Last November, Timothy Manning, FEMA’s Deputy Administrator of the National Preparedness Directorate (NPD) announced that preparedness grant funds can be used for fees associated with equipment purchases.

An excerpt from the FEMA Grants Program Directorate’s bulletin released by his office:

“Effective [November 2o, 2009], the use of FEMA preparedness grant funds for maintenance contracts, warranties, repair or replacement costs, upgrades, and user fees are allowable under all active and future grant awards, unless otherwise noted.”

How Does FEMA Define User Fees for Preparedness?

The FEMA information bulletin offers this definition:

“User fees are viewed as costs for specific services required to maintain and provide continued operation of equipment or systems. An example would be the recurring service fees associated with handheld radios or mobile data computers.”

Another example (okay, here comes the shameless plug) would be satellite airtime services — to keep calls and data flowing to an OODAkit, BGAN terminal or satellite phone.