A month after CNN reported that FEMA stored $85M worth of goods earmarked for Katrina recovery for two years, then turned the goods over to random state agencies, FEMA is now set to deny $1M to the city of Waveland.
According to the Sun Herald, FEMA is going to "de-obligate" $1M to the city of Waveland based on their auditors recommendations.
A report was released July 17 on the audit, which spanned a period of Aug. 29, 2005 to Jan. 23, 2007, and examined $14.2 million in FEMA funds for nine large projects. Mayor Tommy Longo said Tuesday he had just finished a lengthy meeting with FEMA officials on the report.
Of the total, examiners for the Department of Homeland Security's Inspector General's staff recommended $1,020,156 be "de-obligated." If the recommendation stands, that amount would not be provided to the city for work already performed.
The story goes on to say:
They also questioned the work of a debris removal-monitoring company that oversaw the three-phase ditch project. They said work done amounted to less than amounts claimed on reporting tickets, and that addresses listed on some tickets did not exist. They recommended future reimbursements to the city be withheld in the ditch cleaning until the validation process is completed.
In addition, the report questioned repayment of $128,637 in overtime costs for city police, fire, and public works employees in November and December 2005. Examiners concluded the overtime was incurred "for general routine work of the departments and not for activities associated with providing emergency protective measures after the disaster."
The report also questioned $891,519 in expenses the city claimed for road-debris removal auditors said should have been covered by the Federal Highway Administration instead of FEMA. That, too, should not be paid by FEMA, auditors recommended.
Longo said the discrepancies in the ditch project occurred because federal examiners could not find some of the ditches involved, and that some streets could not even be located by examiners because Katrina wiped out street signs throughout the city. He added inspections of the ditch work were not begun until long after the work was done. "They came 15 months after the project was completed," he said.
Longo said the city is appealing the audit's determination to withhold the payment on $891,519. He expects the issue to be concluded in the city's favor in late September.
Leave it to the federal government to dispute $1M after spending BILLIONS in Iraq, diverting money for affordable housing post-Katrina, hiding $85M worth of supplies, and creating a huge health epidemic by distributing poisonous trailers along the Coast.
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