For Immediate Release:

November 20, 2014

 

County to receive $1.1 million from FEMA

Reimbursement for Superstorm Sandy capital outlay

 

FREEHOLD, NJ – Last week, Monmouth County was informed that it would be receiving a nearly $1.1 million reimbursement for emergency service response costs incurred during Superstorm Sandy. 

 

The $1,095,332.76 allocation is a 90 percent reimbursement for the County’s purchase of radio communication equipment for emergency response following the October 2012 storm.  

 

Monmouth County purchased this equipment for County, municipal and mutual aid crews to communicate as they performed evacuation and search and rescue operations before, during and after Superstorm Sandy.

 

“The radios were instrumental in the completion of these and many other emergency protective measures,” said Freeholder Thomas A. Arnone. “First responders from across the country joined our local teams to provide assistance at this critical time; having all our partners being able to communicate while protecting life and property was critical.”

 

“The radio equipment was invaluable as we set up temporary emergency facilities and assisted police departments that lost their communications equipment in the storm,” said Freeholder John P. Curley.

 

The million dollar reimbursement announcement is great news for the County because the original request was denied by FEMA. Monmouth County’s Office of Emergency Management (OEM) shepherded the appeal process, including a review and approval by the New Jersey State Police Office of Emergency Management/Public Assistance Unit before being resubmitted to FEMA.

 

Any FEMA reimbursement that exceeds $1 million must have a Congressional hearing before the funds may be released. Congressman Frank Pallone reported the release of the communication funds in a press release last Friday. It is expected that the funds will be obligated to the State of New Jersey and then transferred to Monmouth County in the next few weeks.

 

Persistence and detailed paperwork by County staff contributed to the FEMA approval and subsequent Congressional release of these funds. The County has also filed an appeal for the $1.3 million Bray Avenue Bridge project in Middletown. 

 

Monmouth County has submitted 47 other County projects to FEMA for reimbursement totaling $12,046,279; the projects are eligible for 90 percent reimbursement or $10,841,651. To date, $7,284,021 has been received by Monmouth County.  Municipal applications and reimbursements are handled by the individual communities.

 

“Superstorm Sandy was an ‘all hands on deck’ operation,” said Freeholder Gary J. Rich, Sr. “Our reimbursement efforts are ‘all hands on deck’ as well; I commend our staff for staying the course and being able to document what was needed to secure these reimbursements.”

 

Each of the County’s municipal OEM coordinators have a radio assigned to them; all the other radios are stored and cached in the Monmouth County Sheriff’s Office four response vehicles for use by first responders at future incidents.

 

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