SAN FRANCISCO DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC HEALTH EMERGENCY OPERATIONS MANUAL

DISASTER FINANCE

2011 Pa g e 61

DISASTER FINANCE OVERVIEW

INTRODUCTION

A disaster can significantly impact the Department of Public Health (DPH) and its ability to provide necessary services. Disaster assistance is potentially available to programs and sections within DPH.

Disaster assistance may include reimbursement of eligible expenses in addition to special funding toreduce the impact of on-going or future disasters.

It is critical that DPH tracks and monitorspotentially eligible expenses so that when and if fundingbecomes available, DPH is in a position to maximize reimbursement and other forms ofassistance as part of the recovery process. This is generally accomplished through activation of the Department Operations Center (DOC), which operates according to the National Incident Management System (NIMS).

During an emergency incident, the DPH DOC will facilitate the purchase and reimbursement of resources, including staff and equipment, utilized in the emergency response. DPH manages this through its DOC Finance Section, and receives support from the City and County of San Francisco (CCSF) Emergency Operations Center Finance Section, as well as the CCSF Controller.

An emergency or disaster proclamation is usually required to make disaster assistance available.

FINANCE SECTION

During an emergency incident, the DPH DOC Finance Section will facilitate the purchase and reimbursement of resources, including staff and equipment,needed by DPH to respond to the incident. The DPH DOC Finance Section consists of four units:

1) Procurement Unit: The purpose of the Procurement Unit is to ensure that supplies are procured through the appropriate protocols during a response. Procurements may be made using blanket purchase orders,[1] one-time purchase orders[2], and term contracts[3]. During a declared emergency, normal purchasing policies may be suspended following a declaration by the Mayor. In this case, DPH may procure items using emergency index codes provided by the Controller, per guidance from the EOC Finance Section.

2) Cost Unit: The Cost Unit is responsible for tracking all costs and the balance on funding streams made available for the incident response. Documentation of costs originate from multiple sources, and it will be the primary activity of the Cost Unit to collect and record all expenditures and financial data in a manner that allows for transparency to support state and/or federal cost-recovery claims at the end of the response.

3) Time Tracking Unit: The purpose of the Time Tracking Unit is to ensure that hours worked by response staff are accounted for in a manner that is consistent with local, state, and federal guidelines should the event qualify for cost-recovery reimbursement. The Unit will utilize sign-in/out sheets, timesheets, personnel tracking software, or other methods to capture personnel time spent on the response.

4) Claims Unit: The Claims Unit is responsible for receiving, investigating and documenting all claims reported to the DOC during the emergency incident. Investigations should be initiated on all claims other than personal injury. The Claims Unit will coordinate with the EOC and refer claims against the city for disaster service workers’ personal injury or damage of personal property as a result of the response. If the EOC is not activated, the Claims Unit will work with other appropriate city/county/regional officials.

STATE ASSISTANCE

The California Disaster Assistance Act (CDAA) authorizes the State to provide financial assistance forcosts incurred by local governments as a result of a disaster. Such assistance is provided throughthe California Emergency Management Agency (Cal EMA) and may be implemented when localresources are exceeded but the President does not declare an emergency or major disaster underthe Stafford Act. There are two levels of assistance through CDAA:

  • State of Emergency: When the Governor proclaims a State of Emergency, both emergencyand permanent work is eligible for assistance. There is generally a 75%-25% cost sharebetween State and local governments.
  • Local Emergency Proclamation and Cal EMA Secretary’s Concurrence: The Cal EMA

Secretary may concur with a local government request for State assistance independent of a Governor’s Proclamation of a State of Emergency. A Secretary’s Concurrence islimited to eligible permanent repair work. There is generally a 75%-25% cost sharebetween State and local governments.

In general, the State’s share under CDAA is no more than 75% of the non-federal share or 18.75% oftotal eligible costs. However, State funding up to 100% of the non-federal share has beenauthorized for specific events by special legislation.

In addition, when the Cal EMA Secretary determines there are mitigation measures that are costeffectiveand substantially reduce the risk of future damage, hardship, loss, or suffering in an areawhere a State of Emergency has been proclaimed by the Governor, the Secretary may authorize theimplementation of mitigation measures.

FEDERAL ASSISTANCE

The Governor may request that the President declare, under the authority of the Stafford Act, thatan emergency or major disaster exists in the State. Under a declaration of emergency or majordisaster, the President may designate certain counties in the affected areas as eligible for PublicAssistance. Major assistance programs available under the Stafford Act are managed by FEMA.

  • FEMA Public Assistance Grant Program: In accordance with the Stafford Act, FEMAprovides State agencies, local governments, tribal governments and certain private nonprofitentities with federal grants to cover eligible disaster recovery work on a cost-sharebasis. The federal cost share is a minimum of 75 percent. Eligible costs must be associatedwith:
  • Emergency work necessary to save lives, protect public health and safety and protectproperty;
  • Debris removal;
  • Restoration of damaged facilities, including buildings, equipment and infrastructure topre-disaster design and function; and
  • Implementation of cost-effective hazard mitigation measures during repairs to damagedfacilities to reduce the threat of future damage to those facilities.
  • Other Federal Assistance (Non-Stafford Act Programs): The federal government providesassistance through authorities and programs outside of the Stafford Act. These programsmay be implemented in conjunction with Stafford Act programs under a disasterdeclaration or separately. [An example is the Public Health Emergency Response (PHER)funding provided to prepare for and respond to influenza pandemic. Congressappropriated funding to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) andother federal and State agencies to respond to ongoing and emerging outbreaks of theH1N1 influenza virus in the United States. The California Department of Public Health(CDPH) administered PHER funding in California.]

GENERAL ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS

In order to qualify for disaster-related assistance through state and federal programs, eligible expenses must be:

  • Required as the direct result of the declared emergency or major disaster;
  • Located within the designated disaster area, except for sheltering, evacuation activities,

and mobilization centers, which may be located outside the designated disaster area; and

  • The legal responsibility of the eligible applicant at the time of the disaster.

REIMBURSEMENT FOR PROVISION OF MUTUAL AID AND ASSISTANCE

California's emergency management system is based on a statewide mutual aid system designed toensure that additional resources are provided to the State’s political subdivisions whenever theirown resources are overwhelmed or inadequate. The California Disaster and Civil Defense Master

Mutual Aid Agreement (MMAA) obligates each signatory entity to provide aid during an emergencywithout expectation of reimbursement, although no party is required to unreasonably deplete itsown resources, facilities and/or services in furnishing mutual aid. Under specific conditions, federaland State monies may be appropriated to reimburse public agencies that assist other jurisdictions.

If other agreements, memoranda and contracts are used to provide assistance for consideration,the terms of those documents may affect disaster assistance eligibility and local entities may onlybe reimbursed if funds are available.

APPLICATION PROCESS

If State and/or federal disaster assistance are available, Cal EMA and San Francisco Department of Emergency Management (DEM) will conduct a meeting to inform prospective applicants of available assistanceand eligibility requirements. The meeting is held as soon as practical following the emergency ordisaster declaration. During the briefing, the local emergency management agency/Cal EMA willpresent the incident period and a description of the declared event. Applicant work, cost eligibilityand the project formulation process will be reviewed. Cal EMA and the local emergencymanagement agency will also discuss funding options, record keeping, and documentationrequirements. The application packages submitted by applicants may be routed through the localemergency management agency or directly to Cal EMA. Cal EMA administers the financialassistance provided through CDAA and FEMA.

Depending on the nature of the disaster, special federal funds may be appropriated for emergencyresponse and recovery outside of the Stafford Act.

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[1] DPH maintains blanket purchase orders, renewed every fiscal year, with various vendors that allow DPH to purchase commodities from those vendors according to the terms of the contract. Due to the front-loaded fiscal approval mechanism required to set-up blanket purchase orders, purchases made against blanket purchase orders will be a reliably efficient means of procuring supplies in an emergency.

[2] The Procurement Unit will coordinate with the DPH Fiscal for expedited review and approval of a one-time purchase order while ensuring compliance with CCSF purchasing policies.

[3] For purchases of standard commodities from established vendors, purchase orders may be released against a term contract. Renewed every three years, term contracts are established by the Office of Contract Administration with qualifying vendors, thereby front-loading the approval mechanism similar to blanket purchase orders.