By Adam Swift
The city has submitted an appeal with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) over FEMA’s denial of over $3.2 million in reimbursement for Covid-19 era food distribution efforts.
“On March 6, 2025, FEMA denied our request for $3,202,361.76 in reimbursement under Category B – Emergency Protective Measures,” stated Deputy City Manager Michael Mason in a letter to the city council. “The denial cited insufficient documentation and compliance challenges. The City submitted a formal appeal on July 23, 2025.
“However, based on prior cases and FEMA’s rationale, we believe it is unlikely our appeal will be fully approved.”
If the appeal is denied, the net deficit from the Food PODS program in 2020, 2021, and 2022, will require city council action to cover the remaining costs, according to City Manager Fidel Maltez.
“It is important to note that not all the denied expenditures will result in a net financial loss to the City,” stated Mason. “Due to some costs being covered by other funding sources, the current remaining deficit is $2,857,444.05. These costs were incurred during the previous Administration and are currently posted against Fund 3501 (FEMA) and Fund 3502 (State CARES Act).”
To offset the shortfall, Mason stated that the city has identified just under $1.6 million in existing city council Covid appropriations.
In addition, Mason stated the city will be reaching out to the Shah Family Foundation to see if it will reauthorize the past use of about $30,000 that was aligned with the Food PODS initiative to help offset the costs.
“At this time, the city anticipates the need for a supplemental appropriation of $1,264,011.85 to fully resolve the outstanding deficit if reauthorization is not granted,” Mason said.
Once the final outcome of the FEMA appeal is received, Mason stated he would return to the council with a full breakdown and appropriation request.
“I just want to clarify … what this is,” said Councilor-at-Large Roberto Jimenez-Rivera. “During the Covid pandemic, we put a lot of resources into making sure people were fed, and now our federal government is saying they are not going to reimburse us for these things which were incredibly important to sustaining our community. It is just absolutely shameful that this is happening, and I want to thank the city manager and the city officials for making sure we are doing everything we can to make sure that we get reimbursed for this, because that is one of the things that federal government is there for, to make sure that when emergencies strike, we are supported. “The fact that they are choosing not to is shameful.”