Our Experience
Since 2001, Hagerty has supported approximately 150 State, Local, Tribal, Territorial (SLTT), and private non-profit (PNP) clients in obtaining, managing, and retaining over $69 billion in Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Public Assistance (PA) program funding across 27 states and territories.
What is FEMA PA?
The FEMA PA program provides financial reimbursement to SLTTs and certain types of PNP organizations to help communities quickly respond to and recover from major disasters or emergencies declared by the President. The program categorizes disaster-related work into two main types: emergency and permanent work. Emergency work addresses immediate threats, including emergency response measures, debris removal, and temporary facilities or repairs. Permanent work focuses on the actions necessary to repair and restore public infrastructure to its pre-disaster condition. This offers communities an opportunity to rebuild more resiliently or redirect funds to align with long-term recovery goals.
Navigating the FEMA PA process can be challenging, often causing delays in accessing critical assistance. To help mitigate this, FEMA offers management cost funding, which can be used to support in-house or contracted staff dedicated to managing the PA program.
Hagerty Can Help
Hagerty specializes in negotiating and securing innovative PA policy solutions. Our professionals work diligently to minimize potential hurdles by aligning with clients’ priorities, addressing cash flow concerns, and mobilizing a customized team to develop and implement a comprehensive strategy.
Leveraging our intimate knowledge of federal recovery programs, we also help communities identify opportunities to layer PA funding with other federal grant streams they may be eligible for.
Our Innovative, Strategic Approach
Immediately after a disaster, Hagerty helps clients with:
- Identifying damages and assessing initial FEMA PA eligibility;
- Supporting preliminary damage assessments (PDAs) and requests for PA (RPAs);
- Training staff on the PA program, policies, and process; and
- Developing a recovery strategy that aligns with jurisdiction priorities and addresses key challenges, such as cash flow concerns.
During PA project development, Hagerty provides support by:
- Creating a damage inventory/list of impacts and grouping them into eligible projects;
- Developing scopes of work for repairing or replacing damaged facilities;
- Preparing cost estimates for eligible work;
- Identifying hazard mitigation opportunities under PA permanent work; and
- Analyzing PA regulations and policies to identify innovative solutions that maximize funding.
After PA project awards, Hagerty continues to assist with:
- Monitoring post-award compliance with federal requirements;
- Supporting appeals and audits; and
- Conducting grant reconciliation, reporting, and final project closeout.
Case Study
Hurricane Michael Recovery
On October 10, 2018, Hurricane Michael made landfall in the Florida panhandle as an unprecedented Category (Cat) 5 Hurricane. Since then, Hagerty has supported a client in the region with their disaster recovery efforts, providing comprehensive assistance in cost recovery, grant management, compliance, and project closeout.
To date, the client has secured over $318 million in disaster recovery funding, including:
- A 97 percent obligation rate for FEMA PA reimbursement projects;
- $9.8 million in previously unrecognized eligible costs identified during FEMA PA cost estimate reviews; and
- $20 million in expedited funding for debris removal with the state’s support; total debris removal costs have surpassed $80 million, with nearly 95 percent of the total costs validated for federal reimbursement.
