[0:04] AVH when you're ready give me
[0:05] the thumbs up
[0:07] you're set to go
[0:09] OK. thank you very much.
[0:15] right good morning and I'd
[0:17] like to call to order this
[0:18] special meeting of the interim
[0:19] finance committee and I'd like
[0:20] to welcome all the committee
[0:22] members on this zoom meeting and
[0:24] also welcome anyone in person in
[0:26] Carson City or Las Vegas or
[0:28] those online. I appreciate
[0:29] everyone making themselves
[0:31] available with this short
[0:33] notice and this is why we are
[0:35] doing a Zoom meeting today
[0:38] because it was much more
[0:40] expeditious for us to do it this
[0:41] way. will the secretary
[0:44] please call the roll and would
[0:46] all of you please remain with
[0:48] your cameras open while we're in
[0:53] assembly member anderson
[0:58] present assembly member Bacchus
[1:03] assembly member rown May
[1:05] here
[1:09] assembly member Conidine for
[1:09] assembly member Hadii?
[1:14] present assembly member Dickman
[1:19] here assembly member Gonzalez
[1:19] for assembly member Jager
[1:23] here assembly membermberhafenn
[1:27] assembly memberhibits
[1:35] assembly member Koenig
[1:38] assembly membermosca
[1:43] here assembly member Nadem for
[1:46] assembly memberwatts but think
[1:47] assembly member O'neal
[1:52] assembly member tores Fawcett
[1:57] Herevice ChairmanRomoreno
[2:02] here senator Buck
[2:10] Senator cannizzaro
[2:16] Senator Neal
[2:20] here Senator Wwynn
[2:24] here senator Steinbeck
[2:29] Senator Taylor
[2:33] senator Titus
[2:37] here chaired on down our loop
[2:42] and I am here thank you very
[2:44] much and please mark those
[2:45] present who may arrive
[2:47] in just a bit
[2:51] so I appreciate that before
[2:53] we move into today's agenda I
[2:54] would like to remind everyone
[2:56] once again to keep their cameras
[2:58] on throughout the meeting. it
[3:00] helps with the vote counting
[3:01] also those providing testimony
[3:03] today please remember to state
[3:05] and spell your name each time
[3:07] you are speaking if you're
[3:09] giving public comment please
[3:10] state and spell your name
[3:12] and sign in at the sign in
[3:14] sheet if you are in person we
[3:17] will move to the first our
[3:17] first agen
[3:20] da item which is public comment
[3:21] and this is the first period of
[3:22] public comment and there will be
[3:24] a second period at the end ofcha
[3:26] meeting so vote for those of you
[3:30] in public comment if you are
[3:36] dialing in remember8884754499
[3:37] would prompted for the
[3:41] meetingidD it will be8648272
[3:46] 0341 and then press pound when
[3:48] prompted for the participantidD
[3:51] please press pound the
[3:52] calling information is also the
[3:55] on the agenda so I'll begin in
[3:56] Las Vegas
[3:59] if there is anyone there for
[4:00] public comment would you please
[4:01] come forward?
[4:29] Thorley I can't see anyone in
[4:30] that room, amm I correct?
[4:37] I'm not a madam chair I'm not in
[4:39] the room either I don't know if
[4:41] Melissa can get on the
[4:43] mic and mention if there's
[4:43] anybody there
[4:53] Is there anyone in Las egas
[4:54] wishing to give public comment?
[5:01] I don't believe we have anyone
[5:01] so we'll move to carson City
[5:05] Is there anyone in carson
[5:05] cityity who would like to kip up
[5:07] public comment
[5:11] good morning chair donderolope.
[5:14] vicechairman roe Moreno and
[5:15] members of the interim finance
[5:16] committeetee.
[5:18] for the record my name is
[5:20] Cadencemtievich, government
[5:21] affairs liaison for Washoe
[5:24] County. My name is spelledc AD E
[5:27] N C E M A Tij E V I C H.
[5:31] madam chairir on behalf of
[5:32] washoe County, I'm here to say
[5:33] thank you
[5:36] the wildfires in our community
[5:38] over the last several weeks have
[5:40] been devastating and have
[5:41] challenged us immensely.
[5:44] but they've also proven once
[5:46] again that no matter the
[5:47] challenge Nevadans will always
[5:48] rise up.
[5:49] to help othernevadans
[5:53] we've received incredible
[5:55] support from Governor Lombardo,
[5:55] his team
[5:59] and so many state agencies
[6:01] during these incidents and are
[6:03] humbled to know that they will
[6:04] continue to provide assistance
[6:07] in the weeks and months ahead as
[6:08] we go about the critical work of
[6:09] recovery.
[6:12] I won't try to list all the
[6:13] state agencies right now cause
[6:13] I'm afraid I'll miss one
[6:17] but wasshoe County wants them
[6:19] all to know how grateful we are
[6:21] to have them working alongside
[6:22] us during these difficult times.
[6:26] pe c ific to your meeting today
[6:27] we want to express our sincere
[6:30] appreciation to you for having
[6:32] called this special meeting to
[6:33] allow funds to help cover the
[6:35] expenses associated with the
[6:37] response to these emergencies to
[6:38] be released so quickly.
[6:41] Special thanks to the governor's
[6:42] officefice of emergency
[6:44] Management, the state Department
[6:45] of Conservation and Natural
[6:47] Resources, the governor's
[6:50] finance officeice andlCB fiscal
[6:52] staff for expediting preparation
[6:54] of the work program and grant
[6:55] request documents necessary for
[6:57] you to be able to consider the
[6:58] action items on your agenda
[6:59] today.
[7:02] chair and committee members we
[7:03] respectfully ask for your
[7:07] approval of items F1 F2, andg
[7:08] and once again thank you
[7:15] thank you very much. is there
[7:17] anyone else in carson cityity
[7:17] that would like to give public
[7:18] comment
[7:22] seeing none we will go to the
[7:24] phone lines ADH is anyone on the
[7:25] phone lines
[7:28] thank you chair. if you would
[7:29] like to participate in public
[7:31] comment today, please press 9 to
[7:32] take your place in the queue.
[7:41] there are no colleagues wishing
[7:42] to provide public comment at
[7:42] this time
[7:45] thank you very much. All right
[7:47] next we'll move on to agenda
[7:50] item C which is two work program
[7:52] revisions submitted under
[7:54] the expeditious action statutes
[7:56] one from the division of state
[7:58] parks and the other from the
[8:00] department of veteranservices
[8:01] both work programs are requested
[8:03] in order to close out fiscal
[8:05] year 2026 and unless any
[8:06] committee members have any
[8:08] questions I would accept a
[8:10] motion to approve agenda items
[8:11] C1 and C2.
[8:16] madam chair this is assembly
[8:17] member Monroe Moreno I moved to
[8:17] proof
[8:22] thank you very much nice this
[8:24] is Senator Wwynn second thank
[8:25] you thank you very much Senator
[8:26] wynn. with that is there any
[8:27] discussion
[8:31] hearing none all those in favor
[8:31] say i
[8:34] iii
[8:35] all those opposed say nay
[8:39] motion carries thank you very
[8:39] much.
[8:43] we'll move on to next to agenda
[8:45] items D andE which will be
[8:47] presented jointly agenda itemd
[8:49] is a statement of disaster
[8:50] relief account balance and
[8:53] agenda item E is the statement
[8:55] of the Ic contingency account
[8:56] balance fiscal staff will
[8:59] present both statements as a
[9:01] reminder both statements are
[9:02] informational only and Mr
[9:04] Thorley please go ahead when you
[9:05] are ready
[9:10] thank you madam chair and good
[9:12] morning everyone for the
[9:14] record Wayne horleylCB fiscal
[9:15] analysis division
[9:18] I'll begin with agenda item G
[9:20] which is the statement of
[9:21] disaster relief account
[9:24] that statement can be found on
[9:26] page 25 of the meeting packet
[9:27] the meeting packet is virtual
[9:27] this time
[9:30] so it it is online it's
[9:32] available to all the
[9:34] community members and members of
[9:35] the public that are interested
[9:38] so as I mentioned beginning on
[9:42] page 25 of the meeting packet is
[9:43] the disaster relief account
[9:44] statement
[9:48] there are two requests on the
[9:50] agenda today for grants for to
[9:51] state agencies from the disaster
[9:52] relief account
[9:55] prior to any actions of the
[9:55] committee today the disaster
[10:00] relief account has16.9 million
[10:01] dollars in it
[10:05] the two requests one on the
[10:06] agenda today one is for11
[10:07] million dollars
[10:09] the other one is for5.7 million
[10:10] dollars
[10:13] if both requests are approved
[10:14] today
[10:16] the remaining balance following
[10:17] the actions of the committee
[10:18] today in the disaster relief
[10:19] account
[10:23] would be $224,471
[10:29] I would note that statute
[10:29] does
[10:33] have a mechanism in it
[10:35] whereby there are quarterly
[10:36] transfers from the general fund
[10:37] to the disaster relief account
[10:42] there's a formula behind that
[10:44] that I won't get into it's
[10:46] capped at500,000 dollars per
[10:47] quarter and we're at that cap
[10:49] so over the course of this
[10:51] fiscal year the disaster relief
[10:54] account will receive4500 $1000
[10:57] transfer so we'll receive $2
[10:57] million transfers from the
[10:58] general fund
[11:01] throughout the whole fiscal year
[11:06] Then I'll move on to the Ic
[11:07] contingency account statement
[11:08] this is agenda item E
[11:12] this begins on page 26 of the
[11:13] meeting packet
[11:16] there is one request on the
[11:18] agenda today for an allocation
[11:20] from the Ic contingency account.
[11:22] it is for5 million dollars the
[11:23] request is from the division of
[11:24] forestry
[11:27] prior to any actions of the
[11:30] committee today the balance in
[11:31] the unrestricted general fund
[11:32] portion of the contingency
[11:33] account
[11:38] is31.2 million dollars if this5
[11:39] million dollars allocation
[11:39] request is approved
[11:42] after the actions of the
[11:43] committee today the balance in
[11:45] the IC contingency account for
[11:47] the unrestricted general fund
[11:50] would be $26.2 million
[11:54] madam chairir that's it for both
[11:56] statements. I would be happy to
[11:57] answer any questions that any
[11:59] committee members might have
[11:59] regarding either statement
[12:05] all right committee members does
[12:08] anyone have a question please
[12:12] and we may have to have you
[12:15] raise your hand if you do so
[12:17] that I can see or holler out
[12:19] I see Senator Titus I believe I
[12:20] see your hand. go ahead please
[12:21] when you're ready.
[12:24] thank you first thank you madam
[12:25] chairir for putting this
[12:26] together and all those members
[12:28] who are on this call I
[12:30] would just have a question for
[12:32] Wayne on the process of
[12:34] getting more money back into
[12:35] these accounts and what would
[12:37] that require? we're still a long
[12:38] way out from the fire season or
[12:40] any other disaster frankly from
[12:43] being at the end of the year
[12:44] and then we're looking not until
[12:46] session till February so can you
[12:47] give me a quick process if we
[12:47] needed to have more money in
[12:48] these funds
[12:49] how would we do that
[12:54] Absolutely Senator Titus Wayne
[12:56] horligan for the recordlCB
[12:57] fiscal analysis division
[13:00] the disaster relief account
[13:02] does have that mechanism in
[13:03] statute where there's automatic
[13:05] quarterly transfers from the
[13:07] general fund that doesn't
[13:09] require any action of the of the
[13:10] of the legislature however I
[13:12] mean as I mentioned it is capped
[13:15] right now at500,000 per quarter
[13:15] so $2 million for this fiscal
[13:16] year
[13:18] there is no automatic transfer
[13:20] mechanism like that to the IC
[13:21] contingency account
[13:25] for in order to appropriate
[13:27] more funds to both accounts
[13:29] beyond what I just mentioned the
[13:31] automatic transfers and then in
[13:33] the Ic contingency account
[13:34] there would need to be an
[13:36] appropriate a bill with an
[13:37] appropriation in it
[13:41] and then that would need to be
[13:41] approved by the legislature and
[13:43] signed by the governor so it
[13:44] would require the legislature to
[13:46] be be in a legislative session
[13:47] to make those appropriations
[13:48] all right thank you madam
[13:49] chairir for the question
[13:58] thank you very much. any
[13:59] additional questions
[14:01] from the committee
[14:08] I don't think I see any if I've
[14:11] missed you holler out right with
[14:13] that thank you very much Mr
[14:14] Thorley Next we will go to
[14:15] agenda items F1
[14:18] F2 andG which will be heard
[14:21] jointly agenda items F1 and
[14:23] F2 are requests for grants from
[14:24] the disaster relief account
[14:28] while item G is a request for an
[14:30] allocation from the IC
[14:31] contingency account. I will
[14:33] invite representatives from the
[14:34] division of forestry and the
[14:36] officefice of emergency
[14:38] Management to the table if there
[14:39] is someone from the governor's
[14:41] finance office there as well we
[14:43] may have questions for you
[14:46] and once you're ready please
[14:48] present your request and then
[14:49] I'm sure we'll have questions
[14:51] for you and I wanna thank all of
[14:52] you
[14:56] prior to this and I probably
[14:59] will do this more thank you
[15:00] so much for all you have done. I
[15:02] know that I spent a lot of
[15:04] the weekend and this week
[15:06] speaking with staff and
[15:09] foresterce and emergency
[15:09] management people
[15:12] most of you know my brother
[15:14] spent50 years in the
[15:16] forestervice so I am well aware
[15:17] of the
[15:21] very dangerous job that you do
[15:24] so with that go ahead please
[15:25] when you are ready
[15:27] at the table
[15:30] good morning ma'am. Good morning
[15:31] committee this is
[15:33] Bretthompston, the administrator
[15:34] for the officefice of Emergency
[15:36] Management. I'll read through
[15:38] F1 and 2 in a prepared statement
[15:39] to to start
[15:43] so F1 is a request for
[15:44] approval of a grant in the
[15:45] amount of11 million dollars on
[15:47] behalf of the state Department
[15:47] of Conservation and
[15:49] naturalturalsources division of
[15:51] forestry to fund expenses for
[15:53] instate emergency responses
[15:55] related to the ward bug
[15:57] Fredmountain stallion and
[15:57] hawkfires
[16:01] F2 is a request for approval of
[16:04] a grant in the amount
[16:06] of5,665,337 dollars for the
[16:07] officefice of emergency
[16:09] Management to fund expenses in
[16:11] response to the ward bug
[16:12] Fredmountain stallion and
[16:13] hawkfires
[16:16] that has experienced a number of
[16:17] significant wildfires over the
[16:18] past three weeks in the wildland
[16:20] urban interface and a tremendous
[16:21] number of wildfire starts
[16:23] throughout the state as of last
[16:26] night's report fromirr forrester
[16:29] Ryan Shane we had67 active fires
[16:29] burning across the state.
[16:32] on August 2nd, the Nevada
[16:33] division of forestry requested
[16:35] deployment of a strike team of
[16:37] Type One structure fire engines
[16:38] through the Nevada
[16:39] Interstateuttual aidystem for
[16:41] immediate deployment to Ely
[16:43] related to the wardd fire. The
[16:44] intent of the deployment was for
[16:45] southern Nevada structure
[16:47] engines to relieve wildland
[16:49] qualified fire crews in order to
[16:50] allow those qualified crews to
[16:51] fight the fire.
[16:54] in accordance with Nrs414 Alpha,
[16:56] the Nevada division of forestry
[16:57] is responsible for wildland
[16:59] suppression activities under the
[17:00] interstate mutual aid system.
[17:02] the officefice of Emergency
[17:04] Management is responsible for
[17:05] all other wraparound expenses to
[17:06] include this strike team.
[17:09] Clark County fire agencies were
[17:10] able to fulfill the request
[17:11] During the wardd fire, the
[17:13] Nevadda emergency operations
[17:14] center was partially activated
[17:16] to support Whitepine County and
[17:17] subsequently coordinated
[17:18] assistance with evacuation and
[17:20] sheltering preparations and
[17:21] logistics support for already
[17:22] activated National Guard
[17:24] helicopters that were moved from
[17:26] Elko to Ely for fire operations.
[17:29] The bug buyer began on August8th
[17:30] and was subsequently followed by
[17:31] the Fred Mountain and stallion
[17:33] fires. The madam of emergency
[17:34] operationsenter was fully
[17:35] activated and a state
[17:35] declaration of emergency was
[17:36] made.
[17:39] Sport included deployment of
[17:40] another strike team from
[17:41] southern Nevada of structure
[17:43] engines via the Interstateuttual
[17:45] aid system, National Guard
[17:46] security forces to protect
[17:48] evacuated areas evacuation and
[17:49] sheltering operations and
[17:50] security for the incident
[17:51] command post
[17:54] on August 22nd, the hawk fire
[17:56] occurred and the Nevada EOC was
[17:57] again fully activated and
[17:58] another declaration of emergency
[17:59] was made. Support for the hawk
[18:01] fire included mass care
[18:02] sheltering, expanded national
[18:04] Guard security forces and urban
[18:05] search and rescue canine search
[18:06] teams
[18:09] sport will continue with the
[18:10] debris removal and recovery
[18:11] operations in the future.
[18:14] due to the67 wildfire starts
[18:15] across northern and eastern
[18:17] Nevada and no additional
[18:19] resources available. a third
[18:20] strike team of structure engines
[18:21] from Clark County was ordered to
[18:23] Elko County on Tuesday. This
[18:24] mission is ongoing
[18:26] Today's request is intended to
[18:27] provide funding for the
[18:29] emergency assistance account or
[18:30] from the emergency assistant or
[18:31] for the emergency assistance
[18:32] account for expenditures as I
[18:34] just described to continue
[18:35] estimated recovery operations
[18:37] associated with the hawkfi and
[18:39] to provide funding for immediate
[18:39] access during future
[18:40] emergencies.
[18:42] Estimates were based on the data
[18:44] provided by supporting agencies
[18:45] during the immediate response
[18:47] phase and will be refined as
[18:47] actual billing is received.
[18:49] as we have seen this summer
[18:50] Nevada is experiencing
[18:51] significant fire activity.
[18:53] and the scope and timing of
[18:55] future emergencies and disasters
[18:56] cannot be predicted.
[18:58] The job is not just the response
[18:59] recovery operations will
[19:00] continue for some time
[19:02] your support of emergency and
[19:04] disaster operations and
[19:05] providing funding to be ready
[19:06] for our next disaster is
[19:07] sincerely appreciated.
[19:15] thank you very much. Is there
[19:16] anyone else at the table that
[19:19] would like to speak before we
[19:19] ask a few questions.
[19:25] Madam Chair, members of the
[19:26] committee good morning Ryan
[19:27] Shain state forester fire warden
[19:28] with the Nevada Division of
[19:29] forestry.
[19:31] we appreciate the opportunity to
[19:33] come and ask for these funds to
[19:34] help with these fires.
[19:38] s strictly for the DrA request
[19:40] of11 million dollars the five
[19:42] fires that are named in the
[19:45] state declaration total76
[19:47] million dollars in approximated
[19:47] costs for all partners involved.
[19:51] $21 million of those are likely
[19:53] to be borne by the state in
[19:55] support of our wildland fire
[19:56] protectiongra members the state
[19:57] itself
[20:01] our contractors and
[20:01] additional partners like the
[20:02] national Guard.
[20:07] today we have experienced701
[20:10] fires in nevada throughout this
[20:13] season that is approximately 21%
[20:14] higher than all the fires that
[20:16] were started last year and last
[20:18] year burned above our long term
[20:19] average.
[20:21] we are roughly the same amount
[20:23] of acreage as we were last year
[20:24] right now in the year and we
[20:27] have at least6 more weeks if not
[20:27] more to withstand
[20:29] in this tough fire season
[20:33] as predicted this season could
[20:35] be catastrophic given the fire
[20:37] potential and partners have done
[20:39] everything they can to
[20:41] coordinate with each other and
[20:42] bring about the full
[20:44] maximization or resources and
[20:45] allocation to those fires.
[20:48] with that all
[20:50] ce my time and
[20:53] allow for any questions thank
[20:53] you
[20:57] thank you very much and thank
[20:59] you again for what you all are
[21:02] doing. I have a a couple of
[21:06] questions given the
[21:07] division of forestry
[21:09] indicating the cost for
[21:11] responding to this wordfi are
[21:13] fully reimbursable? Are they
[21:14] reimbursable by the federal
[21:16] government in which federal
[21:17] agency will be reversing these
[21:18] costs
[21:22] Madamerri reinchein for the
[21:23] record
[21:27] the fire in at wardd was
[21:29] approximately 98% for our
[21:31] servicece they will be covering
[21:34] the initial costs that they
[21:36] obviously spent for their own
[21:38] cruise the state division of
[21:40] forestry will cover all other
[21:42] expenses associated with our own
[21:45] staff any national guard and
[21:48] WfP cooperators in the amount of
[21:51] approximately $2 million we will
[21:52] go through there is no cost
[21:53] share adjudication
[21:56] process on this from what I've
[21:58] heard because there's so
[21:59] little state land there was14
[22:01] acres out of the whole thing
[22:03] that was something other than
[22:06] US Forestervice and Bureau of
[22:09] Land Management so we expect to
[22:10] send an invoice as soon as we
[22:12] our costs roll in and our bills
[22:14] are paid and get that to them
[22:15] for redirect reimbursement.
[22:20] OK, thank you and that was my
[22:22] next question was just an update
[22:24] on how we do those federal
[22:25] reimbursements and what is
[22:29] anticipated for the fires how
[22:30] do you
[22:32] the division of forestry, how do
[22:35] you anticipate funding any
[22:37] remaining obligations from
[22:40] current fires costs associated
[22:42] with unfortunately we hope not
[22:43] but maybe future fires
[22:51] madam Chair, thank you for the
[22:54] question umjessica Kemmerer J E
[22:59] Ss I C A K E M M E R E R
[23:01] administrativeervices officefer
[23:02] for the division of forestry.
[23:05] thank you for the question we
[23:07] will likely be back for IC
[23:10] contingency funds to fund any
[23:11] other fires that will occur in
[23:12] the future.
[23:17] Thank you. And does this
[23:19] include all of the strike teams
[23:24] madam Cherieinstein for the
[23:26] record I wanna go through
[23:28] this just a little bit because
[23:31] it can be confusing and it
[23:33] explains a pretty good fair
[23:34] amount of the costs associated
[23:35] in the division of those costs
[23:36] between the officeice of
[23:37] emmergency Management and the
[23:38] division of forestry.
[23:42] so when engines are ordered to
[23:44] backfill local stations to
[23:46] provide all risk services to the
[23:47] community in the absence of
[23:48] those firefighters that are on
[23:50] the fire line for a while and
[23:52] firefighter those are born
[23:54] through the inners intrastate
[23:56] mutual aid system and that cost
[23:57] lands with the officeice of
[23:58] emmergency Management.
[24:01] Now additional strike teams may
[24:03] be ordered that actually do
[24:05] engage the wildland fire and
[24:07] don't don't backfill the local
[24:09] stations those are costs covered
[24:11] by the division of forestry or
[24:13] at least cost shared in those
[24:13] multi jurisdictional fires
[24:16] I hope I answered your question
[24:17] thank you
[24:21] thank you very much. I know that
[24:23] there are several layers
[24:24] sometimes when you do these
[24:28] fires and you overlap and
[24:30] with the hawkfi specifically the
[24:32] type one management came in we
[24:35] also brought forth workers in
[24:36] from other countries as well as
[24:38] states so I understand that
[24:42] maybe convoluted pain out of
[24:44] things but I thought it was
[24:45] important to ask some of these
[24:45] questions.
[24:48] I believe that
[24:53] assemblywoman anderson has a
[24:54] couple of questions and then
[24:56] we'll go to or we can go to
[24:58] senator Titus and then we'll
[25:00] follow up with assemblywoman
[25:01] Anderson how is that
[25:05] thank you madam chairir again
[25:06] and thank you all for being at
[25:07] the table and actually being
[25:08] part of our state much
[25:11] appreciated as my son was right
[25:12] on the evacuation line and then
[25:13] he lives up in Panther Valley
[25:15] and Brad will are
[25:18] director uhhompson we'll have a
[25:19] chat on the emergency planning
[25:21] and evacuation routes at some
[25:22] point but in any case my
[25:25] question really is are it's very
[25:27] convoluted how the pay system is
[25:28] and all the committees I've been
[25:31] on for this fire reimbursement I
[25:31] get that there's all this
[25:33] different agencies and there's
[25:35] different responsibilities and
[25:36] it takes a while to figure all
[25:38] this out. One of my question my
[25:41] question however is aren't all
[25:43] of the folks that responded
[25:45] already on a salary aren't they
[25:45] already being paid and
[25:48] don't they budget for overtime
[25:49] and it it just gets very
[25:52] confusing to me that we have
[25:53] this kind of funds and then I
[25:54] have a follow up question for
[25:54] that
[25:57] madam chairir is it ok if I go
[25:58] direct?
[26:04] Senator Titusyanchain for the
[26:06] record appreciate the question I
[26:08] cannot speak to our wildland
[26:10] fire protection partners at
[26:12] the local level if they budget
[26:14] for overtime what I can say is
[26:16] our standard general fund
[26:18] budget and the accounts where
[26:20] these salaried firefighters
[26:21] live
[26:24] overtime is not allowed to be
[26:26] budgeted for that being said
[26:29] our4196 emergency response
[26:31] account does contain the funding
[26:32] that is necessary to pay for
[26:34] that over time as we've seen
[26:37] though our current allocation in
[26:39] that budget doesn't quite
[26:40] help us get to the finish line
[26:42] each year and therefore we're at
[26:44] contingency fund requesting
[26:45] additional dollars.
[26:45] sometimes monthly
[26:51] Great thank you and just a quick
[26:52] follow up if I might madam
[26:55] chairir one of the things I'd
[26:56] love to see ultimately and I
[26:57] know you don't have all those
[26:58] funds yet and some of the fires
[26:59] are still going all of this and
[27:01] I'm sitting in the car in Reno
[27:02] and it's raining here so that's
[27:05] good news what about I'd like
[27:06] to see a breakdown of things
[27:07] that you can't budget for which
[27:09] is certainly the air attack and
[27:10] some of these things that you
[27:11] have no idea how much that's
[27:13] gonna cost and so that certainly
[27:15] can throw a wrench into
[27:17] anybody's budget so will we be
[27:17] able to see and hopefully we do
[27:18] at some point
[27:21] actually the breakdown like how
[27:23] much what percent was on fed
[27:24] land what percent was on
[27:26] national forests what percent
[27:27] was in a private home because we
[27:29] lost homes here in northern
[27:31] Nevada and so and then how
[27:33] much is Aert attack etc so
[27:34] really I'd love to see
[27:35] ultimately when you get it done
[27:37] what's the actual breakdown
[27:40] of where these expenses are and
[27:41] that's really more of a a
[27:43] comment that we need to see that
[27:45] and I get can't thank you all
[27:45] enough for what you do.
[27:48] thank you very much senator wynn
[27:49] please
[27:56] thank you chair. just
[27:57] following up you had mentioned
[27:58] and it's kind of the first time
[28:00] that I had heard that there was
[28:02] a third strike team that was
[28:04] called in as a part of this
[28:06] budgetary request does that
[28:08] include funding for that third
[28:09] strike team or would that be
[28:12] anticipated in a subsequent
[28:13] request of IC.
[28:16] ma'amretthompson, office of
[28:17] emergency Management it's an
[28:18] excellent question at the time
[28:21] when we put this request in
[28:24] that need was not material that
[28:27] just occurred on Tuesday and so
[28:28] that will be born out of most
[28:30] likely that additional1.5 that
[28:32] we added on Sunday when we
[28:33] discussed the hawk fire and we
[28:34] didn't know how that was going
[28:36] to play out depending on that
[28:38] total cost strike force and any
[28:40] future emergencies which we are
[28:41] highly concerned about as
[28:42] Senator Titus has talked about
[28:43] rain on burned scars and
[28:44] mudslides and all the things
[28:45] that will continue to happen
[28:48] as the season progresses
[28:50] there is a possibility we could
[28:51] come back it really will just
[28:52] depend on what are the final
[28:54] bills for the first two strike
[28:56] teams in this final one
[28:58] to determine how much is left in
[29:00] that Eaa to respond to future
[29:01] emer
[29:07] Thank you chair and thank you
[29:08] for the answer.
[29:11] thank you very much and I
[29:12] believe assemblywoman anderson
[29:13] has a couple of questions
[29:16] thank you chair and before I
[29:18] ask the questions I just wanna
[29:19] again add in my
[29:21] gratitude for everybody
[29:21] that's been part of this
[29:25] and then also chair for getting
[29:27] on top of it right away and
[29:28] scheduling this emergency
[29:29] meeting.
[29:32] actually teach at the area that
[29:34] was impacted so I'm not there
[29:36] today obviously planning on
[29:37] going there this afternoon
[29:37] though.
[29:41] my my questions are more along
[29:43] the lines about just how it's
[29:45] all being handled when we think
[29:46] about
[29:49] could you please clarify how the
[29:50] strike team supported the white
[29:52] pine County fire as they should
[29:54] have and that cost 2.3
[29:56] million and that was over eight
[29:59] days compared to the strike team
[30:00] supporting the Wato County which
[30:03] is over10 days and that caused
[30:05] I think from our background
[30:07] documents it says752,000
[30:11] so if you could just clarify why
[30:12] there's such a discrepancy
[30:13] between the two areas.
[30:15] prekhompson office of
[30:17] commercement man it's an
[30:20] excellent question so the
[30:22] initial submission to this was
[30:23] about a week and a half ago and
[30:24] was based on the documents that
[30:26] we received from the local
[30:27] agencies that we're
[30:28] submitting or we're
[30:29] participating in those strike
[30:31] teams obviously a very wide
[30:34] disparity on the estimated cost
[30:35] what we believe to be the
[30:36] truth is it will be
[30:39] approximately104,000 dollars per
[30:41] day per strike team may vary by
[30:42] a little bit depending on the
[30:43] composition some of those strike
[30:44] teams have water tenders as
[30:46] s o ci ated with them that
[30:47] are not standard in a strike
[30:48] team.
[30:51] and so I think the cost will be
[30:52] lower per or about
[30:56] about104,000 dollars per day
[30:58] when it all is said and done but
[31:00] again when we initially
[31:02] requested this in the midst of
[31:04] the bug fire we we didn't
[31:05] want to do is speculate and so
[31:06] we provided you with the
[31:07] documents that we received from
[31:08] the cooperators based on their
[31:09] estimates which in my opinion
[31:10] were both high and low.
[31:14] Well thank you for that
[31:15] clarification
[31:20] and again you guys are under a
[31:22] lar a very stressful situation
[31:23] especially when you think about
[31:24] all the fires that you are
[31:26] dealing with this year and our
[31:28] anticipated unfortunately to
[31:29] have to deal with. So I guess
[31:33] I think one of the senator's
[31:34] questions kind of touched upon
[31:35] this but I just want to make
[31:36] sure the salary costs
[31:39] were already funded but you're
[31:41] not able to put in the overtime.
[31:42] Could you clarify that just a
[31:43] little bit further
[31:46] and again how that that
[31:47] number is kind of
[31:48] I guess
[31:50] how you
[31:53] kind of hypothesize what that
[31:53] number could be.
[31:58] tiffany Greenmeyer director
[31:59] for the governor's finance
[32:02] officeice so most time over time
[32:05] is removed out of a budget so
[32:07] like the forestry where the the
[32:09] positions are housed that over
[32:10] time is typically removed
[32:15] so then you just have a cost for
[32:17] a fire in the other budget
[32:18] account for instate fire that
[32:20] covers the overtime when they're
[32:21] sending people out
[32:26] so that could be depending on
[32:28] a fire year it could be too low
[32:31] or too high so if it was too
[32:32] high and they had too much money
[32:33] in their budget then they would
[32:35] have just revert at the end of
[32:37] the year but in this case since
[32:41] the fire season my
[32:42] understanding is they're using a
[32:44] lot of this the dollars in their
[32:45] instate fire budget.
[32:47] I hope that answer
[32:52] it does and and again I I really
[32:53] want to thank everybody for all
[32:53] the work they're doing.
[32:56] thank you chair my other
[32:57] questions I can always ask
[32:58] offline
[32:59] thank you very much
[33:03] all right senator Taylor did you
[33:03] have a question
[33:06] Yes I do madam chair thank
[33:09] you so much and I know it's rp's
[33:10] repetitious but I
[33:13] I'd be remiss if I didn't think
[33:14] it's all the hardworking
[33:16] people who are keeping us
[33:17] safe up here my my house was
[33:18] just outside of the
[33:19] of the get ready line
[33:21] which really means you get ready
[33:22] to get ready
[33:26] so it was it was a fight
[33:27] nighter night and quite a few
[33:28] days and a minute you reached
[33:30] out so thank you and again the
[33:32] hardworking oldep here who kept
[33:33] that fire from being worse
[33:36] if if you can't say enough to
[33:38] thank you my question is just
[33:40] related to you alluded a little
[33:41] bit to the to the1.5 million
[33:43] dollars that that you will
[33:45] need to support the fire like I
[33:47] know the fires almost out pretty
[33:48] much all the way out but the
[33:51] additional1.5 million how did
[33:51] you come up with that and
[33:54] and a little bit more on how
[33:55] you're trying to be how it plans
[33:55] how you plan to use it
[34:01] thank you ma'am Bretthompson
[34:02] office of emergency Management
[34:03] so to be quite frank that was a
[34:05] discussion that the GFO and I
[34:06] had on Sunday morning while the
[34:08] houses were still on fire. I had
[34:10] just come out of the burn area
[34:12] and I knew that this was going
[34:13] to be a significant issue. I
[34:14] didn't know the time frame
[34:15] that the hawkwood
[34:19] how it would play out I didn't
[34:20] know if the fires would continue
[34:22] north395 and I knew that we had6
[34:23] to8 more weeks of fire season
[34:25] and I knew that we had floods
[34:27] that will inevitably happen
[34:29] after that and so that was our
[34:32] best guess on a reasonable ask
[34:33] to help us get through the
[34:35] immediacy and the recovery
[34:36] phases or the initial recovery
[34:38] phases of Hack and whatever else
[34:40] is to come what I didn't want to
[34:43] do is take your time today and
[34:43] then have to come back
[34:44] immediately and say hey I've
[34:46] spent all that money immediately
[34:47] which with the addition of the
[34:48] strike team
[34:49] may actually be close to truth
[34:51] but on Sunday that was not the
[34:52] truth, so that's why we came up
[34:53] with that number we thought that
[34:54] was a fair number to ask for
[34:55] based on what we'd experienced
[34:57] thus far and what we expect to
[34:59] experience there is a chance
[35:01] that you know we get super lucky
[35:02] nothing else happens and we have
[35:03] a lot of money sitting in and
[35:05] that would be great but I don't
[35:05] think that that is our lot.
[35:12] thank you so much so in addition
[35:14] to the strike team you you
[35:15] anticipate that
[35:17] that that that what other costs
[35:18] do you anticipate could could be
[35:19] there?
[35:23] for the record so if I just go
[35:24] through a thing that we've just
[35:26] done we've done security with
[35:27] each of the last two big fires
[35:28] through the National Guard and
[35:30] that is a significant expense
[35:31] and the last one we brought up
[35:32] the urban search and rescue team
[35:35] from Las Vegas to do cadaver
[35:37] searches cuz we were not sure if
[35:38] we had lost people in
[35:39] addition to that we pay for a
[35:41] portion of the national Guard
[35:44] helicopter support related to
[35:46] lodging any other additional
[35:47] things like the emergency
[35:49] operations center mass
[35:49] sheltering operations where we
[35:52] ' re paying for like showers and
[35:53] things like that at the
[35:54] convention center those are all
[35:55] cost borne by the office of
[35:56] emergencymanagement.
[36:01] see that very very important
[36:02] causes
[36:04] helps you feel that in for me
[36:05] and hopefully as you said
[36:05] hopefully you won't be back
[36:08] because things have settled
[36:09] down and no more is happening
[36:11] but again thank you so much to
[36:11] everyone involved in this and
[36:12] chair. I appreciate the
[36:13] questions thank you for your
[36:13] indulgence.
[36:16] thank you very much and I'll go
[36:17] to Senator Steinbeck the guy
[36:18] who
[36:21] really knows what's what what
[36:22] danger
[36:27] are firefighters are in so
[36:27] please go ahead senator when
[36:28] you're ready
[36:31] thank you madam chairir. thank
[36:33] you to everybody testifying
[36:35] today and for your work I know
[36:36] how hard you guys have been
[36:38] working and really appreciate
[36:39] it and like everybody else said
[36:40] I really appreciate everybody
[36:42] out there on the front lines and
[36:44] Chiefhompson my question is
[36:46] I know a lot of people think
[36:49] as a fires getting put out that
[36:49] a lot of the
[36:52] resources aren't aren't
[36:53] necessary anymore but you and I
[36:54] both know that you still need
[36:56] quite a few resources for
[36:58] these fires including your
[37:00] damage assessment teams your
[37:02] your operations are going to
[37:04] continue the recovery process is
[37:05] actually going to be more
[37:07] intense for you and your team
[37:09] then then actually the response
[37:12] process are your requests today
[37:13] able to fully fund those
[37:13] efforts
[37:17] senator thank you for the
[37:18] questionsretthompson for the
[37:18] record
[37:22] the answer is it depends as
[37:24] you stated damage assessment the
[37:25] the initial damage assessment
[37:26] was conducted by Washer County,
[37:27] which is where we get the stats
[37:29] of the numbers of residents
[37:32] destroyed the state damage
[37:34] assessment starts today and
[37:36] so we'll go through that process
[37:37] lastst night the governor
[37:38] requested an emergency
[37:39] declaration from the president
[37:41] and that is being evaluated this
[37:42] morning indc hopefullypefully we
[37:45] will hear back soon on that
[37:46] we will continue to have EOC
[37:47] emergency operations center
[37:48] activities through
[37:51] out the period as you as you
[37:53] stated the reality is it depends
[37:57] on what else happens to us if
[37:58] everything stopped today this
[37:59] will be sufficient
[37:59] if
[38:02] if anything else happens
[38:04] we could be back
[38:09] OK thank you sir. I just want to
[38:11] make sure you were good on your
[38:13] on your operational costs for
[38:14] the recovery side of the my
[38:15] other question is with that
[38:18] declaration and what are you
[38:20] looking at as far as FMagG
[38:21] recovery and and those
[38:21] possibilities
[38:28] Senatoryanchain state forester
[38:29] fire warden with division of
[38:30] forestry so
[38:35] of all the $21 million estimated
[38:37] costs for the five fires that
[38:39] were declared we're
[38:41] anticipating8.4 million dollars
[38:46] of Fagg assistants at75% of our
[38:48] costs that are borne by the
[38:49] state
[38:51] that will come with a caveat
[38:55] we filed the paperwork within
[38:58] 90 days and we oftentimes don't
[38:59] see that revenue for at least1
[39:00] to 2 years of processing time
[39:02] thank you
[39:05] and senator Bricktthompson for
[39:07] the record I do under oh yes
[39:08] sirdition to that
[39:10] that's I think really relevant
[39:12] for all members to understand is
[39:13] the fmagG only pays for wildland
[39:15] suppression costs so the costs
[39:17] borne byndDF so every cost that
[39:18] the office of emmergency
[39:20] Management expends is a state
[39:22] cost so the strike teams where
[39:23] we were back filling into a
[39:24] station or not actually doing
[39:25] wildland suppression but freeing
[39:27] up resources to go do that that
[39:29] is of cost on us the national
[39:32] Guard is a cost on us and so
[39:33] that is different than the
[39:33] situation NDF is in with
[39:34] f mac.
[39:39] but if you get the if you get
[39:39] the
[39:43] umeder declaration there is some
[39:45] opportunity to recover some of
[39:47] those costs right chief Senator
[39:49] Btthompson for the record there
[39:50] are two answers here so the
[39:51] request that the governor made
[39:53] last night was for what's
[39:54] considered an emergency
[39:55] declaration if that's approved
[39:57] by the president that will come
[39:58] with direct federal assistance
[39:59] which does not come with
[40:01] reimbursement so that would be a
[40:04] tasking from FEA per se to
[40:05] maybe EPA to help us with the
[40:07] high hazardous materials such as
[40:09] cylinders, pesticides, all those
[40:09] things that are in the homes
[40:10] that have to be
[40:11] cleaned up to make those safe
[40:11] for people to
[40:15] to rebuild again no
[40:16] reimbursement with that it would
[40:18] be direct federal assistance if
[40:20] we qualify we can apply for what
[40:21] is considered a major
[40:23] declaration and if we are
[40:25] granted that by the president
[40:26] then typically that comes with
[40:30] a75% cost share and her 25%
[40:31] on the state75% reimbursement
[40:33] from the federal government
[40:34] again and if that were to play
[40:36] itself out exactly like and you
[40:38] have to it will be multiple
[40:39] years before we see that
[40:40] reimbursement.
[40:43] Absolutely thank you for all
[40:43] your work. thank you madam
[40:44] chairir.
[40:46] thank you and thank you for the
[40:51] questions. all right. any
[40:52] additional questions from the
[40:53] committee
[40:57] I don't think I see any hands up
[41:00] once again thank you for all
[41:03] that explanation there in
[41:05] carson cityity I think you know
[41:06] sometimes we don't understand
[41:08] that when all these people come
[41:09] from all over that we actually
[41:13] have to pay for those people to
[41:14] come back in to come into to
[41:15] assist us
[41:18] so I appreciate all of that
[41:20] information and if there are no
[41:22] more questions I'll take a vote
[41:24] on these three items but the
[41:26] for I do that I just wanna
[41:29] quickly say that grants from
[41:31] this disaster relief account are
[41:31] required by law
[41:33] to be provided on a
[41:37] reimbursement basis. so
[41:40] inrS353276 allows the IC to
[41:43] determine that disbursement on a
[41:44] reimbursement basis will cause
[41:46] severe financial hardship and
[41:49] authorize in advance of money
[41:52] not to exceed 25% of the amount
[41:55] granted. this requirement
[41:57] that grants beyond reimbursement
[41:58] basis only applies to the
[42:01] disaster relief account. it does
[42:01] not apply to the
[42:04] request from the IC contingency
[42:06] account so based on what we
[42:08] heard today, I believe it is
[42:09] appropriate to make a
[42:11] determination of severe
[42:14] financial hardshipccordingly any
[42:15] motion to approve these items
[42:17] should include a determination
[42:19] of severe financial hardship
[42:23] with a 25% advance for the two
[42:26] grants from the disaster relief
[42:29] account. So if I could hear a
[42:31] motion and if you would all
[42:31] make sure you'
[42:33] re on your cameras thank you
[42:37] thank you madam chair this is
[42:39] vicechairmonroe Moreno and I
[42:41] moved to approve the motion as
[42:42] you stated for F1
[42:45] and 2 andG.
[42:48] thank you very much and I'll
[42:49] accept a second
[42:51] rochellewynn
[42:54] a second please. thank you very
[42:56] much.motion by assemblywoman
[43:00] uhmonroe Moreno and second by
[43:03] Senator Wwynn any discussion on
[43:04] this particular motion
[43:09] seeing none all those in favor
[43:10] say i
[43:12] i
[43:14] all those opposed say nay
[43:19] hearing none motion passes thank
[43:21] you very much and once again to
[43:23] all of you there in carson City
[43:25] thank you thank you and to those
[43:25] in Reno please stay safe.
[43:28] all right with that we'll move
[43:30] on to our next agenda item which
[43:32] is public comment. this is the
[43:34] last period of public comment.
[43:36] so for those providing public
[43:38] comment please remember to state
[43:39] spell your name for the record
[43:42] and if you are dialing
[43:46] in888-4754499 when prompted for
[43:54] the meetingidD uh86482720341 and
[43:55] then press pound
[43:57] and for the participant ID
[43:59] please press pound. So I'll
[44:04] begin in uhlos Vegas and we
[44:05] will see if we have anybody
[44:05] there
[44:12] there's no one in the audience
[44:13] in Las Vegas who wishes to
[44:13] provide public comment
[44:16] thank you very much for
[44:18] clarifying. All right we'll go
[44:19] to carson cityity. is there
[44:20] anyone in carson cityity who
[44:21] would like to make public
[44:21] comment
[44:25] thank you good morning chair
[44:27] Donderiloup and vicechairmonnroe
[44:30] Monero and members of the
[44:32] interim finance committee my
[44:36] name is Clara Andriolacl A R A A
[44:40] N D R I Ol A. I'm the chair of
[44:42] Washoe County Board of County
[44:44] commissioners and I really want
[44:46] to express our deep appreciation
[44:48] to everyone who has been working
[44:51] tirelessly to help fight these
[44:53] fires that have been back to
[44:55] back with quite frankly no
[44:57] breath for all involved. I'd
[44:57] like to thank the governor and
[44:58] the governor's
[45:01] office and for you and your
[45:02] committee for your
[45:04] expeditiousness and providing
[45:07] all the resources necessary to
[45:09] help those that have been
[45:11] impacted and many many that have
[45:13] lost their homes and everything
[45:16] so today we have set up a
[45:18] community resource center to
[45:20] provide not only resources but
[45:22] information so that we can help
[45:24] our entire community begin the
[45:26] healing process during this
[45:27] longterm recovery. thank you.
[45:31] and thank you very much and
[45:35] please stay safe. you with that
[45:37] is there anyone else in carson
[45:37] City that would like to make
[45:38] public comment
[45:47] right. I am not hearing anyone
[45:50] or seeing anyone we will go
[45:52] to the phone lines ABH when
[45:53] you are ready
[45:56] you chair. if you would like to
[45:57] provide public comment today,
[45:59] please press 9 to take your
[45:59] place in the queue.
[46:09] there are no coers wishing to
[46:09] provide public comment at this
[46:10] time.
[46:11] thank you very much
[46:14] all right with that that
[46:17] completes our agenda today and
[46:18] I'd like to thank everyone for
[46:20] spending these very important
[46:21] moments with us this morning
[46:26] I appreciate you all making
[46:28] time during this emergency
[46:30] meeting that we had and staff
[46:33] thank you all for all you have
[46:34] done in preparation for this
[46:36] meeting and with that this
[46:37] meeting is adjourned
[46:40] thank you chair thanks for doing
[46:42] this thank you good job
[46:43] thank you chair thanks for doing
[46:44] this thank you good
[46:44] thank you so much everybody