keeping may cost some Shore towns hundreds of thousands
Kelly Dameo, center, of the voluntpatagonia better sweater coat natural xs1eer organization Operation Sandy Pants, helps at Ortley Fest 2013 Saturday, Aupatagonia better sweater birch whitegust 10, 2013 on the grounds of Saint Elizabeth Chapel by the Sea in Ortley Beach, NJ.(Photo: Jody Somers/patagonia better sweater vest womenFor The Asbury Park Press)
Poor record keeping may cost some Shore towns tens or even hundreds of thousandspatagonia san francisco store of dollars in federal aid tied to the amount of volunteer work done in the wake of superstorm Sandy.
Take our poll: Should hard hit towns be exempt from certain Sandy paperwork?
Undepatagonia better sweater coat natural xsr a policy that predates Sapatagonia better sweater sizingndy, FEMA credits disaster stricpatagonia better sweater womens xsken communities for the free labor that volunteer firefipatagonia boots reviewghters, first aid squad members and other individuals and volunteer groups provided, and for other donated resources, such as free meals, bottled water and cleaning supplies.
For more on the state of the Shore s recovery, read our report, Sandy s Ghost Towns
Sandy volunteers chart
The credits can be a boon for hard hit towns, offsetting or in some cases completely negating the portion opatagonia simple guide pants blackf disaster related expenditures that has to be borne by locapatagonia better sweater coat natural xs2l taxpayers.
The catch is that FEMA requires detailed documentation, such as time cards or log books that spell out specifically what volunteers did, and how much time they spent doing it.
More Jersey Shore Sandy Recovery news
You have to remember, you re dealing with taxpayer money here, so you ve got to be able to document the work volunteers actually performed, said Mary Goepfert, a spokesman for the New Jersey Office of Emergency Management. The agency is responsible for processing reimbursement requests for municipal Sandy expenditures.
Statewide, FEMA has approved more than $5.8 million in donated resources credits, and other applications arepatagonia clothes online still pending. Goepfert said there s still time for towns to apply for the credits, which aren t deducted from their outpatagonia better sweater coat natural xs0 of pocket obligation until all of their Sandy bills are submitted and approved.
The federal government, which is picking upatagonia clothing store locatorp 90 percent of eligible local Sandy expenses, then makes up the difference.
The potential savings for towns affected by Sandy, which triggered an unprecedented flood of volunteerism across thpatagonia better sweater coat natural xs3e state that continued for many months, can be substantial. FEMA uses a reimbursement rate of about $15 an hour for volunteer labor.
Union Beach, for example, expects a credit of nearly $900,000 for volunteer work and donated supplies, enough to cover its 10 percent share of approximately $9 million in municipal related storm bills. The borough s credit isn t included in the $5.8 million FEMA has granted so far.
Sea Bright, another hard hit town that attracted droves of volunteers, qualified for a credit of more than $450,000 money that would otherwise have come from local taxpayers.
When you have a small town and you start talking about a half million dollars, it s significant, said Frank Lawrence, Sea Bright s volunteer coordinator.
A wide disparity
To date, no other municipalities in New Jersey have come close to those numbers, and some much larger Shore towns that marshaled large scale volunteer efforts are getting credits that seem puny in comparison.
For example, Toms River, one of the worst hit towns in the state, has a credit of a little more than $83,000, which includes separate credits totaling $32,000 for two fire districts. That s half the size of the credit for neighboring Lakewood, even though Lakewood is inland and had a fraction of the storm damage.
