Montgomery County reports $117M in FEMA reimbursements; $68M remains pending amid new FEMA review steps

Seamus McNamara, speaking for county budget and grants staff, told the joint committees that $117,000,000 in FEMA reimbursements has already been paid to Montgomery County and about $68,000,000 remains in review.

That pending amount includes roughly $50,000,000 that is in final-stage review and three large projects, McNamara said. "Of that, $117,000,000 has been reimbursed to the county at this point," he said, and described the remaining items by category.

Why it matters: the pending reimbursements cover food, operating expenses and personal protective equipment (PPE), and non-congregate sheltering — all costs the county says were incurred responding to the COVID-19 emergency and related operations. County officials and consultants warned the committee that FEMA has recently added a manual review step to its process that could slow obligations even after automated approvals.

County staff listed the three major pending projects: a food provision project of about $17,500,000 that requires "large project" notification; an operating-expenses/PPE project of roughly $26,400,000 that is delayed in Environmental and Historic Preservation review; and a second operating-expenses/PPE project of about $6,000,000 currently in quality-assurance review. McNamara said FEMA has told the county it expects the new manual review to take "less than 30 days," but added the county has no precedent for the step and so the timetable remains uncertain.

Officials also identified items under appeal. McNamara said the county is appealing a determination on $38,000 in personnel support costs and is appealing a denial of $1,400,000 in school health personnel overtime from a $3,100,000 submission. He warned that FEMA has asked for extensive additional contract documents for the county’s non-congregate sheltering work, accounting for about $40,000,000 of the pending total.

Committee members pressed staff on items deemed ineligible. Council Member Lukey asked which submissions were disallowed; McNamara said "most of them honestly, most of them was were food provisions" because the county could not show those expenses were attributable solely to COVID-19 and similar costs existed before the pandemic.

Members also raised concerns about a separate Department of Homeland Security audit that has temporarily frozen some state-level preparedness grants. Committee members noted many preparedness positions are grant-funded; McNamara said the county is not yet in "dire straits" but plans to request shifting some positions from grant funding into the county’s baseline budget to reduce vulnerability.

The county said it is coordinating with FEMA Region 3, FEMA headquarters and the congressional delegation to resolve roadblocks and expedite obligations. "We remain in uncertain and volatile times with FEMA and these processes," McNamara told the committee, urging continued follow-up and noting the county will keep the council informed.

The joint committees closed their questions and agreed to recommend the update to the full Montgomery County Council.