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 courses will be reviewed in federal audits triggered by grant awards.

Key details from the presentation: Grantham explained which courses are required for different roles. He told elected officials they should complete IS‑908 (an elected‑officials course), and he recommended broader NIMS modules for staff and operational personnel (NIMS/ICS courses often listed as IS‑100, 200, 700 and 800). He said higher-level incident management courses (300/400) are classroom courses intended for senior operations leaders. He also said local record-keeping would be kept by the mayor, with certificates produced after completing the online courses.

Local implementation: Grantham said FEMA and the state emergency management agency (TEMA) have discussed localized classroom options to avoid sending staff to distant training centers in Memphis or Jackson. He said course registration requires a student ID at FEMA’s training portal and that the certificates can be printed and given to the mayor for local records.

Council response and next steps: Council members asked for the training link and for staff to distribute instructions on setting up FEMA student IDs. Grantham said he would provide the link to fema.gov and noted that counties routinely recommend NIMS certification for officials to avoid disqualification from federal disaster funds.

Speakers cited

- Darren Grantham — Deputy director, Emergency Management (government) - Mayor (name not specified) — Mayor, Bolivar (government)

Authorities

- HSPD‑5 (Homeland Security Presidential Directive 5), referenced in presentation (type: policy) - FEMA guidance on NIMS/IS coursework (type: other)

Clarifying details

[{"category":"required_courses","detail":"IS‑908 for elected officials; recommended staff courses IS‑100, IS‑200, IS‑700, IS‑800; advanced ICS 300/400 for senior operational leaders","value":"not specified","units":"courses","approximate":false},{"category":"audit_risk","detail":"FEMA may require repayment of federal grant purchases (e.g., fire truck) if rostered officials are not NIMS certified","detail_source":"Darren Grantham"},{"category":"local_training_plan","detail":"County hopes to host classroom 300/400‑level courses locally to avoid travel to Memphis/Jackson; online courses available via FEMA portal","value":"not specified","units":"not applicable","approximate":false}]

Proper_names

[{"name":"FEMA","type":"agency"},{"name":"TEMA","type":"agency"},{"name":"National Incident Management System","type":"other"}]

Provenance

[{"block_id":"573.95496","local_start":0,"local_end":196,"evidence_excerpt":"Evening, mayor and the council. I'm Darren Grantham, deputy director of Oregon County Emergency Management. And as you know, we've dealt with a lot of stuff with the Grand Junction area. We had a lot that went on out at, Lake Vonda area, as well. We had 2 different tornadoes that come through Hardeman County that night.","reason_code":"topicintro"},{"block_id":"1281.265","local_start":0,"local_end":95,"evidence_excerpt":"Thank you, Mr. Grant. I appreciate it. Thank you. Thank you. All you do for the county, and thank you for all the work on Tate Road over here.","reason_code":"topicfinish"}]

topics

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