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Iberia Parish emergency manager says FEMA shutdown will delay reimbursements but not immediate response
Summary
Emergency Management Director Brandon Mege told the council a DHS/FEMA shutdown is delaying FEMA recovery functions — reimbursements, debris and grant processing — though local first‑response capabilities remain in place. He outlined affected grants and potential federal policy changes.
Brandon Mege, Iberia Parish Emergency Management Director, told the Iberia Parish Council on April 8 that a Department of Homeland Security shutdown has effectively paused some FEMA functions, slowing reimbursements and processing of recovery grants but not the parish’s immediate response to disasters.
"FEMA does not affect our ability to respond to a natural disaster," Mege said, adding that FEMA "comes in after, they come in recovery." He described operational effects: delayed processing of citizen applications, debris reimbursements, hazard mitigation projects and the need for amendments to pending grants that cannot be acted on while FEMA remains shut down.
Mege reviewed specific projects and grants. The jail‑generator amendment has been submitted to GOSEP and FEMA but remains on hold awaiting agency action. Park Perdue’s phase two has been submitted to GOSEP and FEMA. Mege also noted longer waits for EMPG and SHSP grant funding, which has affected staffing tied to those grants.
The director warned about proposed federal changes that could make declarations harder to obtain and alter cost‑share arrangements: the per‑capita threshold used in declaration decisions currently cited as $4.86 and a jurisdiction threshold near $339,000 may be raised; proposals under review could also reduce the federal cost share on certain programs.
Mege said the parish is exploring local options to reduce reliance on unpredictable federal grant timing ("we've kind of weaned ourselves off of that" for some positions) and described internal emergency operations planning, including 72‑ and 48‑hour decision matrices used before storms.
Council members praised Mege’s work and asked brief follow‑ups. The council took no formal action; Mege’s comments were provided as an informational briefing and to set expectations for the timing of FEMA reimbursements and grant decisions.
