PARIS — According to Oxford County Emergency Management Agency Director Allyson Hill, the proposed federal Presidential Budget includes deep cuts to the Emergency Management Performance Grant Program and the Homeland Security Grant Program, creating a $22,000 dollar shortfall for the department. 

According to Hill, the proposed funding for the Emergency Management Performance Grant Program was cut from $350 million to $279 million and the proposed Homeland Security Grant was cut from $525 million to $332 million. Hill told Commissioner’s that, previously, the government reimbursed 50% of the department’s entire budget, covering  salaries, commodities, and capital and benefits reimbursement.

Through the Emergency Management Performance Grant, the department requested a reimbursement of $129,577 and were granted $107,145.

“Most likely, never again will there be a 50% reimbursement for our office … it may only go down to 48% next year, but it may be 46 [%] the year after that,” said Hill. “It’s looking like this is the new normal, with no more 50% reimbursement,” she said. 

According to Hill, the office had three employees working in the office until March 29, and created several new programs due to the staff increase. Now, the department is down to two, and Hill said the workload has left the office  feeling like they are “underwater.”

But to maintain funding, and attempt to avoid a shortfall, the department can’t fill the open position before October.  Key to maintaining funding is to show the federal government that the current two employees are doing the work of three, and a good way to prove that  is to increase the current employees salaries.

According to Hill, the federal fiscal year runs from October to September, and the worker who previously held the third position worked six months of the current reimbursement funding. If no one is hired for that open position until late in 2019 or early in 2020, the department will be in the next federal fiscal year.

“The department was  funded for reimbursement for half a year of work for that now open position because that was  request last year and were flat funded the same amount this year,” Hill wrote in an email.

“If we don’t fill the position before October (which is what I suggested today), we may not have a shortfall this year in reimbursement, but with flat funding we will not reach the 50% reimbursement level in future years, but hopefully, if there is a decline in reimbursement it will be a slow transition,” Hill wrote in an email.

jbolduc@sunjournal.com

 

 

 

This story has been updated to correct an inaccuracy.

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