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Montreat officials say furloughs affected some FEMA staff but town still received $114,000
Summary
At a Montreat public forum staff said parts of FEMA's public assistance branch were furloughed for about two months during a federal shutdown, but the town received $114,000 in reimbursement because the funds had already cleared federal stages and were awaiting state disbursement.
A resident asked how the recent federal government shutdown affected FEMA reimbursements; Town Manager Savannah Parrish said April 9 that portions of FEMA, including the public assistance branch the town works with, were furloughed for roughly two months but Montreat still received $114,000 in reimbursement.
Parrish explained that some reimbursements had already moved through the federal approval stages and were being handled at the state level when furloughs occurred; North Carolina's Department of the Treasury subsequently issued the checks to municipalities. Commissioner Tom Widmer added that the state acts as a financial fiduciary in that process—disbursing funds on behalf of the federal program—but does not make project-approval decisions, though it can assist with appeals if FEMA denies a project.
Officials did not announce additional payments at the forum; Parrish's description of the process was given in response to a resident question and framed as an explanation of how the town recently received funds despite the furloughs.
