Governor Kenneth Mapp has directed the Virgin Islands Department of Finance to release more than $30 million to pay AECOM for performing work on the Emergency Home Repair VI program, which is repairing thousands of damaged homes across the territory, Government House said on Monday.<\/p>\n
Of the total amount released, a check for $13.5 million will be issued to AECOM Tuesday with the balance being paid out by the end of the week. AECOM in turn will issue payments to all of its subcontractors, the governor said.<\/p>\n
Until today, these payments were held up awaiting federal approval; however, the governor was successful in making arrangements with FEMA Region II Federal Coordinating Officer William Vogel to allow the use of other funds previously approved for housing construction repairs until the new funding becomes available, according to Government House. Mr. Mapp has been in negotiations with FEMA for weeks to find another option to avoid hindering the success of the territory\u2019s recovery, according to Government House.<\/p>\n
The announcement follows a Washington Post report revealing that contractors hired to repair thousands of homes damaged by the 2017 storms had not been paid for months, because although the federal government covers the cost for those repairs, the local government must first make 100 percent of the payment upfront. And with the territory\u2019s government in seemingly a perpetual state of financial crisis \u2014 with no more than four days cash on hand \u2014 it does not have the money to pay the contractors.<\/p>\n
In Monday’s Government House release, Mr. Mapp said he had introduced a “creative” solution to FEMA to remedy the problem, although the governor did not explain the solution. And while the governor said his negotiations with the federal agency had been fruitful, FEMA procedures, he said, had stymied the quick release of the funds.<\/p>\n
\u201cI presented FEMA with a creative solution to immediately draw down federal funds that were already approved, but the release of the payments had been blocked because of FEMA procedures,\u201d the governor said. \u201cFEMA was open to my suggestions and will be immediately releasing $13.5 million so that the contractors will keep working on home repairs, and even increase the pace of their work. This illustrates that good communication with our federal partners can cut through the red tape and we can come up with viable solutions.\u201d<\/p>\n
The homes being repaired through the\u00a0Sheltering and Temporary Essential Power (STEP) program (known locally as the Emergency Home Repairs V.I. Program), is to be partly funded with $186 million that the federal government has set aside. But the agreement demands that the local government pay the cost upfront and receive reimbursement from FEMA. Problem is, the Government of the Virgin Islands does not have the money.<\/p>\n
This has caused a roadblock, according to\u00a0the Washington Post report<\/span><\/a>. And although the G.V.I. had asked that FEMA expedite the release of the funds, the federal agency had refused, citing the procedures that govern the program.<\/p>\n AECOM, which has won multiple contracts to provide hurricane-recovery rebuilding work, told The Post that it had \u201cnot received payment for work performed,\u201d and therefore had not paid its subcontractors.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are working closely with the Virgin Islands Housing Finance Authority and FEMA to have the project funds released so that the project\u2019s subcontractors may be paid as soon as possible,\u201d AECOM told The Post in a statement.<\/p>\n In April, the governor conveyed\u00a0concerns he had with the local government\u2019s ability to provide upfront funding with officials at the Department of Interior (D.O.I.) during a visit to Washington, D.C.\u00a0According to D.O.I.<\/span><\/a>,\u00a0Mr. Mapp explained that the loss in government revenues due to the hurricanes further stressed the government\u2019s fiscal position and its ability to meet the local matching fund requirements for various federal programs that were critical to forwarding the Virgin Islands continuing recovery.<\/p>\n A STEP spokesman told The Post that the V.I. government had asked since May for the $186 million to be drawn down. However, according to spokesman Ricardo Zuniga, FEMA will release the funds only after receiving \u201cappropriate documentation\u201d of the project\u2019s scope and costs.<\/p>\n During a Senate hearing last week, Committee on Finance chairman Senator Kurt Vialet, said, \u201cPayments seems to be delayed because the federal guidelines are not designed to meet structural needs of homes built in the Virgin Islands. Sheetrock, cleaning or repairing cisterns, and replacing downspouts are construction repairs that are heavily needed for the homes territory-wide.\u201d<\/p>\n Yet even if FEMA releases the $186 million, it would only cover labor and materials cost. Mr. Zuniga said the local government requested an additional $153 million for logistical support and a call center for victims of the storms to apply for aid.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a significant problem … You have to spend the money to get the money back from FEMA,\u201d said Brad Gair, senior program manager for the Virgin Islands, according to The Post. \u201cWe don\u2019t have the money available for all the non-swinging-the-hammer costs, and [the contractors] are already mobilized, already bought materials, and already did outreach.\u201d<\/p>\n