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Lincoln County emergency management braces for smaller FEMA EMPG award, reassigns costs to county budget
Summary
Agency staff told the budget meeting that an estimated EMPG award of about $30,000 (down from $50,500 last year) will force the county to shift many expenses from grant lines into the general fund, and flagged a loss of mountaintop revenue and an upside-down Crown Castle tower lease as additional budget pressures.
At the Lincoln County Emergency Management Agency budget meeting, agency staff said federal grant reductions will leave the office needing more local funds to maintain operations. The presenter estimated the federal Emergency Management Performance Grant (EMPG) award at about $30,000 for the coming year, down from $50,500 last year, and said that reduction will require moving costs previously covered by the grant onto the county general fund.
The reduction to the EMPG — a FEMA program the presenter said historically covered roughly half of certain program expenses — prompted staff to reclassify and rebalance line items. The presenter said many expenditures had previously been entered as a single utility-services line (about 44,912 in prior submissions) and were now being broken into repair and maintenance, contract services, rent and other categories for more accurate budgeting. "For my revenue income for the EMPG, I'm estimating it's going to be about 30,000," the agency official said. "Last year was 50,500."
Staff highlighted specific line-item changes: an added $5,000 for repair and maintenance to cover generator service and vehicle repairs; a rent line that should be $4,200 annually (the presenter noted $2,000 was omitted from the draft and needs to be added); and contract services for the mass-notification platform (onSolve/Code Red) budgeted near $13,000. The presenter said a negotiated three-year contract had previously frozen rates and included devices, which produced long-term savings, but that current grant cuts still leave a significant shortfall. "For all the hassle and headache that grant is, I don't even know if it's worth it for $30,000 anymore," the presenter said.
The agency also reported a revenue drop at the county's mountaintop communications sites. The presenter said anticipated mountaintop revenue would be substantially lower than last year — citing loss of at least one tenant (Montana Sky) and a restructured Forest Service contract that removed an antenna — and described an approximate 40% reduction in that line. The presenter added that a five-year lease with Crown Castle for tower space was "upside down," producing an annual shortfall the presenter estimated around $8,000 and that the county remains tied into that contract for about two more years; staff said moving antennas to a different tower was a potential option.
Officials described interim remedies and next steps rather than formal decisions. The presenter said they moved about $1,000 from utility services into training/travel to cover fuel and lodging for required trainings, and asked staff to correct spreadsheet entries and reconcile figures with Wendy and Nikki. The presenter reported a provisional total for the current-year budget (stated in the meeting as roughly 148,813 before adding the missing items, which would bring it nearer 150,000) and recalled last year's total near 162,412; several participants agreed the figures should be double-checked and that corrected spreadsheets would be circulated. "If you guys have some questions, hit me up with them. I'll go back and get them and I can email them out to you," the agency official said.
No formal motions or votes were recorded in the transcript. The meeting concluded with staff agreeing to clean up the budget workbook and to re-present or circulate corrected totals for review prior to finalizing the county's budget submission.
