GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — As a result of recent action by FEMA and the Trump administration, emergency management departments in Michigan are not getting the grant money they routinely rely on to respond to, recover from and prevent disasters.
In a virtual press conference on Tuesday, the Michigan State Police deputy state director of emergency management, Capt. Kevin Sweeney, detailed how the funding freeze has impacted work across the state.
A total of around $56 million in local and state reimbursement requests to FEMA are currently on hold, he said, and the dollar amount could grow to more than $300 million as requests continue to be submitted.
"Work continues at this point in time," Sweeney said. "But it's getting to the point where we have to start looking if any changes are going to need to be made."
If the holds continue, they have the "potential to disrupt services and payroll for personnel" in state and local emergency management departments.
Notably, "troopers on the road" will not be affected.
"We felt it was important to make everyone aware of this issue," Sweeney said.
In January, an executive order signed by President Donald Trump put a pause on several forms of federal funding. While a federal judge placed an injunction on part of the order shortly after its issuance, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) still paused several of its grants, preventing its recipients from being reimbursed through them.
READ MORE: Judge temporarily puts part of Trump’s federal funding freeze on hold
Per Michigan State Police, a large majority of the state's unprocessed reimbursement requests are related to disaster grants used to respond to, recover from and mitigate disasters, including the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2020 flooding in Midland that happened as a result of a dam break and more.
The Homeland Security Grant Program (HSGP) and the Emergency Management Performance Grant (EMPG), meanwhile, are used to support payroll expenses at state and local emergency management departments, among other things.
In Ottawa County, the salaries of at least three employees in its emergency management department are partially funded by the HSGP.
In addition to personnel costs, which annually total around $100,000, the department also yearly uses around $50,000 in FEMA funding for equipment costs related to anti-terrorism measures and other disaster prevention efforts.
"I'm confident and optimistic that everything will work out," said Capt. Jacob Sparks with the Ottawa County Sheriff's Office. "We're in a wait-and-see mode."
"Whatever happens, we'll make the best of it and be prepared to respond appropriately to make sure we keep the same level of service for the citizens of Ottawa County," he said.
FEMA funding on hold, related to emergency management in Michigan ($56M):
- Disaster grants ($52 million)
- Homeland Security Grant Program ($1.5 million)
- Emergency Management Performance Grant ($1.5 million)
- Nonprofit Security Grand Program ($850,000)
- Hazard mitigation grants ($2,000)
FEMA has not processed a reimbursement request for an emergency management department in Michigan since Feb. 11.
While communication from the federal government has "greatly improved" since the holds were put in place, Sweeney says Michigan State Police has received "no clear guidance" on how to proceed with the agency's "manual review" of the grant programs, which could cause "significant delays" in the process.
"Is it going to be an email? Is it a phone call? We're still waiting for that guidance from our federal partners," Sweeney said.
On March 14, the Trump administration will have to prove in federal court its compliance with the injunction on funding freeze.
"If those funds were to be shut off," Sweeney said, "there would have to be some significant change here, at least at the state level, with how we fund emergency management."
"But we're hopeful," he said.
