AMENDING THE 2019 EMERGENCY MANANGEMENT BUDGET TO TRANSFER FUNDS FROM THE CONTINGENCY FUND TO FUND LIMITED TERM EMPLOYEES FOR FLOOD CASE MANAGEMENT

The Sauk County Emergency Management Department responds to emergencies, hosts trainings, and attends meetings around the County and regions of Wisconsin.

In response to the August 2018 flood, three limited term employees were hired to facilitate the long-term recovery process, one Disaster Management Coordinator and two Long Term Recovery Case Managers.  The best way to ensure recovery is having staff directly involved with the affected flood areas within the County.  The Emergency Management Director has worked diligently to have funds donated to assist residents with recovery. A fund was set up with the Greater Sauk County Community Foundation where donations were made to assist residents in need.  The amount of donations received was $308,000.  The duties of the three limited term employees are to investigate, verify, assist, and distribute donated funds to the County residents who have been affected by the floods, with the ultimate goal of assisting the residents with repairs to their homes to bring them back to “pre-flood conditions.”

The original 2019 budget has $33,146 budgeted for disaster recovery staff.  Projections show that the overall expense for 2019 will be exceeded by approximately $30,000.  In an attempt to fund wages for the three limited term positions, the Emergency Management Director applied for two different grants in a partnership with the State of Wisconsin.  Ultimately, the grants were not funded. 

The long-term recovery process will conclude at the end of 2019.  As of January 1, 2020, the three limited term employees will no longer be on payroll, and the 2020 Budget will not be affected with any further 2018 long-term recovery needs.