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Scituate administrator warns FEMA memo could leave town liable for about $3 million
Summary
Town Administrator Jim told the Select Board a FEMA memo says the agency is blocking reimbursements for multiple legacy disaster-declaration projects, potentially leaving Scituate on the hook for roughly $3,000,000; he said he will coordinate with state and federal delegations and several other towns to seek a remedy.
Town Administrator Jim told the Scituate Select Board on July 21 that the town has received a memo from the Federal Emergency Management Agency indicating the agency is withholding reimbursements for a set of long-standing disaster-declaration projects, a change that could expose the town to approximately $3,000,000 in costs. "...the town is receiving a memo from FEMA, informing us that they are, in fact, blocking away from multiple legacy disaster declaration projects," Jim said.
Jim said the agency's stated change in position affects projects the town has been repairing since about 2012 and that the decision could both require the town to pay costs up front and remove a federal receipt that had been posted as revenue in prior budgets. He said he has begun contacting the lieutenant governor and plans to share the memo with federal and state legislative delegations and with seven other communities that appear to face the same treatment.
Board members pressed for next steps and for coordination with other affected towns. Jim said he would schedule follow-up meetings with state and federal delegations and with municipal peers so the towns can present a unified request for reconsideration or legislative remedy.
The administration did not identify an immediate funding source to cover the potential shortfall; Jim said that the town is still assessing which specific projects and line items would be affected. No formal vote or appropriations were taken at the meeting; staff said they would return with more information as they coordinate with state and federal partners.
