FLAGLER

Flagler Schools seeks FEMA funds for shelter staffing

OT reimbursement historically denied for salaried employees

Shaun Ryan
sryan@staugustine.com
The special needs shelter at Rymfire Elementary School in Flagler County gears up for residents under mandatory evacuation orders just prior to Hurricane Irma's visit in September. The Flagler School Board is looking for a way to pay administrators for the long hours they put in at the hurricane shelters, but FEMA doesn't reimburse some forms of overtime compensation. [News-Journal file]

BUNNELL — Does it matter how overtime pay is calculated for salaried school district employees who staff storm shelters?

The answer is yes — if you want reimbursement from the federal government.

The Flagler County School Board last week began to rework the district's policy to satisfy a condition that, left unaddressed, gives the Federal Emergency Management Agency a reason to deny some requested funds.

The salary issue is part of a larger concern district officials have regarding FEMA reimbursement, which is moving at a glacial pace and causing frustration for many local government agencies. Most have received little or nothing, even from Hurricane Matthew, which swept through the area more than 15 months ago.

According to Tom Tant, the school district's chief financial officer, expenses associated with using schools as storm shelters ran about $95,063 for Irma. Figures from Matthew were unavailable.

That sum covers $14,956 for food service, $3,497 for custodial supplies and $14,760 for fuel for the generators. But the biggest expense, $42,274, represents salaries. In addition, the district is on the hook for $19,576 in overtime pay.

While reimbursement for overtime compensation poses no problem in the case of hourly employees, FEMA has historically found reason to deny such claims for salaried employees. Though FEMA hasn’t officially denied Flagler Schools’ request, board attorney Kristy Gavin said last week that she has gotten verbal indication of a forthcoming denial.

The basis for the denial lies in language used in the district’s disaster preparedness policy. Currently, the policy states that salaried employees may earn either compensatory time or overtime payment corresponding to their hourly rate.

But if the emergency is declared by the federal government, the employee automatically receives time and a half.

“They (FEMA) are saying the only reason we’re willing to pay them time and a half is because you know you’re going to go back to FEMA and get reimbursed,” Gavin told the School Board.

This is precisely the rationale FEMA gave St. Johns County Schools in 2007 for denying that district’s claim. FEMA called St. Johns’ $24,000 claim “discretionary, contingent upon a Presidential disaster declaration, and appeared to be paid only when Federal funding was available.”

To avoid a similar scenario, the Flagler County School Board is considering a predetermined, flat supplement to be paid to salaried shelter employees when they would otherwise receive overtime pay.

Gavin said such a supplement would be agreeable to FEMA.

Volusia Schools expects to avoid nonreimbursement, probably because it follows a policy similar to this.

Under the Volusia policy, effective Sept. 1, 2017, salaried employees required to work beyond eight hours on a given day at a shelter will receive an additional $175 for that day.

Should Flagler Schools adopt such a policy change, the School Board would have to then determine the amount of the supplemental pay.

Salary compensation aside, Tant said the district has submitted a request for $1,019,000 to cover damages from both hurricanes. Damages from Irma are $405,000.

To date, Flagler Schools has received $2,000, according to Tant.

To put the slow response in perspective, Tant said the district did not receive FEMA reimbursements for storms in 2004-05 until 2009.

Municipalities are also waiting for reimbursements. Matthew cost the city of Palm Coast about $3.9 million, but the city has received just $4,375 to date.

Bunnell is awaiting $200,000 in FEMA funds but City Manager Dan Davis recently said, “We haven’t gotten a dime.”

FEMA owes Flagler Beach about $1 million for Matthew. The city has received $50,000 to date and has been approved for another $191,000. City Manager Larry Newsom predicted that Irma cost the city about $2 million.

Flagler County plans to submit applications for 38 projects totaling $20.5 million arising from Matthew. Irma has cost the county at least $1.5 million.

Thus far, FEMA has reimbursed the county $37,664.