It is a waiting game that is tough on fire departments and grant writers.
FIRE Act grant recipients, and those who were not awarded grants, are
waiting on pins and needles to find out either way.
And those in charge of the announcements at FEMA/USFA are making it a
cliff-hanging drama by starting the rumor mill working. Firehouse.com
Forums are filled with the discussions and questions on the subject.
What is going on is a process of testing FEMA's electronic ability to deal
with the whole process, and at the same time moving to verify that those who
are on the list to receive grants, are still able and willing to handle it
even when months have passed since the application was handed in.
So departments are receiving inquiries from FEMA and not exactly sure what
it means. It could be a test and it could be the real deal. And right now
FEMA/USFA is not being too informative, not wanting to let the cats out of
the bag before their chosen time.
What is known is the first list of those departments getting grants will not
be published until July 8, or soon after. And following on a weekly
timetable will be lists of grant awardees until approximately 5000 to 5500
awards are made and the available money is used up. This may take until the
end of the year.
USFA is also dealing with the proper politics of government work by making
sure all the "important" people know first what is going on. So in many
cases Congressmen and Senators representing districts of grant awardees will
get notice first.
This process is necessary because FEMA/USFA is not exactly sure how it will
all end. If a qualified awardee has to drop out for some reason, then the
next on the list moves up. They are in a position right now of not being
able to positively say yes, the department got it, or no, it missed out.
So it is a waiting game. Maybe a longer wait them some are hoping for.
First Departments Receive Questionaire
The first wave of Departments began receiving a questionaire from USFA grant representatives
this week. This process is expected to last through the end of the year.
We've posted a summary of the text within those e-mails here:
"This email message is not a notification of award, it is
only a preliminary discussion of your application. A panel of your peers favorably reviewed your
application and I have a few matters to discuss/verify with you prior to further processing of your application:
1. If you are selected for an award, would you accept?
2. If you are selected for a grant award, can your department meet the required cost-share?
3. If you are selected for an award, do you understand that the funds can only cover expenses for
one year and that you have to spend the funding within one year of your grant award date?
4. If you are selected, do you understand that you will be required to report to NFIRS for at
least the period of the grant?
5. Do you have any changes to your point of contacts, phone numbers, email addresses, or banking
information listed in your application?
Again, this email message is not a notification of award, it is only a discussion of your application. Once
[the USFA Grants representative] complete [his/her] review, and receive your favorable reply to this message,
[the USFA Grants representative] will forward your application on to the next phase.
If your department is selected you will be notified by e-mail through our on-line grants system. You will
also be directed to a web-site to print the award forms and other pertinent information."
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