Sent Home for Good Behavior
There are few things that occupy a lower rung on the public disdain ladder in Jefferson Davis County than FEMA employees. There are cockroaches and looters, but not much else. And with good reason.
Everyone knows about the trailers. Now, almost six months after the storm, FEMA has only managed to deliver a few thousand mobile homes. FEMA blames the local government, but it is a lie. FEMA is responsible.
Take garbage removal. The county had the option of signing their own contract or going with the Corp of Engineers. They went with their own. The contractor has picked up tens of thousands of tons of garbage, running up a $20 million dollar tab. They want to be paid. FEMA has been looking at the contact for two months and has not paid a dime. The contractor is about to stop doing debris removal.
Take the hospital. The old company that ran the hospital jetted after the hurricane and the county was in a lurch. Doctors worked countless hours and finally found a nonprofit to come in and take over if FEMA paid the first six months of the expenses. That way, the nonprofit would not lose too much money while the parish population was still small. Well, FEMA agreed to pay and then de-obligated the funding. Now the county is scrambling to find a way to get their hospital open.
We are told not to wear our FEMA gear outside of work, lest we get beaten up. The county head, Boss Hogg, routinely spits profanity when discussing FEMA.
The only exception to this is us, the long term community recovery planners. We have developed a great relationship both with the county and the citizens recovery committee. Every public meeting the Judge or someone else will get up and give a speech. “We know you hate FEMA. We hate FEMA too. And yes technically these guys are FEMA, they are a different type of FEMA. We all know how long FEMA people last, a week or two before they are transferred out. Well, these guys have been with us since the beginning….” The county council just passed a resolution making a planner that went home an honorary citizen. They love us!
Well, the long term community recovery planners are being sent home. The entire division, called ESF 14, is being decommissioned. Ostensibly, it is because the state is concerned that there is not enough local control. But this is bullshit. There is another reason, I suspect FEMA does not want to pay the bills, but I don’t know. In any case, today is Thursday and we were told today at 6 pm that we are being sent home on Tuesday. No other explanation than that.
The shame is that the county has come to depend on us. Take the doctors. We have helped set up discussions with Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and others to help them try to find money. There is no way to make a graceful transition in four days. It will be an in-elegant ending with many people hurt and angry.
We will see what happens tomorrow. Things can always change, but as it stands now, I am out of here on Tuesday.
Everyone knows about the trailers. Now, almost six months after the storm, FEMA has only managed to deliver a few thousand mobile homes. FEMA blames the local government, but it is a lie. FEMA is responsible.
Take garbage removal. The county had the option of signing their own contract or going with the Corp of Engineers. They went with their own. The contractor has picked up tens of thousands of tons of garbage, running up a $20 million dollar tab. They want to be paid. FEMA has been looking at the contact for two months and has not paid a dime. The contractor is about to stop doing debris removal.
Take the hospital. The old company that ran the hospital jetted after the hurricane and the county was in a lurch. Doctors worked countless hours and finally found a nonprofit to come in and take over if FEMA paid the first six months of the expenses. That way, the nonprofit would not lose too much money while the parish population was still small. Well, FEMA agreed to pay and then de-obligated the funding. Now the county is scrambling to find a way to get their hospital open.
We are told not to wear our FEMA gear outside of work, lest we get beaten up. The county head, Boss Hogg, routinely spits profanity when discussing FEMA.
The only exception to this is us, the long term community recovery planners. We have developed a great relationship both with the county and the citizens recovery committee. Every public meeting the Judge or someone else will get up and give a speech. “We know you hate FEMA. We hate FEMA too. And yes technically these guys are FEMA, they are a different type of FEMA. We all know how long FEMA people last, a week or two before they are transferred out. Well, these guys have been with us since the beginning….” The county council just passed a resolution making a planner that went home an honorary citizen. They love us!
Well, the long term community recovery planners are being sent home. The entire division, called ESF 14, is being decommissioned. Ostensibly, it is because the state is concerned that there is not enough local control. But this is bullshit. There is another reason, I suspect FEMA does not want to pay the bills, but I don’t know. In any case, today is Thursday and we were told today at 6 pm that we are being sent home on Tuesday. No other explanation than that.
The shame is that the county has come to depend on us. Take the doctors. We have helped set up discussions with Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and others to help them try to find money. There is no way to make a graceful transition in four days. It will be an in-elegant ending with many people hurt and angry.
We will see what happens tomorrow. Things can always change, but as it stands now, I am out of here on Tuesday.
posted by JNA | 8:47 PM
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