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Questions and Answers

Transit Security Grant Program Tier I FY 2007

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Conference Call Questions and Answers

10/24/07 Conference Call

My agency is having trouble finding sources for the Management of Transit Emergencies II training course. Do you have any suggestions?

This course is currently under development and not yet completed. For transit systems that applied for funds for that course, they may request to apply those funds to other courses. We will consider those requests. For example, we could approve front-line security awareness training beyond the one year extension. A request of that nature would be favorably reviewed.

How do we go about requesting that course change?

Submit your request through AskCSID and send a copy to tsagrants.gov. Please provide an explanation of the change.

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09/26/07 Conference Call

What is the procedure for modifying an agency's submitted request?

If you would like to modify your request, you can submit your question/modification in writing to askcsid@dhs.gov, with an explanation as to why you would like to change your request. We will then look over it and get back to you.

There has been some confusion on which training courses are allowable, is there a guide that lays the courses out

On our website is the training courses matrix, which lists what courses are allowable under the TSGP program. The address is:
http://www.tsa.gov/assets/pdf/approved_vendor_list.pdf (52Kb, pdf).

If, during a system's approved fast track training for security awareness, evacuation and emergency plans are also covered in the training, are the frontline employees who receive this training eligible for overtime and backfill?

Under the fast track training program, there is a pre-set allotment for each individual trained per course. Any cost incurred by the system above this pre-set allotment must be covered by the system.

Are bus employees from an ineligible smaller fleet that picks up passengers from a larger eligible bus terminal eligible for training?

Any frontline employee, meaning any employee that comes into contact with bus and rail passengers, whether for instance they are working the fare booth or are maintenance employees on a platform, are all eligible for training.

How does the reimbursement work for train-the-trainer courses?

Fast track training works through a pre-set allotment of “X” dollars per person who is trained for a particular course. You then certify that “Y” number of employees have received training, and you will receive funds for whatever “X” x “Y” calculates to. This reimbursement is irrespective of your cost for the training, since we figured in most of the factors to calculate this reimbursement. If your cost is less than your reimbursement, then you are able to keep the remainder. If your cost is more, then the agency has to pick that up.

Does the FY07 supplemental include Tier 2 regions?

Yes, the FY07 Supplemental included funds for both Tier 1 and Tier 2 regions. For Tier 2 the funds were focused on fast track training for front-line employees. The funds remaining after the fast track training requests were applied to unfunded projects submitted under the FY07 base grant program. The list of projects approved for funding has been provided to FEMA and FEMA should be issuing the GANs soon.

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08/27/07 Conference Call

You mentioned that Tier 1 agencies are covered by cooperative agreements. What does that mean?

The type of agreement you are under is specified on your GAN. In the case of cooperative agreements, the collection of IJs we develop together will represent the cooperative agreement. Therefore, the agreement itself does not exist until the IJs are finalized. Each region is a little different in this aspect, so I can give more specifics in separate phone calls.

It seems that the IJ form is geared toward the agency, not the region. Does the region have to repeat all agency submissions?

The State Administrative Agency only has to fill out one SF-424. For Tier 1 agencies this is all that is required at this time. For Tier II agencies, the State must include with their SF-424 submission copies of the IJ's provided by the Tier II agencies to the State. Also, we hope to be working with you during this process. Therefore, as questions arise we can address them.

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08/21/07 Conference Call

The focus on funding training only does not reflect the feedback that we [CA] provided. We wanted to do more capital projects through our working groups and would like to see greater focus on funding competitive Tier II projects. Will you accept and fund non-TSA training that we've developed here in CA?

Yes, we will fund non-TSA training, as long as it meets the basic criteria laid out in the training cost matrix. TSA is committed to finding a way to meet your training requirements.

What does the shaded area in the cost matrix represent?

The shaded area means that the particular training is not recommended for the type of employee listed in the shaded area.

Has the period of performance been reduced to 24 months from 36 months? Do we have to submit an IJ for the training requests?

The period of performance is 36 months for capital projects that are funded under the FY 2007 supplemental and the original programs. Training projects must be completed within 24 months. Capital projects will be given 36 months. An abbreviated IJ must be submitted for fast track training requests.

How can we apply for left-over funding in Tier II for capital projects?

If there are supplemental funds left after training requests, we may elect to fund good projects that weren't able to be approved given the limited amount of available money under the base program. If you'd like to have projects from the FY07 base be considered for funding for the supplemental (if there are remaining funds after all fast track training requests have been approved), you must submit the SF 424 only. There is no need to re-submit the IJ for a capital project that was submitted under the base program, but you must submit the SF 424 to even be considered for funding under the supplemental program.

Is the period of performance window for training projects 12 months under the FY07 Base? On page 2 of the Supplemental Guidance, would an application for drills and exercises be submitted using the fast track training process?

The answer to the first question is yes, that's correct. Quite a few properties submitted two year programs during base review. These types of projects may be considered under the supplemental program – the systems can re-submit year two of their two-year programs, which will then cover the total 24-month period of performance for the FY07 supplemental. To answer the second question, requests to fund drills and exercises will not be considered via the fast track training IJ submission process.

Are we up against the August 29 deadline as a Tier I agency?

No, you will not be required to submit your IJs by the August 29 deadline as a Tier I system.

Looking at the OPacks, are we able to apply 25% of the total regional allocation towards operational costs? Can you explain the matching requirement?

Yes, you are able to apply 25% of the total regional allocation towards operational costs. To answer the second question, this can be an in-kind match. Therefore, the grant can fund 2 workers, but you would need to add the third from your own coffers. That would be considered a 50% in-kind match. We're looking to work with you to better explain this.

What is the due date for our IJs, as a Tier I property?

The IJs under the base program must be submitted within 90 days of August 7, 9, or 13, according to your specific award date. Supplemental IJs/projects must be submitted within 90 days of September 30 (when the supplemental funds will be awarded).

Can we use the FY 2007 money to start a capital project and use FY 2008 grant money to finish it?

As we go through the cooperative agreement we can certainly talk about this multi-year project within the scope of the RTSWG to see if this is possible.

What can we apply the 2.5% M&A to; can this percentage go to project management?

Yes, the 2.5% M&A part of your approved grant can be used to manage your project.

Are we able to use supplemental funding to have front line employees attend training that was approved during the base program? Where is the list of approved DHS training vendors posted?

To answer your first question, if it falls within the matrix that would certainly be possible. The approved vendor list will be posted to the TSA website, www.tsa.gov/grants, on the Transit Security page, within the next two days. (Note: Since the date of this call, the approved vendor list has been posted to the TSA website.)

Can you summarize the cooperative agreement process [for CA]?

I can't go into too much detail because we haven't completely agreed with California yet. The agreement will be made between the Federal government and the State. The output of the agreement is the IJ, but since the State is the technical grantee our agreement is with the State, not the transit system.

Where can we find the SF 424?

This form can be found and downloaded at www.grants.gov.

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08/15/07 Conference Call

When is the supplemental being released? What is the turn around time frame following the release? Will there be any restrictions on the applications?

The supplemental will most likely be released on August 16th. We cannot speak to the exact turnaround timeframe, but we know it will be extremely fast, within 10 days. This will be our main point of discussion for our conference call on Tuesday, August 21st . We will be posting the supplemental guidance and the application on both www.tsa.gov/grants and the www.grants.gov websites.

Did the grant award notification (GAN) letters that were released go to the state or the system?

The State. The transit system will have to be in contact with their SAA to determine the specifics of the GANs.

What is the current status of '06 resubmits?

The review panel is currently engaged is reviewing the project submissions.

Will we be required to submit new applications to apply for supplemental funding or will our original '07 applications be considered for supplemental awards? How much time is allotted to spend approved funding? What is the date from which they begin?

Yes, you must submit new applications to compete for supplemental funding; the grant will be an entirely new award to the State. You will have 36 months from the date of the award to draw down on approved funds. The funds must be awarded by September '07.

Does the supplemental include funds for operations?

We cannot discuss that until the guidance is made public. We will be able to discuss this issue during our conference call on Tuesday, August 21.

Are the training grants different for the supplemental?

Yes, you have to apply again. Tier II applicants may use the abbreviated application described in Information Bulletin No. 243 to request pre-priced, fast track training (addressed on page 5 of the Supplemental guidance) to take courses found on the Training Cost Matrix (Appendix 5 in the Supplemental guidance).

Could you explain the grants process for FY07?

Yes, for FY07 FEMA will use a cooperative agreement with the SAA, and TSA is using a cooperative agreement approach with the RTSWG to develop projects that will effectively reduce regional transit risk.

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07/15/07 Conference Call

What is the status of the FY 2006 investment justification re-submissions?

We are in the process of reviewing the re-submissions right now. Those decisions should be made in two to three weeks.

What is the status of the FY 2007 Tier II awards?

DHS is hoping that you have the grants within the next month.

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06/20/07 Conference Call

I have several questions. Regarding the Tier II program, will it be competitive, similar to the past? Are you looking for training projects from Tier II applicants? Will there be an allocation for Amtrak?

While we cannot commit to anything, I will say that Amtrak will be awarded an amount based on the previous allocation method. For Tier II, because of the two week open application period, it will be difficult to allow applicants to apply for anything outside of the fast track training parameters. More than likely, once we’ve reviewed training proposals, we may open the remaining funds for non-training related projects. DHS is not looking for physical security projects to come from Tier II for this round of applications. However, this could change as Congress has not yet approved anything other than the amount of money that will be awarded through the entire grant program.

Does the money have to be spent before September 30, 2007? How will we be notified once a decision is made on the FY 2007 Supplemental Grant Guidance?

The money must be allocated to the states by September 30, not spent. To answer your second question, we will use our email distribution list to distribute the grant guidance, deliver it to APTA, and post it on the TSA website -- www.tsa.gov/grants. The likely release date for the guidance will be the first week of July. Additionally, make sure you check for the guidance at www.grants.gov.

Who is determining the risk calculations for the FY 2007 Supplemental Guidance? Will it be determined by the Federal Government or will the regions be submitting their risk perspective?

In FY 2006 we had a competitive process within the regions; a national panel made judgments as to which projects addressed risk the best. For FY 2007 (both the base program and the supplemental program) we have a cooperative agreement in place for the Tier I properties. DHS is working the risk issues right now and we’re further ahead on some regions than others. We do hope to work with each region and the respective SAAs to determine, at the regional level, which projects will meet the security priorities of that region.

What will the Tier I applicants have to submit prior to the application deadline?

During the two-week application period, you will have to submit the SF 424 only. The Investment Justification (IJ) will be due 90 days after the award. Because the IJs are considered under cooperative agreements we’ll work with the Tier I applicants before they submit their projects.

Is the light rail system in Memphis the only eligible system for supplemental funds? When does the two-week period begin?

DHS will only be accepting training requests from the Memphis region at this time, since it is within Tier II. We expect that the FY 2008 program will be substantially larger and capital projects will be encouraged at that time. Please submit this issue to askcsid@dhs.gov to ensure that we give proper consideration to this question.

To answer your second question, the two week period will begin after the Grant Guidance is released and DHS does not know when the release will occur at this time.

Currently, in the FY 2007 base appropriation, Tier I IJs are due to you by August 8, correct? Will the supplemental IJs be due to you at the end of the year? Is there any thought to extend the due date beyond August 8 so that we can combine the funds we’ll be getting through the supplemental grant to create larger projects for both rounds of FY 2007?

The IJs are due 90 days after the award date, not the announcement date. The awards for FY 2007 have not yet been made, so the 90 day clock has not started to tick on the base FY 2007 IJ submissions. At this point, the due date will likely be the end of September. We have every intention to allow you to combine the money from both rounds to apply for projects using the total amount of funding available in FY 2007. If you’d like to continue the development of IJs for FY 2007, please do so. If you have IJs that are ready to be submitted and have been approved by the region, you should feel free to submit those investments as well.

Will ferry be included in the Supplemental Grant? Will freight rail be allowed to apply for Supplemental Funds?

On the ferry side, we have opted not to do the ferry grant in the supplemental as it would be such a small amount of money and the ferry properties haven’t yet used the base funding. Regarding freight rail, DHS is using the same method as was used in the base appropriation and there wasn’t an allocation for freight rail following the base appropriation. Therefore, we likely will not include it in the Supplemental Grant.

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06/06/07 Conference Call

What is the status of the re-submitted Tier I projects from FY 2006?

The evaluation and review is in process; the information has been logged into our system and disseminated to the appropriate parties. We will be in touch as the process nears its conclusion, but we cannot give you a timeline or speculate at this point as to when it will be complete.

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03/07/07 Conference Call

It's difficult for us to have regional transit working group discussions for FY07 when we're not sure what has happened with FY06. When will FY06 Tier I awards be announced?

We understand the predicament, but the only thing I can say at this point is that the National Review Panel has not had an opportunity to complete the review. We're hoping that the information will be announced before the end of the month of March.

I have a couple of questions about the Training IB. Does the lack of requirement for regional approval of investment justifications for training just pertain to training or is this true for all IJs?

Transit systems have been released from the requirement to obtain approval of their investment justifications from the entire region. As such, all IJs, security training related and otherwise will not have to be approved at the regional level. However, investment justifications must still be approved by the applicable SAA(s) in the region.

How will the lack of detail required to complete the training IJ impact risk-based allocations?

We try to identify risk on a national level, so the funding allocations have been done at the national, UASI level. Since allocations have already been released, the region must decide what you would like to do in terms of training. The SAA for the region is the one who will be looking at your IJ before it is submitted to us. In terms of our National Priorities, think of the list of seven as being placed within two buckets – security training and underground/underwater infrastructure AND the remaining priorities.

We have submitted the placeholder IJ for security training. When is the complete security training IJ due?

Security training IJs are due March 20.

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02/28/07 Conference Call

Which sections of the IJ need to be completed for a training request?

The information can be found in the IB, but specifically, sections II.A, III.B, IV.A, and IV.E.

Where do we look on the website to find the IB and the cost matrix?

Please go to www.tsa.gov/what_we_do/grants/programs/tsgp_tieri/2007/index.shtm to be directed to the Transit Grant web page.

Where can the training cost matrix be found?

It will be downloadable on the Transit Grants website.

I have an ODP letter suggesting that a specific course was approved in FY 2004. Under the current list of courses, it's not listed as being approved. Will this course be accepted this year?

We need to confirm the eligibility of the course; the lists are being updated from the FY 2006 list at the moment.

If there is a one year period of performance for this training, how are we to use funds from FY 2005 if we have to complete the training within a year of that award?

The period of performance will be adjusted to reflect the date of this new initiative.

How many investment justifications (IJ) are we allowed to submit?

Transit systems are allowed to submit ten (10) IJs.

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02/21/07 Conference Call

There were no questions raised during this call.

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02/14/07 Conference Call

Did the equipment list given out at the Tampa Stakeholder Conference specify vendors or providers?

No. The list only specifies equipment and does not list vendors or providers. Please refer to page 22, Appendix 2 of the grant guidance for specifications regarding authorized equipment. In addition, the authorized equipment list can be found on the Responder Knowledge Base at https://www.rkb.mipt.org/mel.cfm?subtypeid=549.

What came out of the Tier 2 conferences that we should be aware of?

TSA and G&T answered the questions that came up. We restated and clarified issues in the guidance and did not introduce any new material that our stakeholders should not be familiar with. We will be posting the conference summary on our website. Until then, the following describes the agenda covered during the conferences:

Have the Tier 1 conference locations been determined?

No. We have determined the dates for the Tier 1 conferences, April 10 and 12, but the locations have not yet been set. We will be posting locations as soon as they are determined and we will be sending an email out to the stakeholders on our distribution list. We will also be posting that information on the TSA website: www.tsa.gov/grants.

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01/31/07 Conference Call

The grant guidance says that each agency is allowed to submit 10 individual Investment Justifications. We have been working through our Regional Transit Security Working Group (RTSWG). Should these 10 Investment Justifications be approved/negotiated within the rubric of the RTSWG?

We encourage all applicants to coordinate within their region, and the RTSWG is an excellent way to do that. However, the requirement for approval at the regional level by all the transit systems is dependent on whether you are in Tier I or Tier II. Tier I systems are required to coordinate with their fellow transit agencies in the region. Tier II systems only require approval from your SAA. While we still encourage Tier II systems to coordinate with other eligible systems, it is not required.

This question is regarding canine teams. Guidance has been given saying that the government will finance start-up costs for canine teams, but will not fund costs for existing teams. We just received grant funding to start-up a canine team, but the team has not become operational yet. In this case, can we still benefit from the grant program, or is this considered an existing canine team?

In this case, it is considered as an existing canine team because the first three years for that team is being paid for from grant funds you already received. Since the start-up costs for the canine team have been paid for previously, additional costs are not eligible.

Now that we have submitted our revised and final FY06 Tier I project plans, when will we hear back?

Project plans are currently being reviewed by the panel. We expect to be finished by the end of February. We anticipate that grant adjustment notices will be issued by G&T by the end of March, authorizing the release of funds.

For the FY06 Tier I project plans, we received a lot of comments back on our draft project plans, which we responded to, and we believe we addressed them sufficiently. If there are still issues with the final project plans being reviewed, what is the process?

There are three possible outcomes for the final FY06 Tier I project plans submitted:

  1. The project plan is adequate and meets security priorities, in which case the panel will recommend full funding for the project.
  2. The panel finds the concept for the project plan is good and technically should be funded, but they have some additional clarifications they want from the system and/or condition(s) placed on the award. In this case, the transit system will be notified that the project is acceptable, but must meet conditions before the funding is released for the project.
  3. The panel finds that the project does not address security needs appropriately, and may decide to not fund that particular project.

We are reviewing the options on how to deal with any funds that may be left over. One of the options is to allow a follow-on competition for the left over funds within the same region. For example, if a region was awarded $10M, and their approved/successful projects total $8M, then the additional $2M will be re-competed among the transit systems within that region.

We were asked to provide a lot of detail in regards to the proposed budget, including titles and estimated hours, which is much more detailed than other Federal or state grants. Can we assume that the budget estimate is just that – an estimate, as one part of the project may run over, and another part may run under? Can we make adjustments post-award as appropriate?

Yes, the budget estimate is just an estimate, and you are able to make post-award adjustments, given the following guidelines: Adjustments can be made for up to 10% of total costs across categories without prior approval. If the amount of the change exceeds 10% of the total costs, then you need to request an adjustment to budget. That request should be made through the SAA.

There is a lot of confusion about canine teams. We initially submitted a FY06 Tier I project for the contracting of canine teams and contracting of handlers. The initial review comments we received said that those costs were not allowed, but the conference call notes from January 17, 2007 state that contracting for canine teams is an allowable cost (even though this is not specified in the guidance). In this case, we are talking about a separate and new contract and not a continuation of an existing contract for the canine teams. Is this eligible?

Canine teams are an eligible project for a system that has their own police force. For systems that do not have their own police force, the only way to obtain canine team patrol capability is to hire a contract team. In previous years, that was allowed, but with the expectation that when you award that contract, the canine team becomes an added capability that the system has. In the follow-on years (after the grant period of performance), there is the expectation that the transit system would pick up the cost of sustaining those teams. However, this is not entirely in the spirit of the guidelines. If a canine team is contracted for the 3 years of the grant period of performance, and those 3 years are up, the capability does not remain within the system anymore, and is therefore no longer a functional security capability. We are re-examining the issue and will take it up for further clarification.

There is a minimum on FY07 projects (non-training/exercise) of $250K. We have a project that we started in FY06 but could not fully fund, and want to fund the remainder of it with FY07 funds. The amount needed to complete the project is less than $250K, but the total for the project is greater than $250K. Can we ask for less than $250K given that the total project costs more than $250K?

No. We are trying to make sure that individual award amounts are not less than $250K.

We understand that March 6, 2007, is the deadline for Tier II systems to have their Investment Justifications in. For Tier I, is it true that we only have to submit the application? In addition, when are Tier I Investment Justifications due?

You are correct – only applications, submitted by the SAA, are due by March 6, 2007, for Tier I systems. The official due date for Tier I Investment Justification submissions is 90 days after G&T has officially awarded the funds to the SAA. In May, G&T will award the money to the SAA for the entire region. We will be asking Tier I systems to submit draft Investment Justifications by the first week of May so that TSA can look at them and provide feedback. Following this draft evaluation, the transit systems will have a period of time to revise and resubmit the Investment Justifications.

Is it possible to get an extension for the grant period of performance based on a delay in reviewing the FY06 proposals?

The 30-month grant period of performance is fixed. If you would like an extension, you will need to request a grant adjustment for an extension through the SAA to the transportation preparedness officer at G&T who will review and consider the request. The general information you will need to have is the amount of time extension requested, rationale/justification for the extension, and anticipated budget impacts.

In previous grant cycles, we were able to request budget reallocations (the ability to move funds from one project to another) because of the delivery schedules. Is this still available to grantees, given the compressed timelines for FY06?

Budget reallocation is a possibility, but we strongly urge you to discuss this with your SAA and transportation preparedness officer at G&T, in advance of submitting a formal request, in order to determine whether the new scope still fits the original intent of the award. If you are proposing a new project to reallocate funds to, then we also have to look at it to ensure it addresses the transit security priorities.

When and where are the Tier I Conferences being held?

We're targeting April 10 and 12, as suggested by the timelines on our website, but we have yet to determine the locations.

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01/25/07 Conference Call

For FY 2007 TSGP, are both the applications and Investment Justifications (IJs) due on March 6, 2007, or are the IJs due at a later date?

For Tier I, the IJs are due at a later date. The Tier I applications must be submitted by March 6, 2007, by the State Administrative Agency (SAA) through www.grants.gov. DHS has 60 days after that to officially award the grants (around May 5, 2007). After the award date, Tier I applicants have 90 days to submit their final IJs (around August 3, 2007).

For Tier II, both the applications and IJs are due on March 6, 2007 via www.grants.gov.

There are 30 priorities related to the national preparedness architecture. How are the applicants expected to align/how should they align?

The answer to this question is lengthy. Please submit the question to askcsid@dhs.gov for a formal response.

Will applicants be given assistance with their IJs to help prepare them?

Applicants will be given assistance in terms of clarification and process questions. However, they will not receive assistance regarding what they should write and how it should be written. Please clarify the exact assistance you need, and we can better identify whether it will be given. Also, attending one of the Tier II conferences may help clear up issues and process questions.

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01/17/07 Conference Call

I'd like to discuss the Investment Justification (IJ) versus the sample budget detail worksheet. The worksheet seems to be a generic OPM tool, while the IJ is very specific to DHS. Why do we have to write the same information down twice in different formats?

The sample budget detail form provides a suggestion of how to organize your budget information. The IJ is a required submission that must be completed in that format. In addition, you must submit a budget detail form, but it does not have to be in the format included in the grant guidance.

Is the Investment Justification (IJ) form coming out in an Excel format? If so, when will we be receiving it?

We're putting the finishing touches on this and will be contacting you very soon regarding a template that should be used.

In the Investment Justification (IJ) form, section II.C states, "Please describe the relevance to Regional Transit Security Strategy (RTSS)." This language isn't in the FY07 guidance. Do I need to address this in my application?

You are not required to address the RTSS, and there is no deadline for submission of such a strategy. However, you are encouraged to reevaluate the RTSS this year. Please keep in mind that not submitting an updated RTSS will not be held against your system during the project proposal review period.

I have an Investment Justification (IJ) question referring to page 34 of the guidance. Are you really requiring approval of the IJ by all agencies within the region prior to submission of our projects? Do all IJs have to be approved at the regional level, including individual agency projects, or is this only a requirement for regional projects?

We will have to address this issue and follow up with you on this question later.

Referring to page 2 of the guidance, when will the preliminary review period occur, within the 90 day window following the award or prior to the start of this period?

We are planning on having an initial kickoff conference in April and that will be followed by a two week period when we would like to see draft projects proposals.

Is Tier II only permitted to submit 3 project proposals?

Yes. We're working on getting the Information Bulletin out ASAP so that you can be aware of all of these types of changes and additions.

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01/10/07 Conference Call

Is the payment of salaries for police personnel an allowable expense under this year's guidance?

Costs incurred during training are allowable expenses. The grant will cover overtime and backfill, but will not cover salaries.

Knowing that Congress has approved roughly $175 million for this grant, why is there a difference between that figure and the advertised available amount of $171,780,000?

Legislation allows the Department of Homeland Security to use up to 3% of the overall grant for management and administrative costs related to administering the TSGP. The difference accounts for money that has been taken out to pay for management and administrative costs to the Federal government, prior to the release of funds.

Can you confirm that the applications must be submitted through the State Administrative Agencies (SAAs)?

That is correct. Transit agencies are still required to submit their applications through the SAAs, as well as posting projects on the DHS secure portal.

Are transit agencies limited to five (5) project submissions this year?

Tier I agencies are allowed to submit five (5) projects from Regional Working Groups and ten (10) for individual agency investments. Tier II applicants may submit 1 application with up to three (3) projects.

Are Amtrak and Ferry systems allowed to compete in Tier II?

No, Ferry and Amtrak stakeholders each have their own allocations and supplemental guidance.

Regarding the priority to enhance visible, unpredictable deterrence, how does this relate to proactive measures, such as train sweeps and patrolling stations? Does the grant cover overtime?

Proactive train sweeps and patrolling are aligned with that priority. But the funding of overtime costs do not extend to operational capabilities; they cover only training and exercise-oriented projects. The costs of which you are alluding are covered within a UASI Grant Program pilot program.

Regarding the investment justification and the timeline for submission for Tier I, is this part of the March 6, 2007, deadline?

No; for Tier I systems, full investment justifications are not required by March 6, 2007. They are required 90 days from the date of final award.

Are agencies required to fill out the investment justification for each separate project?

Yes. Only the first part (the agency background section) is required to be submitted once.

Is the March 6 deadline for Tier I and Tier II?

Yes, but different Tiers will be required to submit different items at that point. Tier I is required to submit their SF-424 application sheet while Tier II is required to submit applications and final project proposals. We will be in contact with you throughout this entire process to expedite pushing the money out to you.

Does the FY 07 guidance have any construction restrictions on it?

We'd like to submit this question for the record to have it accurately answered.

Regarding the minimum funding amounts in two categories, are agencies required to submit projects in each of these categories?

No. The minimum funding only means that if you have a project that requests funds in one of those areas, then that minimum amount of funding must be requested.

If we apply for canine teams under this grant, may the awarded amounts be used to supplement funds already received through the National Explosives Detection Canine Team Program and the TSGP program or are we limited to using funds for the purchase of new teams?

Any funds awarded through the TSGP can certainly supplement what you're already getting from the government. Food, medical care and other such maintenance costs for the dogs are not allowable costs. Please submit the details of this question in an email to askcsid@dhs.gov. We are really behind the use of funds for this program.

Is there a matching funds requirement this year?

A match is not currently required in the FY 07 guidance, though we are considering the possibility of a match requirement of up to 20 percent for FY 08.

Do the agencies have to reach consensus on regional projects?

We encourage you to do so, but we also encourage separate project plans from individual transit agencies. We're not going to require collaboration, though it is encouraged.

Is the Ferry Grant Program competitive?

Yes, similar to Tier I in transit, ferry systems within the same region will compete for the allocated funding for that region.

Does the minimum funding amount apply to ferry properties as well?

We believe it is consistent with other modes of transit, but please refer to the specific Ferry supplemental.

Does the whole project (investment justification) have to be in by March 6, 2007?

Yes, for Tier II.

Are the security priorities in writing anywhere?

Yes, they are explained in detail in the TSGP guidance on pages 2 through 4.

When does the 36 month Period of Performance (POP) begin?

The POP begins on the day the funds are awarded to the SAA (approximately early May).

Can funding be used to start up a canine team?

Yes, the TSGP provides money to initiate canine capabilities. However, funding cannot be used for items such as dog food and shots.

How is the risk analysis assessment of transit agencies going?

I believe this question spans several different agencies. There is a technical assistance program on how to conduct risk assessments, which is available on a first come first serve basis through G&T. Also, TSA has approximately 100 STSIs in various cities conducting base assessments. We'll call you to assist you in this matter.

When can we expect to hear back on the FY 06 Tier I process?

We hope to have the final project plans reviewed and funding approved within 3-4 weeks after the submission deadline (January 12, 2007). We want to coordinate with G&T to determine the final schedule before we commit to specific dates.

We understand that regional consensus is not required prior to submitting our projects. What happens if operators submit separate projects and agencies request more money than has been awarded for the region?

We encourage you to continue to do what has worked for you in the past. Collaboration is a great way to go. We also anticipate open dialogue with the regions and agencies throughout the process to help address these types of issues.

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