After Florence, Virginia Budgets $4M To Stock Shelter Supplies
Four months after Virginia officials learned their emergency shelter plans came with a shocking price tag from the private sector, Gov. Ralph Northam's administration said it wants the state to stockpile its own supplies to prepare for next time.
The governor's budget proposal includes $4.25 million to allow the Department of Social Services to buy cots, linens, nonperishable food and water so Virginia doesn't find itself going shopping again in the middle of a crisis.
As Hurricane Florence bore down on the state in September, the Virginia Department of Emergency Management struck a $31 million deal with a Texas contractor to set up three hurricane shelters at state universities.
The shelters were designed to house and feed almost 6,000 people for a week. Only 52 people used them after Florence turned south and made landfall in North Carolina.
"We believe there should be an alternative to what the governor was presented with, this all-inclusive contract," said Secretary of Finance Aubrey Layne.
The terms of the emergency contract, with Galveston-based DRC Emergency Services, called for the state to pay $650 per evacuee per day for 5,775 people. The company set up the shelters in about 24 hours, and the contract called for the company to be ready for maximum capacity regardless of the hurricane's direction.
Some lawmakers cried foul over the arrangement, suggesting contractors had jacked up prices while dealing with a desperate buyer. VDEM officials said those were the costs for a massive shelter operation that still may have been insufficient if Florence had slammed Virginia.
The federal government reimbursed the state for most of the shelter costs, leaving the state with a $7.8 million bill. The contractor also left behind some of the supplies purchased for the storm. Those items are being stored at Christopher Newport University.
Layne said Virginia buying its own shelter supplies would give the state more flexibility to scale its response up or down depending on disaster conditions.
"There ought to be levels of intensity and urgency," depending on how the emergency develops, Layne said.
The provision in Northam's budget calls for VDEM to coordinate with the Virginia Department of Social Services to craft a purchasing plan. That plan would have to be submitted to health, public safety and finance officials for review by Sept. 1.
The additional money is part of the VDSS budget.
"The funding will enhance the critical support services provided to localities and improve our emergency response efforts," said VDSS spokeswoman Cletisha Lovelace.
With Northam and Republican leaders locked in a budget standoff that could mean a $1 billion difference in what the state has to spend, the funding for shelter supplies and other new spending initiatives could still be cut before the General Assembly session ends next month.
"As the budget crystallizes next week, we'll see where we are," said House Appropriations Chairman Chris Jones, R-Suffolk.
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