By Kevin Mulrooney
Memorial Day is a good benchmark to start working on the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA’s) 2019 Assistance to Firefighters Grant (AFG) Program applications. The first step is creating an in-house grant committee to spread the workload. During the coming months a great deal of information will need to be gathered. The first questions you must ask regarding this issue are the following:
- What do we need?
- How much does it cost?
- How many of the items will we need?
- Is this an item for which a regional or joint application would be well suited?
Before you take any steps, certify in the body of the application that you are active in SAM and LOGIN.USA. FEMA can deny your application for just this simple missed detail, and they are not required to call you and remind you!
In the case of the regional application, a memorandum of understanding (MOU) is required. This is a signed legal document established by FEMA following an approved application by Nassau County, New York, which contained data on nontransporting fire agencies such as membership, square miles, and fire calls. However, it did not supply those five departments with the proceeds of the award. Following an action by Grant-Guys in 2013 on their behalf, the MOU was established.
Your MOU is more than a document that says, “Yes, I’m in”; it’s a legally binding agreement. When preparing the MOU, it should include information not only about your membership in the application but the following questions:
- Who will retain the grant writer fee reimbursement?
- Is there a commission for the grant writer?
- Who will file the requests for payment?
- Who will submit the quarterly reports?
- Who will submit the SF425s?
- What if the host doesn’t agree with your purchased items?
- Will you purchase the same items?
- Who else are my regional partners?
- Who will perform the close-out reporting?
- Who will be responsible for audit costs?
- What if a partner leaves?
- What happens if FEMA cancels an award after you have purchased the equipment?
- How do I extricate myself from the MOU—and what if you want out?
