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Kansas emergency management outlines process for federal disaster aid and seeks roughly $5M to cover EMPG timing gap
Summary
KDEM legislative liaison Lt. Col. Keith Marshall explained the joint preliminary damage assessment and Stafford Act process; he told the committee a change in FEMA's EMPG performance period created a one‑year reimbursement gap and the agency submitted an enhancement request of about $5M to cover operational reimbursement shortfalls.
Lieutenant Colonel Keith Marshall, KDEM legislative liaison, briefed the committee on how federal disaster assistance is triggered and administered and why staffing and documentation matter to secure federal funds. He described the joint preliminary damage assessment (PDA) as the key verification step where KDEM and FEMA validate damages and determine whether a governor’s request for a major disaster declaration should be made under the Stafford Act.
Marshall stressed FEMA public assistance is a reimbursement program that requires detailed inventories, invoices, contracts and documentation: "Every eligible applicant... has to submit a request for public assistance" and KDEM is the state recipient that ensures compliance. He said changes to the Emergency Management Performance Grant (EMPG) award performance period removed the FY2024 year from the reimbursement window, creating a budget gap for KDEM and local passing funds; Kansas is not a party to the multi‑state litigation over the change, but the state experienced the same operational impact.
The department submitted a roughly $5,000,000 enhancement to cover the one‑year gap, Marshall said, and is pursuing internal absorption and cost savings while refining the final requested amount. He emphasized the state’s lean staffing model and noted that federal audit and accounting requirements mean insufficient state resources would increase the risk of federal recoupment and reduce support to local emergency management partners.
Why it matters: the EMPG gap affects how KDEM and local emergency managers pay operating expenses and salaries that were expected to be reimbursed by federal grant funds. The committee asked Marshall to follow up on specific local incidents and vehicle damage reimbursement options for volunteer fire departments.
Next steps: KDEM will provide additional clarifications requested by members and continue to work with the legislature on a targeted request to fill the EMPG timing shortfall.
