocal agreement for school reunification sites; item tabled for revision

Williamson County Commissioners Court discussed and then held back action on an interlocal agreement that would designate school district facilities as family assistance and reunification centers in certain emergencies, directing staff to add explicit reimbursement timeframes before the agreement returns for action.

The item (agenda item 44) prompted questions from commissioners about Section 3(b), which states that school districts and the county will "mutually agree" to pursue FEMA reimbursement for eligible costs but contains no deadline for when a district would reimburse the county for expenses the county pays that are not covered by FEMA or state reimbursement.

Bruce Glements, with the Office of Emergency Management, told the court that the cost to host a family assistance center is typically "pretty minimal" and usually limited to use of a facility and staffing support; he said schools had agreed to provide adults to oversee operations and that emergency management staff would support staffing and logistics. Glements also noted uncertainty about FEMA's future structure but said "some form of FEMA is likely to continue on."

Commissioners pressed for contractual timeframes. One commissioner said: "...there needs to be a date in which the ISD reimburses the county for our expenses," noting FEMA processes can take years. The court asked Glements to consult ISD partners and the auditor's office and propose reasonable reimbursement windows (for example, a shorter period for non‑FEMA-eligible costs and a longer period for FEMA-eligible costs). The court indicated the item did not need to be decided immediately and agreed to pull the item back to add the requested dates.

No final vote was recorded on the interlocal agreement during the meeting.