Morganton continues Helene recovery work despite FEMA silence during DHS shutdown

Morganton officials say the Department of Homeland Security’s ongoing shutdown has stalled communication with the Federal Emergency Management Agency and raised concerns that the city could lose the federal project manager who has helped guide its Hurricane Helene recovery.

City leaders say maintaining that relationship is critical as Morganton continues navigating the complex FEMA reimbursement process for millions of dollars in storm recovery work. Staff recently received notification that their project manager is no longer working due to the shutdown as FEMA operations have been scaled back to life-saving operations only.

The halt in FEMA operations is currently delaying final approval of only one recovery project, which is the Silver Creek Pump Station Improvement Project. However, seven additional projects are in the pipeline to go to FEMA for review at varying stages.

According to Finance Director Jessie Parris, two projects will be ready for review once all invoices are received. The other five are in engineering and ongoing FEMA review, which includes stages such as engineering contract approval, final engineering scope, and construction bidding.

City Manager Sally Sandy said she worries that once federal operations resume, Morganton may not get back the FEMA project manager who has worked closely with the city for about a year.

Before Program Delivery Manager Ryan Germany took over the role, Morganton was assigned a few different project managers within the span of months.

“Every time we met with them, it was new people, so we had to restart our story,” Parris said.

Germany’s familiarity with the city’s projects has made the process run smoother, she said.

“He understands our projects. We’ve really gotten him up to speed, so really crossing our fingers, praying, whatever it is you do, that he comes back,” Parris said.

FEMA operates under the Department of Homeland Security, which has been partially shut down for about four weeks amid federal budget disputes. The department also recently saw leadership changes, with Sen. Markwayne Mullin replacing Kristi Noem as secretary.

So far, the city has received more than $5 million in FEMA reimbursements for 17 of its 26 Hurricane Helene recovery projects. In total, city staff hope to receive roughly $32 million worth of FEMA reimbursement for the remaining recovery projects.

“They’ve encouraged us to keep moving forward and don’t stop because they have, which we will not,” Assistant City Manager Rob Winkler said.

Staff are continuing work on the remaining projects despite the pause in FEMA communication, Winkler said.

Even before the shutdown, navigating the FEMA reimbursement process has been slow and often frustrating, requiring extensive documentation and back-and-forth communication with federal officials.

Under Noem, additional steps were added to the reimbursement process, including the requirement of her personal signature for contracts over $100,000 and “Defend the Spend,” which requires the state’s Emergency Management Division to send additional paperwork to FEMA.

That process can add roughly 90 days before reimbursement is issued, Parris said.

For example, the city’s electric restoration reimbursement for work which was largely completed within the first couple of weeks after the storm, was sitting there since before Christmas. City staff received the check during their budget workshop for $904,000.

For projects that aren’t finished by March 28, city staff will have to request an extension. According to Parris, the city is asking for 9 project extensions, which include the 8 projects not through the FEMA review process and the Catawba Meadows maintenance building project that has been awarded mitigation funds, but it is a reimbursement-based project.

“Currently, we feel pretty good about getting everything done with the extensions within that 48-month time period,” Winkler said.

He added that Morganton may be ahead of many communities working through similar FEMA processes.

“I think we’re ahead of some of our peers in other towns,” Winkler said. “A lot of that’s attributed to our staff, our department heads, the pictures, the recordings, the information, the data, everything that we had to accumulate and put together for them gives us a better argument, a better chance at receiving our funds because we’re staying ahead.”

The city’s frequent experience handling federal grants has helped staff navigate FEMA’s strict procurement and documentation requirements, Parris said.

“We were used to, for the most part, that type of process, and in a lot of our western cities, that’s not a normal part of the process,” she said.

On Thursday, the United States Senate failed for a fourth time to reach the 60 votes needed to fund DHS. The shutdown is ongoing after Democrats refused funding for the department unless there are changes to immigration enforcement after the fatal shootings of Alex Pretti and Renee Good by federal agents.

Despite the uncertainty surrounding FEMA operations, city officials said Morganton will continue pushing forward with its recovery projects while awaiting further communication from the agency.