Force account equipment costs

Citation:         FEMA-1551-DR-FL, Escambia County Sheriff Office, Force account equipment costs, Project Worksheets (PW) 1041 and 1123                  

Cross-

Reference:     Force account equipment costs

Summary:       Hurricane Ivan caused widespread damage to infrastructure and private property. Escambia County Sheriff’s Office (Applicant) used force account labor and equipment costs to provide emergency protective services to County residents.  FEMA prepared PW 1041 for the periods of September 14th to 16th and September 19th to 30th, 2004 and PW 1123 for October 2004.   Based on Department of Homeland Security Office of the Inspector General (OIG)’s audit of the Applicant’s Hurricane Ivan disaster related costs, it was determined that the charges related to regular-time vehicle usage were unsupported as well as ineligible and excessive.  The Regional Administrator, however, determined that $310,200 in such force account equipment costs could be approved under PW 1041 for work performed in September but that an additional $543,840 in such costs under PW 1123 for work performed in October could not be approved.  In its second appeal, the Applicant maintains the position that supplemental documentation justifies funding of the force account equipment costs beyond September 30, 2004.  The Applicant provided approximately 1,000 pages of news articles documenting activities within the area it alleges support its claim.   Based on the OIG’s audit, FEMA again disallowed the costs related to PW 1123 because the costs are ineligible. 

Issue:              Did the Applicant provide sufficient source documentation to justify funding for force account equipment costs beyond September 30, 2004?

Finding:           No.

Rationale:       44 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) §13.20(b)(6), Source documentation.