Fickle FEMA Gods
So, it has been an eventful day.
A colleague will be sent home tomorrow. He called one of the HR people to ask a question and they said, you were supposed to go home two days ago. He said, no one told me. They said, no matter, be on a plane tomorrow. He said, I have meetings and work all day. People are counting on me. They said, no matter, be on a plane tomorrow. He leaves tomorrow.
In other developments…The consultants that I am supposed to be managing were sent packing on Saturday. FEMA HQ agreed that their work was essential for the County, but felt as a matter of principal federal money should not go to local initiatives, like figuring out which parts of the County should be redeveloped. It was such a matter of principal that FEMA was ok sending these guys home in the middle of their work, once again leaving the County high and dry, or wet and moldy as the case may be.
The irony is that the FEMA bosses pointed out that there is a pot of money from FEMA that the County can apply for to hire the consultants to continue on the same project. I am not sure what principal was so important that it is worth jeopardizing the County’s recovery. The principal is you must apply to the correct pot of money?
In any case, the consultants were sent packing. Then today, FEMA changed its mind and rehired some of the consultants. This is a little weird - here is the story. The consultants were coming up with a model that showed the best part of the County to have houses. FEMA wants them to come up with the model in abstract terms, not considering Jeff Davis County situation at all. That way, it won’t be the feds paying for local issues. The thing is, it is no good to come up with the model in a void. We are not dealing with a simulation; this is a real disaster where people’s people are molding away and entire families are sleeping on friend’s couches. What good does it do to design a model in some fantasy land! In any case, about half of them were rehired on Monday to continue working on the same project, except now it is not based in Jeff Davis County, now it is simply a theoretical exercise on the computer
I have to say, to their credit, the consultants working on the flood protection plan said that they would finish the plan at no charge to feds or the county, because they thought it was so important. And the two people from the one firm that is being paid for with local money (so they can continue without a problem) are totally shaken up. It is very clear that they believed in their work and were doing it to help the county (I am sure also to get paid, but from the tone of their voice, it is clear they are very concerned about the county’s well being).
They have never seen the FEMA sausage machine up close like the rest of us, so they react with appropriate indignation that FEMA could have such disregard for local welfare. All of us have been through so much that it is just one more indication that the current management at FEMA does not give a damn about local welfare.
A colleague will be sent home tomorrow. He called one of the HR people to ask a question and they said, you were supposed to go home two days ago. He said, no one told me. They said, no matter, be on a plane tomorrow. He said, I have meetings and work all day. People are counting on me. They said, no matter, be on a plane tomorrow. He leaves tomorrow.
In other developments…The consultants that I am supposed to be managing were sent packing on Saturday. FEMA HQ agreed that their work was essential for the County, but felt as a matter of principal federal money should not go to local initiatives, like figuring out which parts of the County should be redeveloped. It was such a matter of principal that FEMA was ok sending these guys home in the middle of their work, once again leaving the County high and dry, or wet and moldy as the case may be.
The irony is that the FEMA bosses pointed out that there is a pot of money from FEMA that the County can apply for to hire the consultants to continue on the same project. I am not sure what principal was so important that it is worth jeopardizing the County’s recovery. The principal is you must apply to the correct pot of money?
In any case, the consultants were sent packing. Then today, FEMA changed its mind and rehired some of the consultants. This is a little weird - here is the story. The consultants were coming up with a model that showed the best part of the County to have houses. FEMA wants them to come up with the model in abstract terms, not considering Jeff Davis County situation at all. That way, it won’t be the feds paying for local issues. The thing is, it is no good to come up with the model in a void. We are not dealing with a simulation; this is a real disaster where people’s people are molding away and entire families are sleeping on friend’s couches. What good does it do to design a model in some fantasy land! In any case, about half of them were rehired on Monday to continue working on the same project, except now it is not based in Jeff Davis County, now it is simply a theoretical exercise on the computer
I have to say, to their credit, the consultants working on the flood protection plan said that they would finish the plan at no charge to feds or the county, because they thought it was so important. And the two people from the one firm that is being paid for with local money (so they can continue without a problem) are totally shaken up. It is very clear that they believed in their work and were doing it to help the county (I am sure also to get paid, but from the tone of their voice, it is clear they are very concerned about the county’s well being).
They have never seen the FEMA sausage machine up close like the rest of us, so they react with appropriate indignation that FEMA could have such disregard for local welfare. All of us have been through so much that it is just one more indication that the current management at FEMA does not give a damn about local welfare.
posted by JNA | 9:02 PM
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