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FEMA Public Assistance officers meet with representatives from the Fulton County, Georgia, Emergency Management Office at a Kickoff Meeting. FEMA Public Assistance funds were used to help the county recovery from flood damage in 2009.

Conducted by FEMA, Kickoff Meetings are designed to provide an in-depth review of the Public Assistance program and address specific applicant needs. The meeting typically occurs 5-10 days after a natural disaster, but it can be delayed for up to five or six weeks. Use these tips to prepare for your Kickoff Meeting — who should be there, what to bring and what to expect.

Know who should be at the table.

• At minimum, the mayor, local finance director and emergency director should all be present at the Kickoff Meeting.
• If special considerations – such as historic preservation, floodplain management or environmental laws – come into play, make sure the local and FEMA technical specialists are also at the meeting.
• The FEMA team includes the regional coordinator, state coordinator and project manager.

Know what to bring with you, and always bring more than you think you’ll need.

Develop a checklist of what to bring to a FEMA Kickoff Meeting during disaster planning. IBTS subject matter experts recommend bringing:

• Contact information — bring business cards and supply FEMA with a printed list of contact information for all key players.
• Insurance policies for public buildings and other property. Bring coverage estimates if you’ve received them.
• Labor contracts, personnel policy, civil service rules and regulations, and overtime policy.
  • You should have a written overtime policy for emergency events established and integrated into your policies pre-incident.
  • Bring employee pay rates. Recent updates to FEMA’s debris removal policy allow you to train and certify your own employees to monitor debris removal, and get reimbursed for it. See more information on FEMA’s recent updates to debris removal rules and regulations.
• Any prearranged contracts, such as vendor contracts.
• Preliminary Damage Assessment reports.

Be prepared with a debris management plan.

• Provide FEMA representatives with a written debris management plan, estimates of the amount of debris, debris removal contracts and bid documents.
• Establish a debris removal plan during disaster planning to save time and costly errors after a disaster hits.
• See IBTS’s Debris Management Plan Wizard to create a debris removal plan for your locality.

Have a clear understanding of the reimbursement process and timeline. 

Develop a flowchart of the reimbursement process, and be sure to ask any questions on the reimbursement process during the kickoff meeting. In the Kickoff Meeting, find out:

• Who you’re dealing with and when to submit paperwork on project worksheets – in some states, paperwork goes through the state before the local government gets reimbursed, in other states it goes directly through FEMA.
• When you’ll be reimbursed — reimbursement doesn’t typically occur during the first six months following a disaster. Localities should be prepared to be resilient without the anticipated 75 percent FEMA reimbursement. 

Source: FEMA

Have an end goal.

• Ideally, your kickoff meeting will result in open and effective communication lines with your FEMA representatives.
• Consider designating one person from the community to serve as your locality’s primary liaison to FEMA.

Work closely with the state if you need assistance before your Kickoff Meeting.

• Your state emergency management agency will be on-the-ground after a natural disaster – don’t be afraid to ask them to assess your situation and provide assistance. They can be a great resource before, during and after the disaster. Know who to call in your state office and build a relationship with them pre-incident.