Almost every municipal Emergency Manager has been told by their boss, in one manner or another, that they have two primary functions:
1. Preserve human life
2. Make sure that they document sufficient damage to qualify for the federal government to pay either 75% or 90% of the repair bill.
If we can't document enough damage (a) the community will have to pay for it all the repairs, and (b) we’ll probably get fired by our political bosses… because we failed the bureaucratic paperwork exercise.
Notice that (a) preventing damage, and (b) preparing our communities aren't included in those two primary functions.
So, Yes, the system has been built exactly backwards.
This is a geat post!
Almost every municipal Emergency Manager has been told by their boss, in one manner or another, that they have two primary functions:
1. Preserve human life
2. Make sure that they document sufficient damage to qualify for the federal government to pay either 75% or 90% of the repair bill.
If we can't document enough damage (a) the community will have to pay for it all the repairs, and (b) we’ll probably get fired by our political bosses… because we failed the bureaucratic paperwork exercise.
Notice that (a) preventing damage, and (b) preparing our communities aren't included in those two primary functions.
So, Yes, the system has been built exactly backwards.
Amen Kelly!!