Final Hurricane Irma municipal Key West costs estimated at $16.2 million

Final Hurricane Irma municipal Key West costs estimated at $16.2 million

BY PRU SOWERS

KONK LIFE STAFF WRITER

 

Despite on-going repairs and the emotional toll Key West is still suffering as a result of Hurricane Irma, the actual financial cost for city government-related expenses is coming in significantly better than originally estimated.

In the six weeks after the Sept. 10 storm, which despite being rated a Category 4 when it hit the upper Florida Keys was a Category 1 when it made landfall in Key West, officials estimated storm damage to city-owned property and municipal clean-up costs at $43.6 million. But after calculating the actual costs, including debris removal, emergency protective measures and permanent repairs and/or improvements to city assets, Mark Finigan, Key West Finance Director, now pegs those costs at $16.2 million. Much of that cost is estimated to be eligible for reimbursement by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) but the city expects to be on the hook for a portion of the final tally.

“The best current estimate of the City’s funding exposure for Irma-related expenses would be between $1.5 [million] and $2.5 million,” Finigan wrote in a memo to city officials. But he also warned, “As I am painfully learning, the FEMA reimbursement process is challenging and measured in months not days.”   

By the end of February Finigan had submitted $4,693,403 in reimbursement requests to FEMA. Most of those costs were for debris removal and emergency protective measures, which are costs related to pre-storm preparation efforts made by the city, such as recovery planning and securing municipal buildings and equipment. Key West City Manager Jim Scholl said FEMA usually reimburses those pre-emptive disaster preparation costs at 100 percent and post-storm debris removal at 90 percent.  What is left over from that is usually split between the city and the state of Florida.

“We should be in that 90 percent reimbursement range [from FEMA],” Scholl said. “Then, the state pays five percent and we pay five percent. Our exposure is not too onerous the way it looks now.”

Whatever remaining costs that come directly out of city – and taxpayers’ – pockets will be paid out of various city reserve funds, including the general fund, which maintains 90 days’ worth of operating expenses. Some costs will likely be assigned to specific budget cost centers, including the wastewater or solid waste reserve funds that will cover sewer damage and debris removal costs.

Scholl said the city has been paying storm-related vendor bills as they come in and any FEMA reimbursement will go back into the budget line items they were paid out of. He said he is not worried about the city being able to cover its Irma costs.

“We’ve been able to cover all the costs we have to pay. If we don’t get 100 percent reimbursement, it will come out of those reserve funds,” Scholl said.

According to Finigan’s calculations, there were six primary storm cost categories. Category A was debris removal, which at the end of February totaled $3.883 million. Debris removal was the cost center that accounted for most of the dramatic reduction between storm cost estimates and the actual tally. In early December, Finigan had put debris removal at $25.6 million. But by Feb. 28, the actual costs were $3.883 million.

“Category A work would include the collection and hauling of all debris from the City Rights of Way to the staging area at Rockland Key and the subsequent hauling of the reduced debris from Rockland Key to an approved mainland site,” Finigan said.  “Also, included in the debris number would be the cost of monitoring and validating the amount of debris collected and hauled, a key step in the FEMA reimbursement process.” 

Parks and recreation storm cost estimates were the second area where actual costs came in significantly below estimates. Originally, Finigan had estimated approximately $8 million in damage to the city’s parks and sports fields. The recovery cost so far in that category is just under $4.8 million.

The other storm-related cost categories included roads and bridges, where recovery costs to date are $495,000, emergency protective measures at $3.7 million, buildings and equipment repair at $2.34 million, and utilities damage at $1.25 million.  

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