The City of Charlottesville incurred expenses in personnel, materials, and mutual aid totaling $921,334 during Aug. 10-13 as part of the public safety work for the first anniversary of the tragic events of 2017.
The City of Charlottesville received significant support from the Virginia State Police, Albemarle County, the University of Virginia, and the regional Emergency Communications Center beginning in February 2018 and through the August weekend. The cost estimate only includes the City’s direct costs during August 10-13, 2018.
Summary of Expenses
Personnel: $611,172
Materials, supplies, contractual services: $188,101
Mutual aid reimbursements to other local governments: $122,061
TOTAL: $921,334
Personnel costs
More than 375 employees of the City of Charlottesville were involved in the public safety operations.
The personnel cost estimate includes overtime and emergency pay (2.5 times standard pay) and associated FICA for personnel working during August 10-13. It does not include exempt salaried personnel or personnel who would normally expect to be working during the weekend. It also does not include any personnel costs related to the planning phase during February-August 2018.
Comparison to 2017
The city spent approximately $600,000 more in 2018 than in 2017 in part because the single Incident Action Plan for this year anticipated a full weekend of activities.
Public Assistance from the Commonwealth
On September 7, 2018, the City filed a “Notice of Interest in Applying for Commonwealth Emergency Relief” with the Virginia Department of Emergency Management. This action is required within 30 days of a qualifying event if a community believes it will incur significant costs beyond the threshold set by the Commonwealth.
The City is currently evaluating whether to submit a full Public Assistance application to the Commonwealth for costs incurred during August 10-13, 2018.
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Chris Graham
