Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Office Of Disaster Recovery topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Office of Disaster Recovery requests $12.22M for FY2026, seeks $4M general‑fund seed money to cover drawdown delays
Summary
ODR told the budget committee it has obligated about $23.9 billion for recovery projects, has major design and construction contracts under way, and is seeking $4 million in general fund support for payroll and short‑term cash flow while federal reimbursements are delayed.
Adrienne L. Williams Octalin, director of the Virgin Islands Office of Disaster Recovery (ODR), told the Budget Committee on June 10 that ODR’s FY2026 operating request is $12,218,820 and that about $8.22 million of that is expected to be funded by federal reimbursements while the remaining $4 million is a requested general‑fund appropriation to support seed and float needs.
Williams Octalin said ODR has 104 budgeted positions across core ODR, the Super PMO and the CDBG‑DR programs and listed 41 vacancies. She told senators the office budget assumes vacancies at 50 percent while staff are onboarded. She said ODR needs administrative seed funds because most recovery programs are reimbursement‑based and federal draws can be delayed, affecting payroll and contractor payments.
The director described a Super Project Management Office that executes high‑value recovery contracts and staff‑augmentation agreements. Williams Octalin and ODR deputy director Archer Watlington Francis said the Super PMO has executed a contract with Jacobs Engineering (staff augmentation), a design‑build contract with Suffolk CBNA for work on St. Thomas schools, and other large construction management contracts with Consigli Benton joint ventures for school and medical complex rebuilds. The panel described multiple awarded bundles and ongoing solicitations for school, hospital, power and fire‑station projects.
ODR said it has increased obligations from roughly $8 billion to approximately $23.9 billion since the recovery effort began; the office reported roughly $300 million in expenditures on 163 completed projects for FY2024–25 to date. Williams Octalin listed priority solicitations coming up — for example the Saint Croix Educational Complex and replacement power generation at WAPA facilities — and said the office is “laser focused on ensuring that all critical facilities are under contract by 2026.”
Concerning costs, Archer Watlington Francis said the Jacobs staffing contract is roughly $137.235 million over three years and that the Super PMO expects to use firm‑fixed and task orders to deploy staff augmentation across multiple large projects.
Williams Octalin concluded by asking senators to approve the $4 million general‑fund ask to create cash flow and “seed” funds that allow ODR to operate while federal draws are pending, enabling it to continue awarding contracts, start construction and meet payroll during reimbursement lag.
