Bolivar emergency manager urges council to complete NIMS training to protect federal disaster funding

Darren Grantham, deputy director of the county emergency management agency, told the Bolivar City Council that elected officials and emergency responders must complete National Incident Management System (NIMS) training to remain eligible for federal disaster funding and reimbursements after last week’s severe storms.

Grantham said the training requirement stems from federal policy and warned that failing to meet it can jeopardize grant money. "NIMS training is required under the Homeland Security Presidential Directive, HSPD 5, to receive federal funding, grants, training, and reimbursements of disaster recovery," he told the council. He added, "They can deny that federal money from you. If you've got a fire truck or whatever you purchased with federal grant money, if you're not NIMS certified, they will require you to pay that money back to them."

Why it matters: council members and staff discussed large storm-related repairs — including a failed culvert on Tate Road and a retaining wall on South Polk Street — and officials said FEMA reimbursement will be a key funding source for repairs. Grantham told the council that compliance with NIMS and related…