Share on Social Media

The post-disaster town hall meeting, is one of the first and most important opportunities for localities to update the community on the status of recovery, and federal representatives play an important role in this update.

During a post disaster town hall meeting, federal representatives from agencies including FEMA, HUD and in some cases, the Small Business Association (SBA) will likely be responsible for giving an update on their organization’s recovery efforts. The messages sent by federal representatives must be consistent with those of top top-level local officials who will lead and facilitate the meeting.

Communicate Your Agency’s Role

• Ensure property owners have a firm understanding of what your agency’s funding can and cannot be used for.
• Home and business owners need to know what funds they will need to repay and also have a clear understanding of the temporary housing and reimbursement processes.
• Use simple language and terms that homeowners who have never dealt with FEMA can comprehend.

Show Compassion and Be Honest

• Homeowners will be upset. Don’t build unrealistic expectations about when they will get back into their homes. Try using phrases like, “We’re attempting to build four houses per week, but we can’t guarantee that will happen.”
• Offer personal assistance and the opportunity to set up a one-on-one meeting.
• Don’t make specific promises to anyone during a town hall meeting. These can cause controversy if later rebutted by another federal representative or by a local appointed or elected official.

Coordinate with Local Leaders and Incident Command

• Ensure local level leaders have a clear understanding of the regulations and requirements the locality must meet for reimbursement. At the town hall meeting they can assist in sending accurate messages on FEMA and HUD’s roles and also important information such as deadlines or documentation requirements.
• Prior to the town hall meeting, give a dry run of your presentation to all other representatives who will be present at the meeting. Ask for feedback from the top level local leader your message is aligned with the locality’s.
  • Other speakers at a town hall meeting typically include: a top level local official such as a mayor, chief elected official, city or town manager, or county administrator; the local incident commander; and a state regional emergency management representative.
• Take on a supportive role at the town hall meeting, not an authoritative role.

Click here to download a post-disaster town hall meeting agenda template, and here for press releases and agendas used by other localities.