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COUNTY OF SAN MATEO
Inter-Departmental Correspondence
Office of the County Counsel
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DATE:
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October 19, 2010
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BOARD MEETING DATE:
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November 2, 2010
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SPECIAL NOTICE/HEARING:
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No
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VOTE REQUIRED:
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Majority
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TO:
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Honorable Board of Supervisors
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FROM:
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Michael P. Murphy, County Counsel
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SUBJECT:
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Designation of the Controller as the County’s Agent for Disaster Cost Recovery
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RECOMMENDATION:
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Adopt the State of California’s Office of Emergency Services’ “Designation of Applicant’s Agent Resolution For Non-State Agencies.”
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BACKGROUND:
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On September, 9, 2010, a gas line broke causing a fire that killed several persons and injured many others, and destroyed and damaged many homes. The County (Operational Area) Emergency Operations Center (EOC) was activated.
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The County expended significant staff time and resources in responding to the destruction caused by the fire as well as related to debris removal and cleanup activities. The costs incurred by the County spanned several departments. Some of the costs incurred may be recovered by the County through programs administered by the Federal Emergency Management Agency ( “FEMA”) and the California Emergency Management Agency (“Cal EMA”). However, to recover the costs, the County must submit documented expenditures and participate in an interactive application process with State and Federal authorities.
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DISCUSSION:
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Pursuant to California Administrative Code § 2970(a)(4), the County must first file with the State a designation of an authorized agent in order to process applications to recover funds spent on disaster response and recovery. The authorized representative will have the authority to deal directly with Cal EMA and/or FEMA. Currently, the Controller's Office is coordinating the County's efforts to seek Federal and State reimbursement for County costs incurred with the San Bruno fire.
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The form resolution submitted for the Board’s approval designates the County Controller as the authorized agent for San Mateo County and further designates the Assistant Controller and Administrative Services Manager in the Controller's Office as alternate agents. This resolution as presented to the Board would apply to not only cost recovery efforts related to the San Bruno fire but any future disasters. It is recommended the Board adopt this universal resolution because any future disaster cost recovery will likely involve similar financial documentation and calculation which can be handled by the Controller’s office. The Board may at any time in the future adopt a new resolution changing the designation.
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Approval of this resolution contributes to the Shared Vision 2025 outcome of a Healthy Community by seeking the recovery of available funds from the State and Federal agencies.
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FISCAL IMPACT:
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There is no fiscal impact in approving this form resolution. The fiscal impact of the amount of the requested reimbursement has yet to be determined.
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